On paper, selecting “Law & Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay as host of the 2026 Emmys telecast probably made sense. Hargitay has had a great run recently: Earlier this month, she won two Emmys for her self-directed 2025 documentary, “My Mom Jayne,” which memorializes her mother, Jayne Mansfield. Over the summer, she made her Broadway debut in the Tony-nominated “Every Brilliant Thing.”
However—and this is important—“Every Brilliant Thing” is not a musical. This bears mentioning since Hargitay opened Monday’s Emmys telecast by performing “I Love TV Screens,” profaning Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” in doing so. This was but one of two song-and-dance numbers nobody (except sponsors such as Marriott) wanted, with the second roping in poor Andrew Rannells to sully Supertramp’s “Goodbye Stranger.” His reputation will recover, but will we?
The longstanding joke about Emmy Awards broadcasts, among jaded TV critics anyway, is that an evening dedicated to celebrating the best TV often turns out to be one of the worst shows of the year. Boredom is the repeat offender; since Television Academy voters tend to reward the same shows repeatedly, the Emmys take on the predictability of a paint-by-numbers project, leaving it to the host to keep the proceedings lively and moving quickly. That’s why many award shows employ comedians as their ringmasters, as last year’s Emmys producers did by tapping Nate Bargatze.
Emmy Awards telecasts have a long history of recruiting primetime TV stars to emcee, too – usually sitcom headliners. Hargitay’s misfire demonstrates why. Comic actors have a sense of timing and an ability to ad-lib when the teleprompter spits out duds, as John Mulaney proved with his inspired rant about masculinity when he presented.
Successful Emmy hosts also understand that the mission is to get out of the way, not make the night about themselves. A good host can pull off both feats, as Neil Patrick Harris did in 2009, proving his worth as a music man.
But television history is littered with fine ideas that don’t pan out in practice. Mariska Hargitay’s suitability to host the Emmys is one of them.
Mind you, Hargitay could have been a revelation. Audiences know her as tough-as-nails Olivia Benson, “America’s sweetheart sex cop,” she joked, and few things are as satisfying as seeing an actor primarily known for drama kill it at comedy.
“I have won a number of Emmys for acting,” she said. “And that number is zero.”
Funny, right? Hargitay delivered that zinger with gusto. Rigor mortis-stiffened gusto.
Look, I like Hargitay. You probably do, too. But just as we wouldn’t expect Ted Lasso to solve a grisly homicide, we probably shouldn’t assume a Dick Wolf regular who isn’t Christopher Meloni can ham it up for a live audience. Meloni is a comedy king, the best part of “Wet Hot American Summer,” while Hargitay earned a laugh with a clip of her early work in “Ghoulies,” a schlocky horror movie about toilet demons. Even a pre-recorded “SVU” spoof that included cameos by Taylor Swift and the pop superstar’s Scottish Fold, a kitty named Olivia Benson (of course), strangled whatever goodwill that might have engendered.
All that rickrack distracted from what was otherwise a fairly satisfying but predictable slate of wins. Entering the evening with 25 nominations, “The Pitt” and its star Noah Wyle were favored to take home the top prizes in their categories, and they did. Jean Smart was expected to tie a bow on her “Hacks” run with her eighth win, et voilà. It also showed up to this year’s Emmys with 24 nods, a record in the comedy category.
Things got a bit more interesting when “Hacks” was overthrown in the best comedy category by “Widow’s Bay,” which had 19 nominations and scored individual Emmy wins for its stars Matthew Rhys and supporting performers Stephen Root and Kate O’Flynn. By the time “Widow’s Bay” won, the show was almost over.
Before that, Rhys set a record with his comedy actor win and his Emmy for best actor in a limited series for “The Beast In Me,” making history as the first performer to win the lead acting Emmy across all three categories. (He won best drama actor in 2018 for “The Americans.”) Rhys is also the first man to win two lead actor trophies on the same night. However, “DTF St. Louis” won best limited series.
“Pluribus” star Rhea Seehorn finally won the best actress statues that long eluded her, and series creator Vince Gilligan scored a writing Emmy. In other races, Tom Pelphrey’s win for his supporting work in “Task” was also deserved and anticipated, as was the farewell best variety show Emmy win for “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” Less expected was Allison Janney’s win for best supporting actress for “The Diplomat,” although Janney also has eight Emmys, so how much of a shock could that truly be?
The 2026 Emmys were also light on political statements, aside from “The Traitors” host Alan Cumming urging the audience to check their voter registration status during his acceptance speech marking that show’s best reality series win, and Sally Field railing against arts censorship while claiming her gold statue for her work in “Remarkably Bright Creatures.”
But the show was at its best when it leaned into its heart, whether by way of thoughtfully celebrating Michael J. Fox‘s legacy via the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award or memorializing the stars we lost over the last year. Reba McEntire and Field’s dedication to Dolly Parton was lovely, albeit light on the TV memories. Macaulay Culkin and “Schitt’s Creek” stars Dan Levy and Annie Murphy recalled Catherine O’Hara’s warmth and humor, leaving us all wanting to call our moms, as Culkin urged the audience to do.
A James Burrows and Rob Reiner tribute by Jamie Lee Curtis ended with tears for her lost friends Rob and his wife, Michele. These personal testimonials reminded us of TV’s ability to build relationships, however vicarious, between viewers and performers, and how their loss can feel real to the millions who felt as if we knew them even if we never met.
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Others were less fulfilling. Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith and Cheryl Ladd marked the 50th anniversary of “Charlie’s Angels” by . . . showing up. A curt “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” reunion featuring David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar failed to mention recently lost castmates Anthony Head, Nicholas Brendon and Michelle Trachtenberg by name. All Gellar said was, “It has been a tough two years for our beloved cast and crew, and we feel very lucky to have known and worked with such amazing people.” It’s not as if they were short on time; the 2026 telecast ended five minutes early, and only because “Brothers” stars Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson stalled to reduce the 10-minute gap.
Every few years, someone revives the case for a host-free Emmys, citing the times Fox pulled that off in 2003 and 2019 and the fact that few of us noticed the difference. It’s tough to say whether the 2026 Emmys strengthen the plaintiff’s case or the defense. But the issue isn’t whether the Emmys need a host, but whether the Television Academy will learn from this year’s mistake. To them, Hargitay was, prima facie, the least challenging choice amid polarizing comedians and a shrinking roster of late-night hosts. Now that we’ve confirmed that a somewhat edgier choice is better than a well-intentioned embarrassment, we should file away this memory and never speak of it again.
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