Mariska Hargitay to Host 2026 Emmy Awards

Actress Mariska Hargitay will host the 78th Emmy Awards ceremony on September 14 in Los Angeles. Hargitay, an executive producer and star of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (SVU)," will be the first woman to host the gala since Jane Lynch in 2011. The show is currently in its 27th season with a 28th on the way, having surpassed 600 episodes.

Hargitay expressed her honor in a statement, linking the event to NBC's centennial. "Shining a light on important stories has been the driving force of my career," she said. "It is a great honor for me to present the 78th Emmy Awards – coinciding with the centenary of my beloved NBC – and to celebrate this extraordinary community of storytellers." She added, "Whether it's an actor or a director, a costume designer or a sound designer, we all have the privilege of participating in the creation of television that unites us. Regardless of how, where, or when we watch shows, we share the laughter, the tears, the love of stories, and the enthusiastic anticipation of what will happen next."

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Shining a light on important stories has been the driving force of my career. It is a great honor for me to present the 78th Emmy Awards – coinciding with the centenary of my beloved NBC – and to celebrate this extraordinary community of storytellers.

Hargitay is the fourth woman to host the Emmys since 2000, following Ellen DeGeneres, Heidi Klum, and Jane Lynch. She won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2006 for "SVU" and has received eight nominations in that category. She also won an Emmy in 2017 as a producer for the documentary "I Am Evidence."

The ceremony will take place at the Peacock Theater and will be broadcast on TNT and HBO Max in Chile.

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Whether it's an actor or a director, a costume designer or a sound designer, we all have the privilege of participating in the creation of television that unites us. Regardless of how, where, or when we watch shows, we share the laughter, the tears, the love of stories, and the enthusiastic anticipation of what will happen next.