The opening night at the Peacock Theater rewarded performers and behind-the-scenes creatives: Hargitay won directing and producing Emmys for a personal biopic, a Super Bowl halftime show dominated technical categories, and narrators and variety teams picked up key prizes.
Mariska Hargitay won two Emmys for directing and producing My Mom Jayne, bringing her total to three.
The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny earned seven awards, giving Bad Bunny his first Emmy.
Octavia Spencer won her first Emmy for narration on Lost Women of Alaska, prevailing over three-time winner David Attenborough.
# Quick summary The 78th Emmy Awards opened with a Night 1 ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles that focused on many of television's creative and technical categories. Mariska Hargitay expanded her Emmy tally with two wins for My Mom Jayne. A Super Bowl halftime special led by Bad Bunny collected the most prizes of the night, and narrators and variety teams also had notable successes.
# What happened, in plain terms Mariska Hargitay — best known for Law & Order: SVU — won two Emmys on Night 1: one for directing and one as a producer of My Mom Jayne, a biopic about her mother, Jayne Mansfield. Those two awards brought Hargitay's career total to three Emmys.
Bunny dominated several categories tied to music direction, choreography, makeup, and related technical fields. The show picked up seven Emmys in total, and that haul produced Bad Bunny's first Emmy win.
Octavia Spencer won an Emmy for narrating the true-crime series Lost Women of Alaska. That was Spencer's first Emmy, and she won in a category that included Sir David Attenborough, who has won that category three times.
# Notable winners and categories to watch
The ceremony also recognized craft categories including production design, cinematography, music composition for nonfiction, hairstyling, makeup, costumes, short-form programming, and emerging media innovation.
# Context and timing
# What to look for next Expect the main awards and high-profile acting and series categories to be decided on Night 2 and the televised ceremony. Night 1 results matter for understanding where technical strength and industry recognition concentrated this year — especially for variety specials and nonfiction programming.
# Bottom line
Bad Bunny has another reason to celebrate. The Puerto Rican superstar scored his first Emmy as his Super Bowl Halftime Show collected seven trophies at the opening ceremony of the 2026 Emmy Awards. And with a packed evening recognizing television’s performers and behind-the-scenes talent, we’ve rounded up the full Nigh
Top nominees “The Pitt,” “Hacks,” “Pluribus” and “Widow’s Bay” will have chances to stock up on Emmys Sunday at an early ceremony eight days before the main awards show and telecast. The Television Academy hands out well over 100 primetime Emmys, and most of them will be presented this weekend in a pair of ceremonies a
And the Emmy goes to… The 78th Emmy Awards took place Monday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, celebrating television’s biggest stars, performances and series on one of the industry’s biggest nights. Hosted by Mariska Hargitay, the annual ceremony honored the year’s buzziest performances and most critically acclai
And the Emmy goes to… The 78th Emmy Awards took place Monday at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, celebrating television’s biggest stars, performances and series on one of the industry’s biggest nights. Hosted by Mariska Hargitay, the annual ceremony honored the year’s buzziest performances and most critically acclai
'Law and Order: SVU' actress Mariska Hargitay hosted the illustrious evening, with A-listers Steve Carell and Zendaya nominated alongside Noah Wyle and Jean Smart.
Law & Order: SVU star Mariska Hargitay is hosting the Emmy Awards on Monday night. We'll be updating this list as winners are announced.
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