Mariska Hargitay Will Host the Emmys. The Last Woman to Do It Was 15 Years Ago.
Mariska Hargitay will host the 78th Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, the Television Academy and NBC confirmed this week - the first woman to emcee the ceremony since Jane Lynch in 2011.
The broadcast airs live from the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live, on NBC and Peacock, at 8 p.m. ET. NBC's choice doubles as a network anniversary move: 2026 marks NBC's 100th year, and Hargitay is a 27-season fixture of its air through "Law & Order: SVU," now the longest-running primetime live-action drama in American television history. "Mariska has earned her place among television's icons," said Jen Neal, NBC and Peacock's executive vice president of live events and specials, in a statement tying the hosting pick directly to the anniversary framing.
Hargitay's own statement leaned toward the job's ceremonial weight rather than comedy. "Bringing important stories into the light has been the heartbeat of my career," she said. "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." It's a notable shift in format: Deadline noted this is the first Emmys since Angela Lansbury's 1993 broadcast not emceed by a comedian, comedy actor, or reality-TV personality.
The timing stacks up in Hargitay's favor beyond the SVU run. She wrapped her Broadway debut, the solo show "Every Brilliant Thing" at the Hudson Theatre, on July 5 - days before the hosting news broke. Her documentary "My Mom Jayne," which traces the life of her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield, premiered at Cannes and is submitted for Emmy consideration this year in the documentary special category. She's also a director on SVU itself, which returns for a 28th season this fall and will cross its 600th episode.
Awards-season logistics move fast from here. The Television Academy announced 78th Emmy nominations Wednesday, streamed live on Emmys.com, with presenters Jeff Hiller and Liza Colón-Zayas reading the list. The two Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies - covering below-the-line and technical categories - are set for Sept. 5-6, ahead of Hargitay's primetime broadcast. Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay of Jesse Collins Entertainment are producing the telecast for a fourth consecutive year.
Hargitay has stood on this stage before, just not as host: she won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Emmy in 2006 for SVU, was nominated in that category eight consecutive years through 2011, and picked up a separate News and Documentary Emmy in 2017 as a producer on "I Am Evidence." What she hasn't done is run the room. That comes Sept. 14.
