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2026 Emmys: 19 Categories, Hargitay Hosts, Seven Shift

7/18/2026

Summary

Television Academy Revamps

The Television Academy will present 19 categories at the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, 2026.
Seven categories—Writing for a Variety Series and Supporting Actor/Actress in a Limited Series or Movie—will move to the Creative Arts Emmys.
Outstanding Talk Series and Scripted Variety Series will merge into Outstanding Variety Series.
Mariska Hargitay will host the broadcast at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, with moved awards presented on Sept. 6 during Creative Arts ceremonies.

Summary

Academy Overhauls

Viewership for the 2026 Emmy telecast on NBC rose 8% versus the 2025 CBS ceremony.
The rotating broadcast rights deal ends after this year's NBC airing.
Three events on Sept. 5, Sept. 6 and Sept. 14 will be called the “Emmys,” dropping the “Creative Arts” label.
Chair Cris Abrego said moving five categories creates space for musical numbers and longer speeches to address declining viewership, prompting the Academy to meet guilds about upset.

Summary

Academy Shifts Awards

Guilds including the Writers Guild of America, Directors Guild of America, and SAG-AFTRA are expected to be angered by the Television Academy's decision to move five categories to the Creative Arts ceremonies.
Nominees for Writing for a Variety Series include *Jimmy Kimmel Live!*, *Last Week Tonight with John Oliver*, and *The Late Show with Stephen Colbert*.
Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie nominees include Linda Cardellini, Dakota Fanning, Laurie Metcalf, Joy Sunday, Youn Yuh-jung, and Constance Zimmer.
Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie nominees include Jason Bateman, Richard Jenkins, David Harbour, Richard Gadd, Charles Melton, and Nick Offerman.

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Television Academy Revamps

The Television Academy will present 19 categories at the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, 2026.
Seven categories—Writing for a Variety Series and Supporting Actor/Actress in a Limited Series or Movie—will move to the Creative Arts Emmys.
Outstanding Talk Series and Scripted Variety Series will merge into Outstanding Variety Series.
Mariska Hargitay will host the broadcast at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT, with moved awards presented on Sept. 6 during Creative Arts ceremonies.

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