Three nights. A parade of television's biggest stars. And more than a few moments destined for the history books. The 78th Emmy Awards brought the industry together September 5, 6 and 14 at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles, turning several evenings of celebration into one unforgettable showcase of the year in television.
There was plenty to cheer about: first-time winners, record-setting achievements and heartfelt speeches. Among the biggest stories was the remarkable showing by Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay, which collected 14 Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series.
Presiding over the September 14 NBC telecast was host Mariska Hargitay (Law & Order: SVU), who opened the evening with a spirited musical number set to the classic “I Love Rock ’n’ Roll” — reimagined for the occasion as “I Love TV Screens.” It was a fitting kickoff to an evening celebrating the people and programs that continue to shape the television landscape.
Night One
"I think Bad Bunny proved that love is a universal language ... and you don’t have to understand the words to know the message.”
The message was clear, and Television Academy voters made their feelings known as executive producer Jesse Collins, who was also an executive producer of this year’s Emmy Awards telecast, picked up the seventh win for the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny, for Outstanding Variety Special (Live). No other program had as many wins on September 5, the first night of the 78th Emmy Awards.
The Puerto Rican star sang only in Spanish during the star-studded Super Bowl show that received awards for directing, music direction, choreography, sound mixing, technical direction and lighting.
Alan Cumming (left) and Stephen Colbert (right). 
The final season of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert also received enthusiastic support, picking up Emmys for writing, directing, picture editing, technical direction and lighting. “Thank you so much for the love for our show,” said an emotional Yvonne De Mare, the program’s director.
The evening’s festivities, which celebrated the best in variety, nonfiction and reality programming, shined a bright light on genres that have profoundly changed the television landscape over the past several decades. “It’s pretty remarkable when you think about where we, as a genre, came from,” noted Television Academy chair Cris Abrego, whose own career began in reality television. “I don’t think any of us would have imagined how much reality television would end up shaping our industry and our culture.”
In fact, a reality competition series was the night’s second-biggest winner. Peacock’s The Traitors received statuettes for directing, picture editing, cinematography, production design, costumes and host Alan Cumming.
The ceremony generated some emotional moments, most notably when the Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special went to My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay. The HBO film chronicles Hargitay’s efforts to know her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield, who died in a car accident when Hargitay was 3. “My hero and my friend Gloria Steinem told me to go and tell my own story,” a tearful Hargitay said while accepting the award. “And it was through telling this story that I got to know my mother.”
A few minutes later, when she returned to the stage to accept the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Documentary or Nonfiction Program, Hargitay said she didn’t initially see herself in that role. “It took me a while to realize that this was my story to tell … that I could direct it. I want to follow up on what Gloria Steinem said, as an invitation to other women to go out and tell their stories.”
One of the evening’s top awards, Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded), went to The Muppet Show, the Disney+ effort to revive Jim Henson's series. “Fifty years ago tonight is when the first episode of the first Muppets show ever aired,” said Seth Rogen, who costarred in the special and is among its executive producers. “We all worked very hard to bring this show back and to not let down the people who loved it.”
Love on the Spectrum also had multiple wins, including Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program and awards for casting and picture editing. This is the third time the Netflix show, about adults with autism exploring the world of dating, has won for unstructured reality program. “We feel very privileged to make a show about empathy and understanding,” cocreator–executive producer Cian O’Clery said, “a show that has a purpose beyond just finding eyeballs.”
One of the evening’s biggest surprises was Antiques Roadshow’s award for Outstanding Structured Reality Program. “This is our 24th nomination and first win!” producer Jill Giles giddily noted. “Thank you so much for supporting public television!”
Octavia Spencer also picked up her first Emmy, for Outstanding Narrator, for the Investigation Discovery series Lost Women of Alaska, about a serial killer who targeted Native women. “They say it takes a village, and indeed it took an entire village to get the murders that were happening in Alaska even investigated,” Spencer said on stage. “It is our job, and it is incumbent upon us to take care of the most vulnerable in society.”
Night Two
Some stories take time to hit their mark. Such was the case for Widow's Bay, which began life nearly 20 years ago when creator Katie Dippold wrote an eerie tale about a cursed New England village. Now a horror-comedy on Apple TV, the series cleaned up with eight trophies on the second night of the 78th Emmy Awards, held September 6. Casting directors Allison Jones and Emily Buntyn started the night's wins with their team, followed by production design. "I think Matthew Rhys said it best when he said this show has been a gift," production designer Steve Arnold noted, "and it really has."
