Emmys 2026: All the major moments from television’s night of nights as they happen

After an action-packed two hours, the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards are officially finished – but that doesn’t mean the excitement has come to an end.

While staff clear the plates and pack up the red carpet at the Peacock Theatre, TV’s hottest stars will be racing back to their hotel rooms for a quick outfit change before hitting one of a number of exclusive Emmys after parties.

Luckily for you, we’ll have the best after party looks and behind-the-scenes moments you missed from the Emmys in one place over in the lifestyle section.

And if you missed the ceremony itself, don’t fret; here’s a roundup of the biggest moments.

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All the best celebrity fashion looks and behind-the-scenes snaps from the 78th Emmy Awards after party

Gold, black and red were the most popular shades on the red carpet, but Zendaya stole the show in silver when she arrived solo. Tom Holland snuck in later.

Mariska Hargitay started her night scolding red carpet photographers for mispronouncing her name, then kicked off her hosting duties with a cheeky dig at Nicole Kidman.

Notable winners included:

• Jean Smart, who won her fifth Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series Emmy in five consecutive years.
• Sally Field, who made history at 79 as the oldest winner of Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series for Remarkably Bright Creatures.
• Matthew Rhys, who became the first male to win two lead actor categories in the same year with his Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series win for Widow’s Bay and Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series for The Beast in Me.

Taylor Swift managed to be in two places at once, appearing at the Emmys in a pre-recorded skit while she watched a Chiefs game with Tom Cruise in the real world at the exact same time.

Michael J. Fox was honoured with Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, and Dolly Parton, Rob Reiner and Catherine O’Hara were remembered with special tributes.

And that wraps up our live coverage of the 2026 Emmys – thanks for following along!

And just like that, all of the 2026 Emmy Awards have been handed out!

Vince Gilligan won Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series for Pluribus, DTF St. Louis claimed the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series gong, and The Pitt snagged the coveted Outstanding Drama Series award.

Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey presented the final award of the night, Outstanding Comedy Series, to Widow’s Bay.

But not before promoting their new Apple TV+ series Brothers with a few cheeky jokes about their parents’ sex lives and the rumours that they’re actually, secretly brothers.

Interesting way to end the night, but we’ll take it!

There have been so many profound losses this year and Jaime Lee Curtis took to the stage to remember filmmaker Rob Reiner.

Reiner and his wife Michele Singer Reiner were tragically murdered in December 2025.

“We lost our beloved meathead, Rob Reiner,” Curtis said on stage.

“Last week, Robby won an Emmy for his work on The Bear and now he holds the record for longest gap between Emmys, which was previously held by his father Carl Reiner.

“He was generous and funny and kind, and we miss Rob and Michelle.”

Catherine O’Hara has been remembered by a few of her on-screen children in a moving tribute to the late star.

Macaulay Culkin, who played her son in Home Alone, recalled how she was always there for him and urged the A-list audience to call their own mothers.

Annie Murphy, from Schitt’s Creek, spoke of the moment she was passed a note from a stranger on a plane shortly after O’Hara’s death saying how much they missed her on screen too.

Dan Levy, also from Schitt’s Creek, remembered O’Hara’s razor sharp sense of humour and how their best moments working together were always when he said “yes” to her wildest ideas.

“Always say yes to any opportunity to revel in the presence of greatness,” he said.

The tribute then transitioned into an in memoriam segment for all the industry figured who have passed this year, from James Van Der Beek, to Anthony Head, Eric Dane, Sam Neill, and many more.

It was accompanied by a touching performance of Bridge Over Troubled Water by Noah Kahan.

Zendaya’s jaw-dropping arrival on the red carpet certainly made heads turn. But fans were all left wondering one thing: Where was hubby Tom Holland?

Turns out our Spidey-senses were right. He was there the entire time (and totally letting his wife shine).

Holland skipped the red carpet and made a sneaky entrance into the theatre to be right by Zendaya’s side.

The pair were seated together inside the theatre as presenter Marcello Hernandez joked: “I would like to invite you and Spider-Man to have dinner at my house”.

Same, Hernandez same.

Dolly Parton has been remembered with a touching tribute at the Emmys led by actress Sally Field, who opened the segment with a moving speech.

“If there are truly angels on earth, then we just lost one: Dolly Parton,” Field began.

She reminisced on their time working on Steel Magnolias together, saying: “I adored her from day one. She was genuine, humble, supportive and blisteringly funny.

“I couldn’t see then what a real giant Dolly was, not just as an artist but a human.”

Field spoke of Parton’s incredible charitable and humanitarian work before country star Reba McEntire sang a moving rendition of Parton’s 1983 track Appalachian Memories.

With about an hour left of the awards ceremony, here’s a list of the latest winners.

Sally Field, 79, made history as the oldest winner of Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series for Remarkably Bright Creatures, then Matthew Rhys became the first male to win two lead actor categories in the same year with his Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series win for Widow’s Bay.

Katie Dippold won Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series for Widow’s Bay, and Saul Metzstein took out Outstanding Director For A Drama Series for Slow Horses.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert cast got a standing ovation for winning Outstanding Scripted Variety Series, and Hiro Murai snagged Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series for Widow’s Bay.

And in a touching moment, Hollywood legend Michael J. Fox was honoured with the 2026 Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, recognising his outstanding research and contribution towards Parkinson’s disease.

Fox makes history as the award’s sixth ever recipient.

The 65-year-old was joined by his wife Tracy Pollan and their four children in the couple’s first Emmy appearance in 13 years.

“Thank you everyone involved in the academy for this amazing honour,” said Fox on stage.

Over his legendary career, Fox has won five Emmy awards from an outstanding 19 nominations.

The Family Ties star was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 1991, and  returned to acting in January this year for Season 3 of Shrinking.

Taking to the stage with a white goatee, Stephen Colbert earned his second Emmys standing ovation.

This time the crowd stood up and applauded him as he accepted his award for Best Variety Series for the final season of CBS The Late Show.

He hailed late-night shows as an “incubator” for rising talent and encouraged people in the audience to hire his team of writers.

Colbert was given a standing ovation at the 2025 Emmy Awards after it was announced that CBS had cancelled his long-running talk show.

While Swifties were hoping for a red carpet appearance from newlyweds Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, the pair were notably absent from the celebrations. They better have a good reason!

The pop superstar was instead seen attending her hubby’s NFL season opener held on the same day, sitting next to none other than Tom Cruise at the Broncos-Chiefs football game.

Swift’s concert film, Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour was up for five nominations, ultimately losing out to the Muppet Show for the Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) award.

Look, her category wasn’t being televised so was there really a reason for her to be there?

While she wasn’t there in person she did make a surprise pre-recorded appearance during a Law & Order: SVU spoof sketch with host Mariska Hargitay. We’ll take that any day!