# 78th Emmy Awards kick off Saturday in downtown Los Angeles with Creative Arts ceremony *The three-day Emmy celebration begins Saturday at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE, presenting 49 awards in reality, nonfiction and technical categories before the main primetime broadcast on Sept. 14.* **Section:** Entertainment **Tags:** Entertainment, Industry, Emmys-2026, Downtown-la, Television-awards **Reading time:** 3 min Tonight marks the opening of the 78th Emmy Awards weekend, with the Creative Arts ceremony launching at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE. The two-night event will hand out awards in 49 categories covering reality, nonfiction, variety and technical achievements, and will be edited into a single broadcast that airs at 8 p.m. on FXX Saturday and streams on Hulu the following day. The lineup of nominees mirrors last year’s field, featuring long-running game shows such as “Jeopardy!”, which has won six straight times and 22 times overall, alongside “Celebrity Family Feud,” “The Price is Right,” “Wheel of Fortune” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.” New faces include Martin Short for “Match Game” and Ariana Madix for “Love Island USA,” while veteran hosts Steve Harvey and Alan Cumming return in their respective categories. ## Saturday’s Creative Arts ceremony: categories, nominees and first-night highlights The Saturday ceremony focuses on reality, nonfiction and variety programming as well as technical crafts such as picture editing, sound mixing and lighting. According to [MyNewsLA](https://mynewsla.com/hollywood/2026/09/05/three-days-of-emmy-awards-to-begin-saturday-in-downtown-la/), 49 distinct categories will be presented, making this the most extensive slate of awards for behind-the-scenes work in a single night. Game-show honors feature a crowded field: “Jeopardy!” seeks to extend its dominance, while “Celebrity Family Feud,” “The Price is Right,” “Wheel of Fortune” and “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” aim to dethrone the veteran. In the outstanding game-show host category, Martin Short joins nominees Jimmy Kimmel, Steve Harvey, Ken Jennings and Colin Jost, with former winner Jimmy Kimmel sharing a 1999 win with Ben Stein. The reality-competition host slot adds newcomer Ariana Madix alongside Alan Cumming, Jeff Probst and Kristen Kish. British naturalist David Attenborough is nominated twice for best narrator, for “A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough” and “Ocean with David Attenborough,” giving him a chance to become the oldest Primetime Emmy winner at 100 years old. The record for oldest winner currently belongs to Norman Lear, who won at 96 in 2019. ## At a Glance - **Venue:** Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE - **Saturday categories:** 49 - **Saturday broadcast:** FXX at 8 p.m., Hulu next day - **Main ceremony date:** Monday, Sept 14, 2026 - **Main ceremony host:** Mariska Hargitay - **Emmys hosted here:** 17 times ## Broadcast plan and rebranding of the Emmy weekend The Creative Arts ceremonies on Saturday, Sept. 5, and Sunday, Sept. 6, will be combined into a single broadcast that airs at 8 p.m. on FXX Saturday and streams on Hulu the next day, while the top-19 categories will be presented at the Peacock Theater on Sept. 14 in a primetime telecast on NBC and streamed live on Peacock. The rebranding of all three ceremonies as the 78th Emmy Awards follows a shift of seven awards from the traditional Primetime ceremony to the earlier Creative Arts nights, a change the Television Academy described as an effort to freshen the format [Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/features/news/awards-news/260717-78th-emmys-categories-by-show). The main ceremony will be hosted by Mariska Hargitay, marking her debut as Emmy host, and will be produced by Jesse Collins Entertainment for NBCUniversal and the Television Academy. The Peacock Theater, formerly known as the Nokia and Microsoft Theaters, has hosted the Emmys 17 times total, underscoring its status as a central venue for the industry’s biggest night [NBC.com](https://www.nbc.com/nbc-insider/2026-emmys-air-date-host-nominees-details). ## Curator's Note Los Angeles again serves as the epicenter of television’s biggest night, drawing industry talent and fans to downtown’s Peacock Theater. The three-day format spreads the spotlight across reality, game-show and technical categories, giving local crews and vendors a boost while reinforcing L.A.’s reputation as the hub for both on-screen talent and behind-the-scenes craftsmanship. --- Curated by VIBES News Desk · Published 2026-09-05 Source: https://www.curationsla.com/vibes/2026-09-05-78th-emmy-awards-kick-off-saturday-in-downtown Cite as: CurationsLA, "78th Emmy Awards kick off Saturday in downtown Los Angeles with Creative Arts ceremony", https://www.curationsla.com/vibes/2026-09-05-78th-emmy-awards-kick-off-saturday-in-downtown (published 2026-09-05). License: CC-BY-SA-4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Structured manifest: https://www.curationsla.com/vibes/2026-09-05-78th-emmy-awards-kick-off-saturday-in-downtown/manifest.json