The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, the most prestigious honorary event in the U.S. television industry, is set to kick off on Monday at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, bringing together the brightest talents from across the small screen. Months of speculation around the full nominations list have now come to a head, with clear fan favorites and unexpected snubs already shaping the narrative ahead of the live telecast.
This year’s awards are split across three core program categories: drama, comedy, and limited/anthology series, with several structural changes designed to refresh the ceremony. Organizers have merged the best talk series and best scripted variety series into a single outstanding variety series category, and shifted eight previously main-ceremony awards to the earlier Creative Arts Emmys weekend. This cuts the total number of trophies awarded during the live Monday telecast from 26 to 19, freeing up more airtime for live musical performances, comedic segments and unscripted acceptance speeches.
In the top-rated drama category, last year’s winner *The Pitt* returns to defend its title following the release of its second season. The acclaimed medical drama leads all scripted series this year with eight individual acting nominations, including a best drama actor nod for lead star Noah Wyle. Other standout nominees for best drama include *Pluribus*, *Slow Horses*, *The Diplomat*, and *A Knight Of The Seven Kingdoms*, the latest prequel to the global hit *Game of Thrones*.
Over in the comedy categories, the fifth and final season of Hollywood satire *Hacks* is widely tipped to extend the show’s historic winning streak. Both leading stars Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder are nominated for acting prizes, with Smart on the cusp of making awards history: a win this year would bring her total career Emmy count to eight, tying the all-time record currently held by Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman. Top competitors for comedy honors include *Widow’s Bay*, *Shrinking*, *Abbott Elementary* and *Nobody Wants This*, with multiple cast members from *Abbott Elementary* already earning acting nods.
In the limited and anthology series race, Netflix’s *Beef* season two emerges as a strong contender, with lead stars Carey Mulligan and Oscar Isaac both landing acting nominations. It faces stiff competition from buzzy contenders including *All Her Fault*, *The Beast in Me* and *DTF St Louis*, which already notched two early wins at the recent Creative Arts Emmys. DTF St Louis stars Linda Cardellini and David Harbour took home best supporting actress and actor in a limited series honors during the pre-telecast ceremonies.
A total of seven British performers have earned acting nominations this year, alongside Mulligan: Riz Ahmed for *Bait*, Rufus Sewell for *The Diplomat*, Kate O’Flynn for *Widow’s Bay*, Gary Oldman and Jack Lowden for *Slow Horses*, and Matthew Rhys, who made history as a double nominee in two separate lead actor categories: comedy for *Widow’s Bay* and limited series for *The Beast in Me*.
One of the biggest talking points ahead of the ceremony is the absence of the year’s biggest viral sensation, the ice hockey romance *Heated Rivalry* starring Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams. The Canadian-produced series was deemed ineligible for this year’s awards because it lacks required U.S. production involvement, a rule that confused many observers who point to 2021’s big *Schitt’s Creek* sweep. However, *Schitt’s Creek* qualified for inclusion thanks to U.S. broadcast and financing partnerships, including an American-based production company led by creator Dan Levy. *Heated Rivalry* will instead compete in the 2026 International Emmys, set to take place in New York this November.
Two other fan-favorite shows with strong youth followings also underperformed in nominations despite meeting eligibility requirements. The final season of Netflix’s *Stranger Things* only earned seven nominations, all in technical categories, with no nods for the show in the top drama categories. Similarly, the final season of HBO’s *Euphoria* only landed one acting nomination, with former winner Zendaya being the only cast member from the series to earn a spot on the nominations list.
The Creative Arts Emmys, held last weekend ahead of the main ceremony, handed out honors across a range of craft and supporting categories. Other early winners include Julie Andrews, who took home best voiceover performance for *Bridgerton*, Alan Cumming who won best reality host for the U.S. adaptation of *The Traitors*, and *Remarkably Bright Creatures*, the drama starring Sally Field and Lewis Pullman, which won best made-for-TV movie. Additional early winners include *South Park* for best animated series, *Mr. Scorsese* for best docuseries, *Love on the Spectrum* for best unstructured reality programme, and Bad Bunny’s 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Show for best variety special.
This year’s main ceremony will be hosted by veteran television star Mariska Hargitay, the lead of NBC’s long-running crime drama *Law & Order: Special Victims Unit*. Hargitay, who has earned eight Emmy nominations and one win for her role as detective Olivia Benson, is set to preside over the event as her show prepares to air its 28th season and 600th episode this autumn. She also picked up two honors at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys for her documentary *My Mom Jayne*, which explores the life of her mother, iconic 1950s actress Jayne Mansfield, who died in a car crash when Hargitay was just three years old.
“It’s my great honour to host the 78th Emmy Awards and celebrate this extraordinary community of storytellers,” Hargitay said in a pre-ceremony statement. “Whether it’s an actor or a director, a costumer or a sound designer, we are all so privileged to take part in creating television that unites us.”
For viewers tuning in, the ceremony will begin at 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m. ET on Monday. U.S. audiences can stream the event live on Peacock or broadcast it on NBC. In the UK, the ceremony will start at 1:00 a.m. BST on Tuesday, with no scheduled live broadcast on domestic television, but the BBC News website will provide live overnight coverage of the red carpet and awards announcements.