Monday night brought television stars together at the Peacock Theater for this year’s Emmys. The ceremony was the 78th edition of the awards, with “Widow’s Bay” and “The Pitt” among the programs receiving some of the night’s attention.
Mariska Hargitay hosted the show, although her night technically started across the country. A pre-recorded segment showed her in New York preparing for the job with New York Knicks star Jalen Brunson. She later appeared live in Hollywood and opened the ceremony with a musical performance.
Football was hard for the show to completely ignore. The Kansas City Chiefs were playing the Denver Broncos that night, giving viewers another major television event to choose from. Taylor Swift appeared in a taped Emmy segment that played off the scheduling conflict and whether she would attend the awards while her husband, Chiefs player Travis Kelce, was playing. She didn’t show up at the ceremony itself.
The numbers afterward showed a smaller Emmy audience than last year. Nielsen put the 2026 audience at 6.7 million viewers. The previous ceremony, carried by CBS, reached 7.4 million. That works out to a 9% decline. NBC carried Monday’s ceremony, with Peacock offering another way to watch it.
The bigger change may still be ahead. Variety reported that discussions are well along between the Television Academy and Amazon Prime Video over the future home of the ceremony. If an agreement is reached, the annual awards would leave traditional broadcast television, something that hasn’t happened since the Emmys started in 1949. ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC have shared the ceremony through a rotation that has lasted 31 years.
The Oscars are making their own move toward streaming. YouTube recently picked up that awards show from ABC and is set to begin carrying it worldwide in 2029.
Apple TV+ found success in several comedy categories through “Widow’s Bay.” Matthew Rhys was recognized for his performance, with Kate O’Flynn and Stephen Root receiving awards for their roles as well. The program itself was selected in the comedy series category. Its writing brought an award for Katie Dippold, while Hiro Murai was recognized for his work behind the camera.
Rhys wasn’t finished there. His work in Netflix’s “The Beast in Me” brought him another acting award, this time for a limited series or television movie. The combination put him in new territory at the Emmys: no actor before him had received lead-performance awards for two different programs during the same season.
“Hacks” added another Emmy to Jean Smart’s run with the comedy. Smart received her fifth consecutive lead actress award for the series.
Drama produced a mix of repeat winners and awards spread across several programs. “The Pitt” took the drama series honor again, and Noah Wyle received another lead acting award for his work on the medical series. Rhea Seehorn was recognized for “Pluribus,” while awards also went to Allison Janney for “The Diplomat” and Tom Pelphrey for “Task.” Vince Gilligan’s work on “Pluribus” received the drama writing award, and “Slow Horses” director Saul Metzstein was honored for directing.
“DTF St. Louis” came away with the award for limited series. Netflix’s “Remarkably Bright Creatures” also had a good evening, receiving the television movie honor and bringing Sally Field an acting award for her performance.
There were winners outside scripted television as well. “The Traitors” received the reality competition award, and its host, Alan Cumming, was honored in the reality hosting category. “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” received the variety series Emmy.
The ceremony also recognized Michael J. Fox for work beyond his acting career. Fox, who has won five Emmys, was this year’s recipient of an award named for entertainer Bob Hope that recognizes humanitarian work.
Once the ceremony ended, the Emmy night continued elsewhere around Los Angeles. The Television Academy’s Governors Gala filled the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center with an elaborate garden setting and a menu that included thousands of handmade agnolotti along with prime rib, tuna and short ribs.
Disney held its gathering at Vibiana, where thousands of yards of teal drapery covered the hall and custom chandeliers hung above guests. HBO Max celebrated at San Vicente Bungalows with karaoke, an ice installation serving as a caviar and martini bar, and even a claw machine. FX and Vanity Fair returned to Chateau Marmont for their annual event, while other Emmy gatherings took place across the area in the days surrounding the ceremony.
For now, NBC and Peacock were where audiences found the Emmys. The next chapter could put the same trophies, speeches and parties around a ceremony viewers open through Amazon Prime Video instead.
This image is the property of The New Dispatch LLC and is not licenseable for external use without explicit written permission.
