Actress Mariska Hargitay To Host Emmy Awards 2026 Its My Great Honour

Law & Order star Mariska Hargitay will host the 78th Emmy Awards, which will air on September 14. The actress will also be the first host who's not primarily known for their comedic work in almost two decades. The last time the Emmys had a host who wasn't a comedian or comic actor was in 2008, when the five nominees for best reality host (Tom Bergeron, Heidi Klum, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst and Ryan Seacrest) shared emcee duties.

"Bringing important stories into the light has been the heartbeat of my career," Hargitay said in a statement. "It's my great honour to host the 78th Emmy Awards -- in the 100th birthday year of my beloved NBC and celebrate this extraordinary community of storytellers. 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. 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," added Hargitay, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Hargitay won an Emmy for playing Olivia Benson on SVU in 2006 and has been nominated eight other times. She also won a News and Documentary Emmy in 2019 for producing the doc I Am Evidence; her 2025 HBO documentary My Mom Jayne is eligible for this year's awards.

Nominations for the Emmys will be announced on July 8.