Mariska Hargitay to Host 78th Emmy Awards
NBC announced that drama star Mariska Hargitay will host the 2026 Emmy Awards, marking a shift from the network’s usual choice of comedians and sitcom actors.
NBC said Tuesday that Mariska Hargitay, best known for playing Capt. Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: SVU,” will host the 78th Emmy Awards in September. The move departs from recent years when the network selected comedians or sitcom performers such as Nate Bargatze, the Levy brothers from “Schitt’s Creek,” and Jimmy Kimmel. The last NBC-hosted ceremony in 2022 featured “Saturday Night Live” regular Kenan Thompson.
"Few performers have left the kind of mark on television that Mariska has," NBC executive vice president of live events Jen Neal said in a statement, adding that Hargitay has brought "strength, compassion and humanity" to her long-running role.
Hargitay expressed that hosting the ceremony is an honor and an opportunity to celebrate the television community. The Emmy nominations will be released on Wednesday, with the ceremony scheduled for Monday, Sept. 14, broadcast on NBC and streamed on Peacock. The event comes as the Television Academy’s multiyear “wheel deal” rotating broadcast rights among the major networks reaches its final year, leaving the future of the telecast’s network home uncertain.