HBO Max leads 78th Primetime Emmy nominations as ceremony opens in Los Angeles

Ceremony overview and hosting

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards took place on Monday, 14 September 2026, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Organized by the Television Academy, the annual ceremony gathered television actors, writers, and producers to celebrate achievements across the industry. Actress Mariska Hargitay, an eight-time Emmy nominee known for her 27-year role as Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, hosted the main event. Nominations for the awards had been unveiled in July, distributing honors across three separate presentation nights. HBO Max led all platforms with 122 total nominations, followed by Netflix with 111 nominations and Apple TV with 87 nominations.

Drama contenders and nominations

The drama categories featured medical drama The Pitt, which entered the evening with 25 nominations. Noah Wyle received a nomination for lead actor in a drama series for his work on The Pitt, competing against Gary Oldman for Slow Horses, Sterling K. Brown for Paradise, Mark Ruffalo for Task, and Rufus Sewell for The Diplomat. The Pitt also earned multiple supporting actress nominations for Taylor Dearden, Fiona Dourif, Katherine LaNasa, and Sepideh Moafi, who contended alongside Allison Janney for The Diplomat, Julianne Nicholson for Paradise, and Karolina Wydra for Pluribus. In the drama series category, nominees included The Diplomat, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, The Gilded Age, Paradise, The Pitt, Pluribus, Slow Horses, and Vicios ocultos. Zendaya competed for lead actress in a drama series for Euphoria, seeking a third win against Carrie Coon for The Gilded Age, Chase Infiniti for The Testaments, Keri Russell for The Diplomat, and Rhea Seehorn for Pluribus.

Comedy and limited series fields

Comedy categories were headlined by Hacks, which competed in its final season for outstanding comedy series against Abbott Elementary, The Bear, Nobody Wants This, Margo's Got Money Troubles, Only Murders in the Building, Shrinking, and The Curse of Widow's Bay. For lead actress in a comedy series, Jean Smart of Hacks was nominated alongside Quinta Brunson of Abbott Elementary, Ayo Edebiri of The Bear, Elle Fanning of Margo's Got Money Troubles, and Lisa Kudrow of The Comeback. Supporting comedy actress nominees included Kate O'Flynn and Dale Dickey for The Curse of Widow's Bay, Hannah Einbinder and Megan Stalter for Hacks, Janelle James for Abbott Elementary, Michelle Pfeiffer for Margo's Got Money Troubles, and Jessica Williams for Shrinking. In the limited series field, prominent titles included Beef, DTF Saint Louis, and The Beast in Me.

Red carpet arrivals and platform competition

Before the statuettes were presented, stars walked the carpet outside the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Cast members Peter Claffey and Dexter Sol Ansell arrived after pausing production on the second season of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Actress Isabel Gravitt of Vicios ocultos appeared in a white slip dress accessorized with pearl and silver necklaces. The Pitt cast members also attended, including Shabana Azeez, who plays Victoria Javadi, in a gold two-piece ensemble, and Supriya Ganesh, who portrays Dr. Mohan. The distribution of platform nominations placed HBO Max and Netflix at the forefront of the overall competition.