The “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” star Mariska Hargitay kicked off the 78th Emmy Awards ceremony on Monday night with an exuberant opening number that paid tribute to many of this year’s nominated shows and actors, set to the tune of “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” (rechristened “I Love TV Screens”).
Among the stars to make appearances were Jean Smart, a nominee for her performance in the final season of “Hacks”; Jeff Hiller, last year’s surprise best supporting actor in a comedy winner for “Somebody Somewhere” who is nominated again this year for his guest acting role in “Pluribus”; and Jennifer Coolidge, beloved for her role as the unstable socialite Tanya McQuoid in HBO’s “The White Lotus,” who brought Hargitay boba tea.
Also featured: The sea hag from “Widow’s Bay” and a nod to the Apple TV thriller “Slow Horses” that had Hargitay riding a “slow horse.”
Hargitay, 62, was a surprising choice to host this year’s ceremony, given that she is a dramatic actress; historically, most hosts have been comedians, late-night hosts or sitcom actors. (Recent examples include the stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze, the “Schitt’s Creek” stars Eugene and Dan Levy, and the late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.)
Hargitay is also the first woman to host the Emmys in 15 years; the last female host was the actress and comedian Jane Lynch.
Hargitay already won two Emmys this year for “My Mom Jayne,” her 2025 documentary about her mother, the Hollywood star Jayne Mansfield, who was killed in a car accident in 1967. Writing for The New York Times, the critic Natalia Winkelman called the film, Hargitay’s directorial feature debut, “exquisitely relatable.” (The two Emmys, for best documentary and best documentary directing, were awarded over Labor Day weekend, during what was once known as the Creative Arts Emmys.)
“The movie opened up some kind of space, connected me to my mom,” Hargitay told The Times for an article published in June.
Hargitay has portrayed the dogged police captain Olivia Benson on “Law & Order” since 1999, a role that earned her a lead actress Emmy in 2006, and she is one of the best paid actors in television. This spring, she made her Broadway debut in the interactive play “Every Brilliant Thing” and became a beloved courtside fixture at New York Knicks games during the team’s championship run.
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