Mariska Hargitay Wins Two Emmys Days Before Hosting 78th Primetime Ceremony

Mariska Hargitay won two Emmy Awards on September 5, 2026, at the Creative Arts ceremonies, just nine days before she is set to host the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star took home trophies for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program and Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special for ‘My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay,’ a documentary about her late mother, actress Jayne Mansfield.

Hargitay, 62, becomes the first woman to host the Emmys in 15 years. The main ceremony will take place on September 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and air live on NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT.

Creative Arts Ceremonies Deliver First-Time Winners

The Television Academy handed out 102 statuettes across two Creative Arts nights on September 5 and 6. Apple TV’s horror-comedy ‘Widow’s Bay’ led all programs with eight wins, including Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for Betty Gilpin. The streamer also dominated the platform tally with 19 total wins, ahead of HBO Max with 16 and Netflix with 13.

Bad Bunny collected his first Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, which earned seven awards overall. Sabrina Carpenter won her first Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) for ‘The Muppet Show.’ Octavia Spencer earned Outstanding Narrator for ‘Lost Women of Alaska.’

Shailene Woodley won her first Emmy for guest actress in a drama series for Hulu’s ‘Paradise,’ marking the show’s first-ever Emmy win. Ernest Harden Jr. took guest actor in a drama series for ‘The Pitt.’ Rob Reiner received a posthumous award for his guest appearance on FX’s ‘The Bear.’ David Harbour and Linda Cardellini won supporting acting awards for HBO Max’s ‘DTF St. Louis.’

South Park secured its fifth animated-series Emmy, its first since 2013. The first-ever Legacy Award was given to the groundbreaking 1950s sitcom ‘I Love Lucy.’

Categories Shift Sparks Guild Backlash

The Television Academy moved five categories, including best supporting actor and actress in a limited or anthology series, off the live Primetime telecast and into the Creative Arts ceremonies. The decision drew sharp criticism from the directors’, writers’ and screen actors’ guilds, who argued the change sidelines the craftspeople the awards are meant to champion.

Primetime Race Shaping Up

HBO Max’s medical drama ‘The Pitt’ leads all shows with 25 nominations, including best drama series and 13 acting nominations. ‘Hacks’ earned 24 nods, the most ever for a comedy series in Emmy history, and will compete against ‘Widow’s Bay,’ which collected 19 nominations.

In the drama field, ‘The Pitt’ faces competition from ‘Pluribus,’ which earned 18 nominations. ‘Stranger Things’ was shut out of major categories with just seven nods, and Jeremy Allen White failed to land a nomination after two previous wins for ‘The Bear.’

The Primetime ceremony will feature a star-studded presenter lineup including Zendaya, Florence Pugh, Macaulay Culkin, Amy Poehler, Jon Hamm, Keke Palmer, Sally Field, David Harbour, Sarah Michelle Gellar, David Boreanaz, Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd. The appearances of Gellar and Boreanaz come ahead of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s 30th anniversary, while Jackson, Smith and Ladd will represent Charlie’s Angels as it marks 50 years since its debut.

The latest confirmed status is that the Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on NBC and Peacock on September 14, hosted by Hargitay, with ‘The Pitt’ leading the nominations.