The first night of the 2026 Creative Arts Emmy Awards at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles brought early wins for Mariska Hargitay, Alan Cumming, and The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny, honoring unscripted programs, reality television, and variety specials ahead of the September 14 main ceremony.
Television’s honors below the line began handing out over 100 statues across a bustling two-day weekend at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. The opening evening on Saturday, September 6, zeroed in on variety programming, unscripted series, documentaries, and game shows, setting the stage for the primary Primetime Emmy Awards broadcast scheduled for September 14.
Mariska Hargitay and Alan Cumming Score Major Night One Victories
2026 Creative Arts Emmys Winners List Night One
John Candy: I Like Me director Colin Hanks, Dancing with the Stars host Julianne Hough, The Upshaws star Wanda Sykes and Big Brother host Julie Chen Moonves hosted the first night at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday, September 6.
Mariska Hargitay pulled off a dominant showing ahead of her hosting debut for the main ceremony, securing two distinct trophies. Her emotional documentary centered on her mother, Jayne Mansfield, earned recognition for both directing for a documentary/nonfiction program and outstanding documentary or nonfiction special under the title My Mom Jayne: A Film By Mariska Hargitay.
In the reality competition sphere, The Traitors continues to dominate the reality competition program space after winning every Night One Emmy category it was nominated in, including Alan Cumming’s third consecutive win as host, extending his winning streak for best reality tv host.
Game Shows, Nonfiction, and Variety Highlights
Creative Arts Emmys 2026 winners list
Night one celebrated an array of established franchises and specials across different genres. Jeopardy! claimed the game show category over Celebrity Family Feud, The Price Is Right, Wheel Of Fortune, and Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, while Jimmy Kimmel picked up the award for outstanding host for a game show for Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, beating out Celebrity Family Feud host Steve Harvey, Jeopardy! host Ken Jennings, and others.
Music and live production also found strong footing on the first night. The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny secured multiple trophies alongside other night one winners including The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, The Muppet Show, Love on the Spectrum, and Lost Women of Alaska, which brought Octavia Spencer her first Emmy for narration.
Engineering and Technical Innovators Recognized Ahead of Ceremonies
Creative Arts Emmy Awards 2026 Winners: Complete List of
What Lies Ahead for the Rest of the Weekend
While the first night wrapped up unscripted categories with hosts Colin Hanks, Julianne Hough, Wanda Sykes, and Julie Chen Moonves alongside night one presenters Lisa Rinna, Ariana Madix, ex-Summer House star West Wilson, Sean Wilson, Stassi Schroeder, Julie Chen Moonves, and Jaleel White, Sunday’s second night pivots toward scripted programming, guest actor and actress awards, and a handful of limited series prizes. That evening will be hosted by The Pitt’s Noah Wyle, The Goldbergs star Wendi McLendon-Covey and The Boys actor Daveed Diggs, alongside I Love Lucy receiving a special tribute and the Legacy award, a new prize honoring TV shows with a generational impact. Coming into the Emmys, The Pitt leads the pack with 25 total nominations, followed by Hacks with 24 nominations, while HBO’s Hacks and Netflix’s Beef received the most Creative Arts nominations, with 17 and 13 respectively. The 78th Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony will air as a single broadcast on Saturday, September 14, on FXX at 8 p.m. ET/PT, and will be available to stream on Hulu the following day.
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