The 2026 Emmys Air Tonight: How to Watch TV’s Big Night
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards air Monday night, bringing a year of celebrated television to a close at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles. The ceremony, hosted by Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay, will be broadcast live coast-to-coast on NBC and streamed on Peacock starting at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT, according to NPR, which reported the broadcast details ahead of Monday’s show.
Viewers who want to catch the red-carpet arrivals can tune in earlier: a pre-show and live coverage air on E! beginning at 5 p.m. ET / 2 p.m. PT. The Emmys telecast rotates between the broadcast networks, and this year it is NBC’s turn.
A Milestone Year for Host and Network
Hargitay’s turn as host carries particular significance. The Television Academy announced her selection in July, placing television’s biggest night in the hands of an Emmy-winning actor, director and producer.
“Bringing important stories into the light has been the heartbeat of my career,” Hargitay said in a statement. “It’s my great honor to host the 78th Emmy Awards — in the 100th birthday year of my beloved NBC — and celebrate this extraordinary community of storytellers.”
The ceremony lands during NBC’s 100th anniversary year, a fitting backdrop for a network that has won more Emmy Awards than any other in television history. NBC won the 2025-26 season in total viewers for the first time since 2002 and also captured the key 18-49 demographic, the network noted in its announcement.
The Night’s Biggest Races
Heading into Monday, HBO Max’s The Pitt enters as the most-nominated show, with 25 total nods after winning best drama, best actor (Noah Wyle) and best supporting actress (Katherine LaNasa) a year earlier. The final season of Hacks earned the most nominations of any comedy.
Apple TV’s offbeat horror comedy Widow’s Bay is the show to watch in the comedy race. The newcomer entered Monday’s ceremony with eight wins already secured during the Creative Arts ceremonies, and it could add up to six more. If it reaches 14 total, it would break the record of 13 Emmys for a comedy in a season set the prior year. Apple TV’s Pluribus made its Primetime Emmys debut with 18 nominations.
The main telecast will present 19 awards, including top comedy and drama series and the lead acting prizes in each. Much of the slate was settled earlier: the 78th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, expanded this year into a two-night ceremony on September 5 and 6, distributed the vast majority of the more than 100 categories, according to Deadline.
Among those early winners, Widow’s Bay dominated the craft and guest-acting categories, while Apple TV led all platforms with 19 wins heading into Monday, followed by HBO Max with 16 and Netflix with 13.
Tributes and Celebrations
The ceremony will honor television history alongside its current stars. The broadcast will mark the 30th anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, with David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar on hand, and the 50th anniversary of Charlie’s Angels, featuring Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith, the Television Academy confirmed.
The In Memoriam segment will feature two-time Grammy nominee Noah Kahan performing “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” A deep roster of presenters is set to appear, including Matthew McConaughey, Jamie Lee Curtis, Zendaya, Amy Poehler, Jon Hamm and Florence Pugh.
The evening also serves as a capstone for Hargitay personally. She won two Creative Arts Emmys this cycle for My Mom Jayne, her documentary about her mother, Hollywood legend Jayne Mansfield — including one for directing. The film also won Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special during the earlier ceremonies, per Wikipedia’s ceremony record.
Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay of Jesse Collins Entertainment serve as executive producers, with Hargitay also credited as a producer.
What to Watch For
Monday’s results will settle the season’s most closely watched questions: whether The Pitt can convert its nomination lead into a repeat drama win, and whether Widow’s Bay can complete a record-breaking comedy run. The ceremony also marks the culmination of a year in which streamers — led by Apple TV — have increasingly dominated the television awards landscape.
For viewers, the essential details remain simple: NBC and Peacock at 8 p.m. ET, with E! offering red-carpet coverage from 5 p.m. ET. When the final statue is handed out Monday night, it will close a season defined as much by the platforms competing for television’s top honor as by the shows themselves.