The 78th Emmy Awards, the annual showcase that honors the best of television, takes place on Monday.
Here’s how to watch:
What time does the show start?
The ceremony begins at 8 p.m. Eastern (5 p.m. Pacific) and will be held at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The Emmys usually finish on schedule, in about three hours.
Where can I watch?
NBC is broadcasting the ceremony, making it easy to watch if you have access to network television. You can stream the Emmys live on Peacock if you have the “premium” plan, which costs about $13 a month. (Peacock is also available as part of a bundled plan with Apple TV for about $18 a month.)
Plenty of other streaming services carry NBC, including YouTube TV and Fubo, but you will need a subscription to those distributors.
Why are the Emmys on a Monday and not Sunday?
That’s NBC’s call. The four broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC — rotate broadcast rights for the Emmys each year. This year is NBC’s turn, and because the ceremony’s usual slot on a Sunday night in mid-September conflicts with the network’s airing of “Sunday Night Football” — the most watched program in the country — the Emmys were bumped to Monday. NBC elected to do this in 2022 and 2018, as well.
What’s eligible?
Shows that aired between June 2025 and May 2026. All series also need a U.S.-based production partner from the get-go — that’s why “Heated Rivalry,” the surprise Canadian hit that premiered in late 2025, is not eligible.
Nineteen awards will be handed out during the ceremony, including acting and writing honors, as well as best series in the drama, comedy, limited and talk categories. More than 100 Emmys were awarded last weekend at a pair of ceremonies that mostly honored technical and off-camera achievements. “Widow’s Bay,” the Apple TV horror-comedy, leads all series with the most Emmy wins (8) so far.
Who’s hosting?
Hosting gigs almost always go to a late-night host, a stand-up star or a comedic actor. But in a surprise pick, NBC tapped Mariska Hargitay, the longtime star of the network’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.”
Hargitay has been seemingly everywhere in recent months, so much so that a top NBC executive declared to Variety that this is “the year of Mariska!” She won two Emmys last weekend for the HBO Max documentary she produced, “My Mom Jayne,” about her mother, the actress Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay made her Broadway debut this summer in a one-person play, “Every Brilliant Thing.” Her dazed reaction to an improbable New York Knicks playoff win during their championship run became a widely shared meme on social media. And she will return for the 28th season of “Law & Order: S.V.U.” in a few weeks.
Anything different this year?
Yep, the Emmys removed five awards from the prime-time ceremony — including, in the limited series category, best writer, director and supporting actors — and sent them to the technical award presentations last weekend. Many actors, writers and executives were furious with the decision, but the Television Academy, which organizes the Emmys, called it “a fresh new take” for the broadcast. Moving the five awards should give the Academy an additional 16 to 17 minutes of airtime to play with.
Unlike the Oscars, Tonys or Grammys, which include musical performances and other entertainment to loosen things up between awards, the Emmys has rarely had much time to turn away from envelope openings. In an interview, producers said there would be a tribute to Dolly Parton as well as celebrations of the shows “Charlie’s Angels” (which debuted 50 years ago) and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” (celebrating its 30th anniversary). Michael J. Fox will also be presented with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award.
When is the red carpet?
The cable network E! will air a red carpet coverage beginning at 5 p.m. Eastern. CNN and Variety will have a joint red carpet show that will stream live on CNN.com and the CNN app for people who have cable login credentials or pay for the network’s “all access” streaming plan.
Who are some of the favorites?
“The Pitt” is the favorite to take the best drama category for a second year in a row, but it faces competition from the Apple TV sci-fi series, “Pluribus.” If “The Pitt” does win, it will become the first show to take television’s most prestigious prize for its first two seasons since “Mad Men” accomplished the feat in 2009.
The best comedy race is expected to be a nail-biter, featuring a showdown between “Widow’s Bay” and the final season of “Hacks,” the HBO Max series that won best comedy in 2024. There is also some history on the line: If the “Hacks” star Jean Smart wins for best actress in a comedy, she will tie Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the most acting Emmys won by a single performer, with eight.
In the limited series category, the top two contenders are expected to be the HBO Max series “DTF St. Louis” and the Netflix’s anthology series “Beef.”
The post How to Watch the 2026 Emmy Awards appeared first on New York Times.
