The 78th Emmy Awards will not begin on September 14. By the time the live NBC and Peacock telecast starts, more than 100 awards will already have been decided.
The first two Emmy nights took place September 5 and 6 at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in Los Angeles, honoring the artists and technical teams behind reality, nonfiction, variety, comedy, drama and limited-series television. The ceremonies are the part of Emmy week long known as the Creative Arts Emmys, even as the Television Academy now presents the season as three nights of one awards event.
The clearest early leader is “Widow’s Bay.” Apple TV’s comedy-horror series won eight Emmys on Sunday, including awards for casting, production design, cinematography and sound. Betty Gilpin also won guest actress in a comedy series, giving the show an acting victory before the major comedy prizes are presented on the final night.
On Saturday, the dominant production was “The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny.” It won seven times, taking every category in which it was nominated that evening. Its awards included Outstanding Variety Special (Live), directing, choreography, music direction, sound mixing, lighting and technical direction/camerawork.
“The Traitors” earned six Emmys and Alan Cumming won his third consecutive award as host of a reality or reality competition program. “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” collected five awards in its final season, while “The Muppet Show” won four and “Love on the Spectrum” took three.
One of the weekend’s most personal stories belonged to Mariska Hargitay. She won two Emmys for the HBO documentary “My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay,” about her mother, Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay won for directing a documentary/nonfiction program and for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special. Eight days later, she will return to the same stage to host the main Emmy telecast.
Sunday’s acting awards gave several performers their own moment before the biggest categories. David Harbour and Linda Cardellini won supporting actor and actress in a limited or anthology series or movie for “DTF St. Louis.” Ernest Harden Jr. won guest actor in a drama for “The Pitt,” Shailene Woodley won guest actress in a drama for “Paradise,” and Betty Gilpin won for “Widow’s Bay.” Rob Reiner was honored posthumously as guest actor in a comedy for “The Bear.”
The program totals also show how spread out the year remains. “DTF St. Louis” won six, “Spider-Noir” five, and both “The Pitt” and “Pluribus” four. “Remarkably Bright Creatures” won Outstanding Movie, while “South Park” took Outstanding Animated Program.
At the company level, Apple TV has the strongest early total. Variety counted 20 Emmys for Apple TV across the first two nights, ahead of HBO Max with 16, Netflix with 13 and Amazon Prime Video, including MGM+, with 10.
For viewers who missed the weekend ceremonies, an edited program will air September 12 on FXX at 8 p.m. ET/PT and stream on Hulu the next day. The main 78th Emmy Awards telecast follows September 14 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.
The final night will settle the headline categories. But the first weekend has already established a broader story: the Emmys are not only about the faces accepting awards in prime time. The year’s television favorites are being built — and now rewarded — across casting rooms, editing bays, sound stages, costume departments and production crews long before the biggest trophies reach the live broadcast.