By Randall Elvin · Entertainment Editor
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards were filled with record-breaking moments and emotional tributes. In case you missed it, the biggest moments are highlighted below.
As far as records go, Jean Smart was one of the biggest stories of the night as she made television history. She plays Deborah Vance in the hit show “Hacks,” in which she secured her fifth Emmy for the role. She won the award for every season of “Hacks,” making her the first performer to win the acting award for every season of a show’s run.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman, two television legends, need to watch out, as their records might be stolen. Smart won her eighth career Emmy, tying her with Louis-Dreyfus and Leachman for the most acting Emmy wins in history. For fans of “Seinfeld” and “Veep,” seeing Smart enter the same record books as Louis-Dreyfus makes the achievement even more impressive.
Smart was not the only actor making history.
Matthew Rhys had one of the strangest and most impressive nights of the ceremony. Rhys became the first performer to win two lead acting Emmys at the same ceremony. He won lead actor in a comedy series for “Widow’s Bay” and then won lead actor in a limited or anthology series for “The Beast in Me.”
“The Pitt” also solidified its dominance. Noah Wyle won lead actor in a drama series for the second consecutive year, while the show won outstanding drama series. Rhea Seehorn won lead actress in a drama series for “Pluribus,” earning her first Emmy.
But the Emmys were not only about trophies.
Michael J. Fox received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. Fox was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease at 29, went public with his diagnosis in 1998 and spent decades advocating for and raising funds for Parkinson’s disease research. He later founded the Michael J. Fox Foundation, which became one of the major organizations funding Parkinson’s research. For those efforts, he received a standing ovation before and after his speech, creating one of the most emotional moments of the night.
But the main tribute was to the legend and queen herself: Dolly Parton. The Emmys were among the first major award ceremonies to honor her after her death Aug. 25 at age 80. Country and television star Reba McEntire performed a tribute to Parton, while Sally Field, who starred alongside Parton in “Steel Magnolias,” also participated. McEntire performed Parton’s “Appalachian Memories,” which brought many to tears.
The Emmys had both happy and sad moments for the audience to experience. However, audience data seems to suggest that not nearly as many people are watching as in the past.
In January 2024, the ceremony reached an all-time low of only 4.3 million viewers. Later that year, the September ceremony improved to approximately 6.9 million viewers. Then, in 2025, the Emmys continued their rebound. The 2025 ceremony’s viewership increased by 10%, drawing approximately 7.59 million people and making it the most-watched Emmys in four years.
However, the 2026 Emmy viewership numbers are not yet available, so we can only wonder whether the ceremony pulled in such a large audience again.
The 2026 Emmys took the approach of looking at moments that are greater than acting awards; they celebrated the people who made real impact. Whether that approach attracted more viewers remains to be seen.
