Your Guide to the 2026 Emmy Awards, Including How to Watch

It’s (almost) officially fall, which means it’s that time of year when the best of TV (both the traditional variety and streaming series) will be honored with fancy gold trophies and a fancy red carpet event. Yep, I’m talking about the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards—and if you want to make sure you actually watch the show when it happens (instead of just, you know, seeing TikToks about it the next morning), I’ve got you covered.Ahead, a quick, handy guide to everything you need to know about when to watch the 2026 Emmys live. Let’s kick things off with...TV’s most iconic night will be held at L.A.’s Peacock Theater, airing Monday, September 14 at 8 p.m. ET.How can I watch the 2026 Emmys? This year’s show will be airing live on NBC and streaming on Peacock in the U.S. Just a heads-up: You’ll need a Peacock Premium or Premium Plus plan to access the stream live and on demand. Peacock Select subscribers will not have the option to stream live, but they will have access to on-demand the day after the special airs.WATCH ON PEACOCKWho is nominated?Among this year’s nominees, The Pitt is leading the pack with 25 nods, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series.Other top nominated shows include Hacks (which scored 24 nods) as well as Widow’s Bay (which earned 19) and Pluribus (which scooped up 18). Here’s the full list.Who is the emcee for the show?Law & Order: Special Victims Unit legend Mariska Hargitay is hosting the 2026 ceremony, marking her first-ever awards show hosting gig (and the first time a woman has hosted the Primetime Emmys solo since Jane Lynch did so in 2011).Mariska herself has won three Emmys, two of which she won ahead of the main televised Primetime Emmy Awards for her documentary My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay.Who are the presenters? This year’s presenters include lots of familiar faces, including *takes deep breath*...Odessa A’zion, Macaulay Culkin, Alan Cumming, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jon Hamm, Marcello Hernández, Dan Levy, Annie Murphy, Niecy Nash-Betts, Keke Palmer, Amy Poehler, Florence Pugh, Rachel Senott, and Zendaya, among many others. You can check out the full list here.Is there a pre-show? Yep! Live From E! will be airing the Emmys red carpet live on Monday, September 14, kicking off at 6 p.m. ET with hosts Erin Lim Rhodes with Lance Bass and Ciara Miller.Aaaaand that’s pretty much all we know for now! FWIW, Cosmo will be covering every single second of this year’s awards show, so come back here for all the happenings.