The series also received awards for sound editing, sound mixing, cinematography, music supervision, music composition and guest actress in a comedy series. Betty Gilpin, who won the acting honor, delighted audiences with an acceptance speech in verse: "Read this aloud if by some fluke you win. A poem might give it a less boring spin ...."
Backstage later, Gilpin said she'd been on the same flight with Widow's Bay costar Hamish Linklater, who asked if she'd written a speech. She hadn't. "So, I sat down and wrote this quick, manic poem," she said with a laugh. Another big winner was HBO Max's limited series DTF St. Louis, with six Emmys. "I can't believe that you've embraced our show — this beautiful, vulnerable, weird show that I love so much," David Harbour said upon winning for supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie.
The dark comedy also won for writing, directing, picture editing, cinematography and supporting actress for Linda Cardellini, who picked up her first Emmy. The win was especially poignant: "I can remember years when I would try to audition and be told 'no,' and then I would call my parents crying," she said later backstage. "Tonight, I feel incredibly fortunate."
Ernest Harden Jr. (left) and Katie Dippold (right). 
One of the evening's most emotional moments arose when the award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series was given posthumously to Rob Reiner, for his work on FX's The Bear, for a career Emmy total of three. The announcement brought the audience to its feet for a long ovation.
Actress June Diane Raphael presented the inaugural Legacy Award to classic sitcom I Love Lucy in another notable moment. The award is given to a television program that's made a profound and generational impact on audiences and remains relevant to society, culture and the industry today.
The heavily stylized Spider-Noir, a Depression-era dark comedy starring Nicolas Cage as an aging private detective and superhero, dominated several categories, winning for cinematography, stunt coordination, title design, special visual effects and sound editing. Supervising stunt coordinator Freddy Bouciegues congratulated his fellow nominees: "We're all friends, we all work together, we're all from L.A. It's great to see everybody here and everybody working in town."
In fact, many awardees thanked producers for keeping their shows shooting in Los Angeles. Prime Video's Fallout, a drama set in the aftermath of a nuclear war, was among those shows, scoring statuettes for production design and costumes. "Thank you to [executive producer–director] Jonathan Nolan, whose vision of the show is incredible, and that included us shooting in California, which is really, really something," costume designer Dayna Pink said as she accepted the Emmy for Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-fi Costumes.
Apple TV's Pluribus, Vince Gilligan's post-apocalyptic drama series, picked up four awards: production design, picture editing, sound mixing and main title theme music.
HBO Max's drama series The Pitt scored four statuettes as well, including prosthetic makeup, music and lyrics (for the song "Need Someone") and casting. "As we watch our societal safety nets vanish, it's left to dedicated healthcare workers to pick up the pieces," casting director Cathy Sandrich Gelfond, CSA, said. "Yet, through the genius and compassion of [executive producers] John Wells, R. Scott Gemmill and Noah Wyle, The Pitt has touched a deep emotional chord .... It has been such a gift to work with these people and find actors who embody the humanity on both sides of care."
The show's fourth win went to Ernest Harden Jr., for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series. Backstage, the actor chalked up his character's powerful multi-episode arc to a conversation he'd had with Wyle, in which he recounted his many years in the industry. "What can I say?" Harden added. "He's a great actor and greater human being."
To read the rest of the story, pick up a copy of emmy magazine here.
This article originally appeared in its entirety in emmy magazine, issue #12, 2026, under the title “Spinning Gold.”
Photographer: Robert Ascroft
Production Company: Magic Creative Works
Producer: Russ Lemkin
Producer: Kari Dexter
Talent Wrangler: Rachel Boily
Lighting Tech: Braden Moran
Photo Assistant: Benji Callot
Photo Assistant: Lucas Ascroft
Digital Tech: Renee Wai Yee Dodge
Production Designer: Rob Fidel
Art Director: McKenna Farlow
Lead Carpenter: Mikey Raimo
Carpenter: Michael Forbes
Carpenter: Matthew Wolak
Asst Carpenter/Set Dresser: Sevag Bardakjian
Asst Carpenter/Set Dresser: Alexander Flax
Asst Carpenter: Brian Chu
Scenic Painter: Myisha Colin-DelaTorre
Art PA: Peter Valeri
