Updated September 8, 2026. The short answer is that the first weekend of the 78th Emmy Awards has already settled 102 categories — 49 on September 5 and 53 on September 6 — while the September 14 televised ceremony contains 19 categories whose winners have not yet been announced. The official night-by-night split appears in the Television Academy category schedule.
This clears up a common source of confusion: a program can truthfully say it has “already won an Emmy” while still being nominated for a major award on September 14. The trophies handed out during the first two nights are final for those categories; what remains open are different categories assigned to the main telecast.
The Emmy 2026 map before the main ceremony
| Stage | Date | Categories | Status on Sept. 8 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Night one | Sept. 5, 2026 | 49 | Winners already announced |
| Night two | Sept. 6, 2026 | 53 | Winners already announced |
| Main telecast | Sept. 14, 2026 | 19 | Winners not yet announced |
The Television Academy confirmed the night-one winners and did the same for night two. The edited broadcast of those two ceremonies, scheduled for September 12 on FXX, is a program built from awards that have already been presented; it is not a new round of results.
Which categories moved out of the main telecast and are already decided
In July, the Television Academy said several categories that viewers might associate with the main ceremony would move to the previous weekend. The stated reason was to fit the September 14 show into a three-hour broadcast. The official announcement of the moved categories identifies five races.
| Moved category | 2026 winner | Program | Night |
|---|---|---|---|
| Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | Writing team | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | Sept. 5 |
| Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | David Harbour | DTF St. Louis | Sept. 6 |
| Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Linda Cardellini | DTF St. Louis | Sept. 6 |
| Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Steven Conrad | DTF St. Louis | Sept. 6 |
| Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie | Steven Conrad | DTF St. Louis | Sept. 6 |
DTF St. Louis is the clearest example of why current totals are only partial: the series has already won major categories on Sunday, but Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series remains one of the 19 categories scheduled for September 14. Likewise, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert has already won writing for a variety series, while Outstanding Variety Series is still on the main-ceremony list.
What else was already awarded on September 5 and 6
The 102 categories from the first two nights go far beyond those five moved races. Saturday focused largely on reality, variety and nonfiction, with awards for directing, hosting, documentary work, game shows, variety specials, short-form programming and many technical crafts. Sunday shifted toward scripted programming, animation and production categories, including all four guest-acting awards, television movie, animated program, casting, cinematography, costumes, makeup, editing, sound, visual effects and voice-over performance.
Among the higher-profile results, the Television Academy’s night-two recap lists David Harbour and Linda Cardellini as supporting winners for DTF St. Louis, Steven Conrad for writing and directing, Ernest Harden Jr. as drama guest actor for The Pitt, Shailene Woodley as drama guest actress for Paradise, Betty Gilpin as comedy guest actress for Widow’s Bay, and Rob Reiner, posthumously, as comedy guest actor for The Bear.
For any specific category — including the dozens of craft awards — the safest reference is the official nominees and winners database, which labels each entry as “Winner” or “Nominee” and helps prevent a partial tally from being mistaken for the final scoreboard.
The 19 categories still to be announced on September 14
| Group | Main-telecast categories |
|---|---|
| Comedy | Outstanding Comedy Series; Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series; Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series; Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series; Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series; Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series |
| Drama | Outstanding Drama Series; Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series; Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series; Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series; Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series; Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series |
| Limited/anthology | Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series; Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie; Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie |
| Other | Outstanding Reality Competition Program; Outstanding Variety Series |
That is the complete list on page three of the official categories-by-night document. In practical terms, categories such as television movie, guest acting, limited-series supporting performances, and limited-series writing and directing are no longer pending for September 14, even if viewers may have associated some of them with the main ceremony in previous years.
“Decided on September 14” means announced, not voted on that day
There is an important technical distinction. The Television Academy calendar shows that final-round voting ended on August 26. So the ballots for the 19 main categories are already closed; what remains for September 14 is the public reveal of the winners and presentation of the awards during the telecast.
That is why headlines about “who is leading the Emmys” before September 14 should be read as partial tallies of categories already announced. They do not represent the final outcome of the series, lead-acting and other races that will only be revealed during the main ceremony.
How to read the results without mixing the stages
- If a category appears on the September 5 or September 6 lists, its winner has already been announced.
- If it appears on the September 14 list, there is no public winner as of September 8.
- A program can accumulate Emmys during the first weekend and still compete in the main telecast.
- The edited September 12 broadcast of the first two nights does not reopen any category.
- For totals by program or platform, wait until the main ceremony before calling any number a “final result.”
The main 78th Emmy Awards telecast is scheduled for September 14. The official viewing page lists an 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT start, live on NBC and Peacock.
