Emmys 2026 Review: Mariska Hargitay's Shaky Stint As Host Kicks Off A Badly Paced Night — Grade It!

We love TV with all our hearts here at TVLine — so if anyone is the target audience for the Emmys, it's us! But we have to admit: Even we found ourselves squirming in our seats at times during this year's ceremony.

Monday night's broadcast on NBC offered the usual winners, acceptance speeches, and showbiz zingers we've come to expect on Emmy night. (We were thrilled to see Apple TV's freshman gem "Widow's Bay" clean up with six wins on the night, including best comedy series.) But it also served up some real head-scratchers, starting with "Law & Order: SVU" star Mariska Hargitay's shaky stint as host. The pace was rushed, the jokes were limp, and more than anything, these Emmys seemed afraid to do what we want them to do: celebrate the very best in TV. Instead, we got cameos from sports stars, movie stars, music stars — hi, Taylor Swift! — and basically anything else to distract from the fact that this is an awards show for TV series. 

We knew going in that Mariska Hargitay was a rather unconventional choice for Emmys host — the job is usually the domain of comedians and talk show hosts — but she's an entertainer, right? She can pull it off! Well, she didn't get off to a great start, launching into a cringe-worthy opening number that paid tribute to TV screens (?) set to Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'n' Roll," complete with dancing TV sets behind her. (We can't be the only ones who flashed back to Rob Lowe's infamous Oscar song-and-dance number with Snow White.) Her later comedic bits fell flat, too, with the notable exception of a "SVU" sketch that brought in Taylor Swift. (But again: This is the Emmys, not the Grammys!) John Mulaney, meanwhile, stole the show with a riotous bit while presenting lead actor in a drama, so let's get him lined up to host next year, please.

But we watch the Emmys to see who wins, right? So it was disappointing to see this year's ceremony rush through the winners at a frantic pace that saw Jean Smart winning her landmark fifth Emmy for "Hacks" in the first half-hour. (Deborah Vance would be furious.) Allison Janney's utter shock at winning for "The Diplomat" was a fun surprise, though, and "Task" winner Tom Pelphrey's heartfelt tribute to his very pregnant fiancée Kaley Cuoco was undeniably adorable. Plus, it was beautiful to see Rhea Seehorn — unjustly denied for years for "Better Call Saul" — finally win an Emmy for her incredible work on "Pluribus." But even then, the Emmy producers dared to play her off?! She's waited years for this! We've waited years for this! 

The ceremony lagged a bit in the middle hour, with a glut of writing, directing, and variety categories that need to be relegated to the earlier, non-broadcast Emmy nights. (With all due respect!) The extended Dolly Parton tribute felt out of place, too, on top of the traditional in memoriam segment, since she was much better known for her music and movies than her TV work. (But maybe the producers just wanted to beat the Grammys to the punch?) This year's reunions were a mixed bag as well: It's a bit annoying that the Emmys took time to mark the 30th anniversary of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" when they barely bothered to acknowledge the show's existence while it was actually airing. (Yes, we're still salty.) 

The show's final hour only gave us four awards in total... which feels pretty meager for an awards show, doesn't it? Instead, we got a zonked-out Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey riffing for what felt like hours before finally presenting best comedy series. We appreciate the Emmys' efforts to keep us entertained for three hours, but so many of those efforts didn't work that we're feeling like we need to rethink this whole thing from the ground up. What does an Emmy ceremony that's truly for TV lovers look like? We have a few ideas: more clips, more comedy, more TV stars, less apologizing for being a celebration of TV. But mostly, we know it doesn't look quite like this.

What'd you think of this year's Emmy ceremony? Grade it in our poll, and then hit the comments to give us your take.