Emmys 2026: Mariska Hargitay to Host Award Show

The 78th Emmy Awards have found their host — Mariska Hargitay. 

The Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star and executive producer will take the stage at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live on Monday, September 14. 

The award show will air live on NBC at 8/7c and stream on Peacock.

“Bringing important stories into the light has been the heartbeat of my career. It’s my great honor to host the 78th Emmy Awards — in the 100th birthday year of my beloved NBC — and celebrate this extraordinary community of storytellers,” Hargitay shared in a statement, per TV Line.

“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,” she added.

“Regardless of how, where or when we watch, we are together in our laughter, our tears, our love of stories — and our delighted anticipation to see what happens next,” Hargitay concluded. 

This milestone comes after Hargitay made her Broadway debut in Every Brilliant Thing this summer. It also comes amid her historic run as Captain Olivia Benson in NBC’s Law & Order: SVU, which will return for its 28th season this fall. 

“Mariska has earned her place among television’s icons. Few performers have left the kind of mark on television that Mariska has,” Jen Neal, Executive Vice President, Live Events & Specials, NBC & Peacock, said in a statement, via Variety.

“For 27 seasons, she has brought strength, compassion and humanity to one of the most beloved characters on TV. As NBC celebrates 100 years of unforgettable storytelling, we can’t think of anyone more fitting to help celebrate the incredible legacy of television,” Neal continued. 

Mariska Hargitay is also no stranger to the Emmys stage. For her role as (then) Detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: SVU, Hargitay won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2006. Not to mention, she received eight consecutive nominations in that category from 2004 to 2011.

Her second Emmy Award came from her role as an executive producer on I Am Evidence, which won Best Documentary in 2017.

There are also some stunning stats around Hargitay’s hosting gig. For example, this will be the first time in 15 years that a woman has hosted the Emmy Awards. The last woman to do so was Jane Lynch in 2011. 

Before Lynch, only three other women have hosted the award show this century.

Ellen DeGeneres hosted in 2001 and 2005, and Heidi Klum co-hosted with Tom Bergeron, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst, and Ryan Seacrest in 2008. Angela Lansbury solo-emceed in 1993, which was also the last time the Emmy Awards weren’t hosted by a comedian or a reality TV star, per Deadline.

The TV Academy will announce nominations for The 78th Emmy Awards on Wednesday, July 8, at 11:30/10:30c. 

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The 78th Emmy Awards air live on NBC at 8/7c and stream on Peacock.

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