Mariska Hargitay Is Hosting the 78th Emmy Awards, the First Woman to Solo-Host Since Jane Lynch in 2011
· Thought Catalog
Updated 17 minutes ago, July 8, 2026
NBC confirmed it on July 7. The Captain Olivia Benson actor will lead TV’s biggest night on September 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, live on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
She’s also the first non-comedian to front the show in decades. A drama-series lead running the ceremony, in the same year NBC turns 100.
For 27 seasons, Mariska Hargitay has played Captain Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, the longest-running primetime live-action drama in television history. This fall, in season 28, the show crosses 600 episodes. Now she’s taking over the Emmys.
Hargitay is a real departure for the job. She’s the first woman to solo-host the ceremony since Jane Lynch in 2011, and hosting duties have gone almost exclusively to comedians for decades. The last comparable non-comedian to front the show was Angela Lansbury back in 1993.
Her resume runs deep on the same night she’ll be celebrating. She won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2006, and she also serves as an executive producer and director on SVU. This year she made her Broadway debut in the solo show Every Brilliant Thing.
In her announcement, Hargitay said, “Bringing important stories into the light has been the heartbeat of my career.” She called it her great honor to host the show in the 100th birthday year of her beloved NBC and to celebrate the community of storytellers around her.
NBC’s Jen Neal, EVP of Live Events and Specials, said Hargitay has “earned her place among television’s icons.”
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