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Mariska Hargitay to Host 78th Emmys, NBC Centennial

7/8/2026

29 4 Full Breakdown

Summary

Mariska Hargitay Hosts

NBC announced Mariska Hargitay will host the 78th Emmy Awards on September 14, 2026 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles’s L.A. Live complex.
She is the first female emcee since Jane Lynch in 2011 and the fourth solo female host this century.
Hargitay said hosting honors NBC’s 100th-birthday celebration.
Emmy nominations will be announced on July 8, 2026, with the Creative Arts Emmys scheduled for September 5-6, 2026.

Summary

**NBC Revamps Emmys**

The 2026 ceremony will debut the Legacy Award, the first new major prize in 20 years, and ends the three-decade “wheel deal” rotation, after which broadcast rights will be rebid.
NBC hopes a host change will raise ratings after the Emmys drew 7.4 million viewers, an 8 percent rise from 2024.
Hargitay’s 2025 HBO documentary “My Mom Jayne” is eligible, joining her 2019 News & Documentary Emmy.

Summary

Colon-Zayas Reads

Liza Colon-Zayas and Jeff Hiller will read the 78th Emmy nominations live from the Wolf Theatre on July 8, 2026, streamed online.
Jeff Hiller, a 2025 Emmy winner for “Somebody Somewhere,” released a memoir and finished a show while Colon-Zayas became the first Latina to win the Emmy for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series in 2024 for “The Bear.”
The Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be held on September 5-6, 2026.

Summary

Mariska Hosts Emmys

Mariska Hargitay will host the Emmys, giving her Joyful Heart Foundation greater visibility.
She directed the 2025 documentary My Mom Jayne, a portrait of mother Jayne Mansfield that premiered at Cannes.
She produced the 2019 Emmy-winning documentary I Am Evidence, which spotlighted survivors of sexual assault.
She recently concluded her Broadway debut in the interactive solo play Every Brilliant Thing at the Hudson Theatre.

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Mariska Hargitay Hosts

NBC announced Mariska Hargitay will host the 78th Emmy Awards on September 14, 2026 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles’s L.A. Live complex.
She is the first female emcee since Jane Lynch in 2011 and the fourth solo female host this century.
Hargitay said hosting honors NBC’s 100th-birthday celebration.
Emmy nominations will be announced on July 8, 2026, with the Creative Arts Emmys scheduled for September 5-6, 2026.

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