Mariska Hargitay to host 78th Emmy Awards on NBC
Get the Culture newsletter
Daily culture — film, music, books, the trends and ideas worth your attention. Free.
- Mariska Hargitay will host the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, airing on NBC on 14 September, NBCUniversal announced on Tuesday.
- Hargitay will be the first woman to host the ceremony solo in 15 years, per the announcement.
- NBCUniversal revealed the hosting pick on the day before the 78th Emmy nominations are announced.
- Hargitay stars as Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, the long-running NBC drama now in its 27th season.
- The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards air on NBC on 14 September 2026, marking the network's turn in the Emmys broadcast rotation.
Why it matters: The hosting pick lands the network's own Law & Order: SVU star in front of the broadcast audience — a promotional overlap NBC can leverage across its biggest fall-schedule night, while Hargitay becomes only the second woman in the past 15 years to handle the role solo.
