Best and Worst Moments From The 78th Emmy Awards

Jean Smart and Matthew Rhys made history, Reba McEntire honored Dolly Parton, and the ‘Buffy’ cast used their reunion to take a shot at Hulu.

The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards had the Peacock Theater laughing, crying and occasionally gasping across three hours Monday night, and for once the telecast earned every one of those reactions rather than manufacturing them.

Mariska Hargitay, the first woman to host the ceremony in 15 years, set a tone the rest of the night managed to keep pace with. She opened cold with a pre-taped musical number, spoofed the most famous piece of movie-theater advertising in existence with its star sitting in the audience, and threaded a surprise Taylor Swift cameo into a sketch built around her own show. Amy Poehler, following her onstage, offered the only assessment that mattered: “She crushed it.”

What followed delivered on both ends of the emotional spectrum. Jean Smart and Matthew Rhys each set records that had stood since the Emmys began, and both used their speeches to gently mock the room for having to stand up so many times.

Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz turned a Buffy the Vampire Slayer anniversary into a live-on-air shot at the network that killed their reboot six months ago. Reba McEntire honored Dolly Parton, the surviving Charlie’s Angels honored Farrah Fawcett.

Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy, and Dan Levy, who all played Catherine O’Hara’s children, introduced an In Memoriam segment that had been quietly reworked hours earlier to include Bob Mackie, who died Monday morning.

Here are the moments that mattered.

Hargitay Spoofs Nicole Kidman’s AMC Ad

Hargitay opened by staking television’s claim on a piece of cinema’s most beloved advertising. In her monologue, she delivered a full spoof of Kidman’s AMC Theatres spot, complete with the cadence: “No matter how we watch, and even though we’re worlds apart, we’re all still holding a bit of that communal light. And at the end of the day, we come to TV for magic, to laugh, to cry, to care, because we need that, all of us.”

She had set it up by telling the room she’d received two pieces of advice about attempting it. “Number one, don’t do it,” she said. “And number two, whatever you do, don’t go for sincerity. I clearly ignored the first, so please join me as I ignore the second.” Kidman, in the audience, responded with mock outrage as Hargitay tried to swipe her script. Amy Poehler, taking the stage immediately after, offered the verdict: “She crushed it.”

Hargitay had already opened the telecast with a pre-taped bit alongside New York Knicks guard Jalen Brunson, singing a version of Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ‘n’ Roll” retitled “I Love TV Screens” as she made her way from New York to Los Angeles.

Taylor Swift Turns Up in an SVU Investigation

Taylor Swift wasn’t in the building, but she made the night’s biggest surprise appearance anyway, in a pre-taped sketch with Hargitay and her Law & Order: Special Victims Unit co-stars.

“The mayor’s office is breathing down my neck, demanding an answer to the big question: Will Taylor Swift be at the Emmys?” Hargitay’s Olivia Benson says at the top of the segment. “Now, in order to crack a Swiftie case, you’ve got to think like a Swiftie, because the Swifties think that everything is a clue to what she’ll do next.” What follows is Benson working two full crime boards, drawing connections between Swift’s catalog and this year’s nominated series, while Swift plays a rookie in the squad room.

Jean Smart Makes History

Deborah Vance got the last laugh. Smart’s win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series made her the first female performer ever to win television’s top acting honor for every season of a series, taking the trophy for all five seasons of Hacks, which wrapped this spring.

The win also ties her with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman for the most Emmy wins by an actress, at eight. She’d previously won twice as a guest on Frasier and once in supporting for Samantha Who?

Taking the stage, Smart asked all the men to remain standing and the women to sit down, citing Spanx, “shoes that are cutting your toes off,” and the general indignity of being made to stand repeatedly at her age.

Matthew Rhys Makes History Too

Matthew Rhys accepted his second Emmy of the night, for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Widow’s Bay, having already taken the limited series prize for The Beast in Me earlier in the evening. He became the first performer ever to win two lead acting Emmys in a single night, and, with his 2018 drama win for The Americans, the first man to complete the lead acting set across all three genres.

Visibly sheepish about making the room rise twice, he opened: “My apologies to the women who’ve had to stand again.” He then echoed supporting actor winner Stephen Root in crediting Widow’s Bay creator Katie Dippold and what he called her “depraved and twisted mind.”

The Buffy Reunion Takes a Shot at Hulu

Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz reunited onstage to present Lead Actor in a Limited Series, six months after Hulu scrapped its planned Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot. They used the moment to mark the show’s 30th anniversary, and Gellar used it to land a pointed shot at the cancellation.

“Hard to believe it’s been 30 years since Buffy the Vampire Slayer premiered,” Boreanaz began. “A teenage girl chosen by fate to fight vampires and demons, the forces of darkness, and then she falls in love with a vampire with a soul, carrying around a couple hundred years of regret.” When he wondered aloud whether Buffy and Angel would ever get together, Gellar’s retort made the reboot’s fate the punchline.

Gellar also acknowledged that it has been a difficult two years for the show’s cast and crew, an implicit nod to the deaths of Anthony Head, Nicholas Brendon and Michelle Trachtenberg.

Reba McEntire Honors Dolly Parton

One of the night’s most affecting musical moments came when Reba McEntire performed “Appalachian Memories” in tribute to Dolly Parton.

Charlie’s Angels Marks 50 Years

The night’s other reunion brought Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith together for the 50th anniversary of Charlie’s Angels, and to honor the late Farrah Fawcett. In a year light on the reunion segments that have defined recent Emmy telecasts, it and the Buffy pairing were the only two.

Marcello Hernández Invites Half the Room to Dinner

The Saturday Night Live star used his presenting slot, for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, to work the room shamelessly.

“It’s an honor for me to be here. It’s my first time at the Emmys, and I get to present, so I just wanna take this opportunity to say hi to a few people I might not be able to say hi to later,” Hernández said.

“I don’t know what parties I’ve been invited to and I don’t know what parties you have been invited to, so just very quickly I would like to say hello to Harrison Ford.”

The camera found the Shrinking star, nominated in supporting comedy, as Hernández extended a dinner invitation and kept going, Zendaya included. The award itself went to Hiro Murai for Widow’s Bay, who became the first Asian director to win the category.

Noah Kahan Performs During an Emotional In Memoriam

Macaulay Culkin, Annie Murphy and Dan Levy introduced the In Memoriam segment with a tribute to Catherine O’Hara, who died unexpectedly in January and who played all three of their onscreen mothers across Home Alone and Schitt’s Creek. Levy wore a black Celine rose brooch on the carpet in her honor.

Noah Kahan then performed Simon & Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” The 29-year-old is in the middle of a career year, having landed his first Billboard 200 No. 1 last month with The Great Divide, which posted the third-biggest album week of 2026.

The segment also included a late addition: Bob Mackie, the legendary costume designer who died Monday morning at 87, hours before the ceremony began.

The 78th Emmy Awards, hosted by Mariska Hargitay, aired live from the Peacock Theater on Monday, September 14, on NBC and Peacock.

Joanthan P. Moustakas

Jonathan P. Moustakas founded The Cinema Group in 2020 during the challenges of the pandemic, after losing the vital ability to find community in theaters and escape through the captivating magic of cinema. Feeling profoundly cut off from the vibrant film community he cherished, he sought to create a welcoming home for dedicated cinema fans while providing engaging, daily curated content that resonates with their passions. Years later, The Cinema Group has blossomed from a small collective of loyal fans into a thriving brand that reaches millions of audiences every month across a diverse array of platforms and mediums.

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