Emmy Awards breaks tradition with big change for 2026

The Television Academy has locked in the 2026 date for the Emmy Awards: September 14, 2026. However, in a big break from tradition, the 2026 date is a Monday, a marked difference for the annual award show which has traditionally taken place on a Sunday, following in the footsteps of other big ceremonies such as the Oscars, Golden Globes, and BAFTA.

As an entertainment correspondent who has covered the Emmys for over a decade, the new date will bring challenges for studios, talent, and press, however, the move has been made for NBCUniversal to avoid a conflict with their highly rated Sunday Night Football. Instead, the ceremony will clash with ABC's Monday Night Football. 

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The 2026 Emmys will once again be held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, and will air live on NBC and stream live on Peacock at 8pm ET/5pm PT.

It's a little early to be predicting the 2026 winners, although two big 2025 winners will be hoping to repeat their success. Taking home the Emmy for Outstanding Drama, The Pitt won five awards, including Outstanding Supporting Actress for Katherine LaNasa and Outstanding Lead Actor for Noah Wyle. "What a dream this has been," said Noah, who had been nominated five times previously for ER but never won. The Pitt's second season is expected to air in January 2026, ensuring it will be eligible for the next round of Emmys voting.

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Seth Rogen's The Studio will also be hoping for more awards, although its second season has not yet gone into production after being renewed in May 2025. The Studio emerged as the Emmys' biggest winner overall, garnering four major prizes and 13 overall, including creative arts wins. 

It took home Outstanding Comedy Series and Lead Actor in a Comedy for Seth, who himself won all four trophies, as a producer, director, star and writer on the hit Apple TV+ show. "I’m legitimately embarrassed how happy this makes me," joked the Canadian star on accepting his fourth Emmy.

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Severance took home Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama (Britt Lower) and Supporting Actor in a Drama (Tramell Tillman), while Hacks took home both Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy (Jean Smart, her fourth for the role) and Supporting Actress (Hannah Einbinder, her first). Other winners include Somebody Somewhere's Jeff Hiller for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy, and The Traitors for Reality Competition Program.

One show that will not be returning for more awards success, however, will be the hit Netflix limited series Adolescence, which won six major awards, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series.

Netflix, however, may hope to continue its award-winning streak thanks to the return of Stranger Things, which airs its fifth and final season this December, while a new Game of Thrones spin-off, A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, will be keen to repeat the success of the original.

Season two of The Night Manager will also be on screens by the time voting comes around, and hopefully, the hype will live up to the reality, while HBO may pivot from The Pitt and put more focus on Task, which features Mark Ruffalo's best performance in years.

Another 2026 wildcard will be Apple TV+'s new sci-fi series Pluribus, which has been a critical smash, with a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes so far.