The 78th Annual Emmy Awards presented their final honors on Sept. 14, after kicking off with the creative arts, guest acting, reality and variety special categories on Sept. 5 and 6. The Sept. 14 ceremony took place at the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live in Los Angeles, hosted by Mariska Hargitay. The awards recognized excellence in television and emerging media released between June 1, 2025, and May 31, 2026. Many Broadway alumni had been nominated this year, four took home trophies.
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Jean Smart won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her turn as Deborah Vance in the final season of HBO Max’s “Hacks.” This was Smart’s eighth career Emmy win and her fifth win for “Hacks.” Smart, who starred in 2025’s “Call Me Izzy,” beat out Broadway alums Elle Fanning and Ayo Edebiri. Earlier in her career, Smart earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance in 2001’s “The Man Who Came to Dinner.”
Allison Janney triumphed in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as President Grace Penn in Netflix’s “The Diplomat.” This was her eighth Emmy win, having previously won for “The West Wing and “Mom” and “Masters of Sex.” Janney is about to return to Broadway in this fall’s revival of “Other Desert Cities.” She previously starred on Broadway in the 2017 revival of “Six Degrees of Separation,” “9 to 5” (for which she earned a Tony nomination), the 1997 revival of “A View From the Bridge” (for which she earned her first Tony nod) and the 1996 revival of “Present Laughter.”
In the categories for anthology or limited series or movies, actors Sally Field and David Harbour took home trophies. Field, who last appeared on Broadway in the 2017 revival of “The Glass Menagerie,” won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for the Netflix film “Remarkably Bright Creatures.” It was her fifth Emmy win. Harbour won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for HBO’s “DTF St. Louis.” This marked his first acting Emmy win. Harbour last bowed on Broadway in the 2012 revival of “Glengarry Glen Ross.” His other credits include the 2010 revival of “The Merchant of Venice,” “The Coast of Utopia” and the 2005 revival of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?,” the latter for which Harbour garnered a Tony nomination.
See the full list of winners here.
Ruthie Fierberg
Ruthie Fierberg
