Television’s biggest awards night is almost here. The 78th Emmy Awards will take place on Monday, September 14, 2026, with Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star Mariska Hargitay hosting the ceremony.
The event will air live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time and 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time on NBC and Peacock.
For viewers in Nigeria, that becomes 1:00 a.m. WAT on Tuesday, September 15.
Spoiler notice: This guide contains no television plot spoilers. It also does not name winners from the main ceremony because those awards have not yet been presented.
When are the 2026 Emmy Awards?
The main ceremony takes place on:
Date: Monday, September 14, 2026
US time: 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT
Nigeria time: 1:00 a.m. WAT on Tuesday, September 15
Venue: Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE
US broadcast: NBC
US streaming: Peacock
NBC will carry the broadcast live, while Peacock subscribers in supported US markets can stream it simultaneously. International broadcast and streaming rights differ, so viewers outside the United States should confirm availability through local television listings and licensed platforms.
Mariska Hargitay will host the ceremony
Mariska Hargitay is taking charge of this year’s telecast during NBC’s centennial year.
Hargitay has played Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU for more than two decades, making her one of the most recognisable performers in American television. She has also worked as a director and executive producer.
Her appointment gives the ceremony a host with a direct connection to television history rather than someone appearing only to promote a current project. The test will be whether the broadcast allows her warmth and authority to guide the evening without overloading the show with lengthy comedy segments.
Which show has the most nominations?
Medical drama The Pitt leads the 2026 field with 25 nominations.
It is followed by:
Hacks — 24 nominations
Widow’s Bay — 19 nominations
Pluribus — 18 nominations
A large nomination total does not guarantee victory in the televised categories. Many nominations come from acting, writing, directing and technical fields, allowing a programme to collect recognition across several different ceremonies.
However, the numbers show which productions achieved the widest support among Television Academy voters.
Outstanding Drama Series nominees
The nominees for Outstanding Drama Series are:
The Diplomat
The Gilded Age
A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Paradise
The Pitt
Pluribus
Slow Horses
Your Friends & Neighbors
The Pitt enters with the most nominations overall, but the category brings together very different kinds of drama. Medical urgency, political tension, fantasy, science fiction and crime all compete for the same prize.
That variety makes the category more interesting than a simple comparison of popularity. Voters must decide whether to reward scale, performances, writing consistency or the programme that best sustained its story across the eligibility period.
Outstanding Comedy Series nominees
The comedy nominees are:
Abbott Elementary
The Bear
Hacks
Margo’s Got Money Troubles
Nobody Wants This
Only Murders in the Building
Shrinking
Widow’s Bay
With 24 nominations, Hacks enters as one of the ceremony’s strongest contenders. It faces established favourites and newer programmes that have quickly built awards attention.
The category also continues the debate over how broadly television awards define comedy. Some nominated shows rely on traditional jokes, while others mix humour with grief, anxiety, strained relationships and serious professional pressure.
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series nominees
The nominees are:
All Her Fault
The Beast in Me
Beef
DTF St. Louis
Love Story
Limited-series categories can be difficult to predict because voters are comparing complete, self-contained stories rather than multiple seasons of familiar characters.
Performance may prove especially important. A limited series has less time to build audience loyalty, so a powerful central role can shape how voters remember the entire production.
Have any Emmy Awards already been presented?
Yes. The Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies took place on September 5 and 6.
Those events cover numerous achievements in areas including guest acting, casting, cinematography, editing, sound, costumes, visual effects and other production crafts. The main September 14 broadcast will present the most prominent series and acting categories.
This distinction is important because reports about programmes “winning Emmys” before the televised event are not necessarily mistakes. They usually refer to awards already presented during the Creative Arts ceremonies.
What should viewers watch for?
Several questions will shape the main broadcast:
Can The Pitt turn its leading nomination count into major wins?
Will Hacks dominate the comedy categories?
Can Pluribus overcome more traditional drama contenders?
Will a newer series defeat programmes with longer Emmy histories?
Which acting result will produce the night’s biggest surprise?
Can the ceremony maintain its pace while still giving winners meaningful time?
The results may also influence what audiences choose to stream next. A major Emmy win can return an older season to the conversation or introduce a less familiar programme to viewers who missed it originally.
Flicklevel awards outlook
The most useful way to approach the Emmys is not to assume that the programme with the most nominations must win everything.
The Pitt begins from a strong position, but Hacks, Widow’s Bay and Pluribus each attracted substantial support. The major categories will reveal whether voters spread the awards across the year’s strongest programmes or rally around one dominant title.
The 78th Emmy Awards air September 14 on NBC and Peacock. Flicklevel’s complete winners coverage should be published only after the ceremony concludes.
Trusted sources: Television Academy’s official nominees | NBCUniversal’s host and broadcast announcement | Peacock’s official Emmy page