Emmy Awards 2026 Night 1: From The Traitors To Mariska Hargitay, Check FULL List Of Winners

The 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards have officially begun, with the first of two Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies taking place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The second ceremony will be held on Sunday (September 6), before the awards move to the televised Primetime Emmys on September 14 on NBC and Peacock.

Several popular shows and specials emerged as major winners on the first night. The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny, The Traitors and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert were among the notable names to take home multiple awards.

Big winners

The Super Bowl LX Halftime Show, starring Bad Bunny, had a particularly strong night. It won awards across several categories, including variety special, directing, lighting design, music direction, sound mixing, choreography and technical direction.

Meanwhile, The Traitors also had an impressive run, picking up wins for hosting, directing, picture editing, cinematography and production design.

The first night of the Creative Arts Emmys focused primarily on unscripted and variety programming. The ceremony recognised achievements across documentaries, reality and game shows, variety specials and short-form series.

Night 1 featured a total of 49 categories covering unscripted, variety and other programming. The second night will focus on scripted programmes along with several technical and artistic categories.

Here's the list of winners:

BEST DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SERIES - Mr. Scorsese

BEST DOCUMENTARY OR NONFICTION SPECIAL - My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay

BEST HOSTED NONFICTION SERIES OR SPECIAL - Tucci in Italy

EXCEPTIONAL MERIT IN DOCUMENTARY FILMMAKING - The Librarians

BEST STRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM - Antiques Roadshow

BEST UNSTRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM - Love on the Spectrum

BEST GAME SHOW - Jeopardy

BEST VARIETY SPECIAL (LIVE) - The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny

BEST VARIETY SPECIAL (PRE-RECORDED) - The Muppet Show

BEST SHORT FORM COMEDY, DRAMA OR VARIETY SERIES - Colbert Before Air

BEST SHORT FORM NONFICTION OR REALITY SERIES - Inside the Pitt

BEST EMERGING MEDIA PROGRAM - Uncanny Alley: A New Day

BEST INNOVATION IN EMERGING MEDIA PROGRAMMING - Crafting Crimes

BEST HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM - Alan Cumming, The Traitors

BEST GAME SHOW HOST - Jimmy Kimmel, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire

BEST NARRATOR - Octavia Spencer, Lost Women of Alaska

BEST PERFORMER IN A SHORT FORM COMEDY OR DRAMA SERIES - Desi Lydic, “The Daily Show: Desi Lydic Foxsplains”

BEST CASTING FOR A REALITY PROGRAM - Love on the Spectrum

BEST CHOREOGRAPHY FOR VARIETY OR REALITY PROGRAMMING - The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM - Ocean With David Attenborough

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY FOR A REALITY PROGRAM - The Traitors

BEST COMMERCIAL - “I’m Not Remarkable” — Apple

BEST COSTUMES FOR VARIETY, NONFICTION OR REALITY PROGRAMMING - The Masked Singer and The Traitors

BEST DIRECTING FOR A DOCUMENTARY/NONFICTION PROGRAM - My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay

BEST DIRECTING FOR A REALITY PROGRAM - The Traitors

BEST DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES - The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

BEST DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL - The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny

BEST HAIRSTYLING FOR A VARIETY, NONFICTION, OR REALITY PROGRAM - RuPaul’s Drag Race

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN/LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A SERIES - The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

BEST LIGHTING DESIGN/LIGHTING DIRECTION FOR A SPECIAL - The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny

BEST MAKEUP FOR A VARIETY, NONFICTION OR REALITY PROGRAM - Saturday Night Live

BEST MUSIC COMPOSITION FOR A DOCUMENTARY/NONFICTION OR REALITY PROGRAM (ORIGINAL DRAMATIC SCORE) - John Candy: I Like Me

BEST MUSIC DIRECTION - The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny

BEST PICTURE EDITING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM - Sean Combs: The Reckoning

BEST PICTURE EDITING FOR A STRUCTURED REALITY OR COMPETITION PROGRAM - The Traitors

BEST PICTURE EDITING FOR AN UNSTRUCTURED REALITY PROGRAM - Love on the Spectrum

BEST PICTURE EDITING FOR VARIETY PROGRAMMING - The Muppet Show

BEST PICTURE EDITING FOR VARIETY PROGRAMMING (SEGMENT) - The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A VARIETY OR REALITY SERIES - The Traitors

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL - The Muppet Show

BEST SOUND EDITING FOR A NONFICTION OR REALITY PROGRAM - Ocean With David Attenborough

BEST SOUND MIXING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM - Billy Joel: And So It Goes

BEST SOUND MIXING FOR A REALITY PROGRAM - Welcome to Wrexham

BEST SOUND MIXING FOR A VARIETY SERIES OR SPECIAL - The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny

BEST TECHNICAL DIRECTION AND CAMERAWORK FOR A SERIES - The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

BEST TECHNICAL DIRECTION AND CAMERAWORK FOR A SPECIAL - The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny

BEST WRITING FOR A NONFICTION PROGRAM - The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize

BEST WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES - The Late Show With Stephen Colbert and The Muppet Show

Published on: Sunday, September 06, 2026, 10:48 AM IST