Creative Arts Emmys 2026 Winners: Kimmel, Jeopardy!, The Traitors

The Emmy season began with a format change and a familiar refrain. For the first time, the Creative Arts Emmys split across two nights at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, handing out more than 100 statuettes over the weekend before the main telecast lands on September 14. And as the first batch of winners came in, one message was clear: when it comes to game shows, the Academy likes what it already knows.

Jimmy Kimmel and Jeopardy! Keep Their Crowns

The headline of Night One belonged to late-night stalwart Jimmy Kimmel, who won the Emmy for Host of a Game Show for a second consecutive year. His vehicle this time was ABC’s revival of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, the same franchise that doubles as an Emmy-favorite home for a celebrity-friendly quiz format. Kimmel has spent years turning the show into a comfortable primetime habit, and the Television Academy clearly agrees with the audience on that one.

Right behind him, the quiz institution everyone recognizes — Jeopardy! — collected Outstanding Game Show once again, beating a field that included Celebrity Family Feud, The Price Is Right, Wheel of Fortune and its own ABC sibling Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. With Ken Jennings also nominated in the hosting race, it was a clean night for the franchise’s brand of brainy primetime comfort. For trivia fans, the result was about as shocking as a Daily Double reveal in a runaway game.

The Traitors Turns a Weekend Into a Mini-Sweep

If one show owned the craft categories, it was The Traitors. The Peacock reality hit swept three trophies in a single night: Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program, Outstanding Production Design for a Variety or Reality Series, and a share of Outstanding Costumes for Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Programming.

That last one makes sense if you have ever watched the show — the faithful and the traitors dress like they are attending a Scottish country-house murder mystery, all tweed, capes and black-tie theatrics. The awards also speak to how much craft goes into a show that looks like it is just people sussing each other out at round tables. The castle setting, the moody lighting and the wardrobe are half the reason the show works, and the Academy gave all of it a nod.

The reality field was deep across the board. Netflix’s Love on the Spectrum won Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program, a well-earned prize for a show whose gentle, specific casting has made it a standout for years. And the host race saw TV royalty in the mix — RuPaul, Alan Cumming, Jeff Probst, Kristen Kish and Ariana Madix were all nominated — proving that competition-TV hosting is now a genuine Emmy discipline, not a side job.

The Craft Winners Behind the Big Names

Beyond the battle shows, the two nights belonged to specials and documentaries. Disney+’s The Muppet Show revival picked up Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special, a fitting prize for a project that had to design an entire chaotic backstage theater world in loving 2026 fidelity. The special is also in the running for the pre-recorded variety special trophy, where it faces Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour film and Dave Chappelle’s latest special, so its Emmy story may not be finished.

The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show starring Bad Bunny cleaned up in the music-and-motion categories, winning Outstanding Choreography as well as Outstanding Music Direction. That performance was a statement halftime show — massive scale, relentless energy, and choreography that demanded as much attention as the setlist — so the craft awards carry real weight.

Documentaries stacked up nicely too. Ocean with David Attenborough took Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, a no-brainer for a series built on breathtaking underwater photography. John Candy: I Like Me, the Prime Video portrait of the beloved comedian, won Outstanding Music Composition for a Documentary or Nonfiction Program. In animation, the juried individual achievement honors went to a strong, global lineup spanning Eyes of Wakanda, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, The Mighty Nein and Star Wars: Visions.

The weekend also confirmed that “television” now means a much bigger tent. The juried innovation prize went to Crafting Crimes, an interactive experience built for Meta Quest, while Uncanny Alley: A New Day — a live, cast-driven project set inside VRChat — won Outstanding Emerging Media Program. Both wins suggest the Academy is paying attention to where audiences actually watch and play, even when the screen is a headset rather than a living-room TV, and that frontier is only going to keep growing.

After This Weekend, the Real Race Starts September 14

The Creative Arts weekend is the appetizer. The main event arrives Monday, September 14, when the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards air live on NBC and Peacock from the Peacock Theater, with Mariska Hargitay — Olivia Benson herself from Law & Order: SVU — hosting in NBC’s 100th anniversary year.

Two series enter that telecast with the most momentum. HBO Max’s Hacks led all shows with 17 nominations, while Netflix’s Beef and the medical drama The Pitt each landed 13. If either comedy or drama race goes the way the nomination math suggests, one of these three will own the night.

There is an asterisk on this year’s main show, though. The Television Academy moved five categories — including the guest-acting races, supporting acting in a limited series, and writing for a limited series — off the primetime telecast and into the Creative Arts weekend, a cut that drew sharp criticism from the DGA, WGA and SAG-AFTRA earlier this year. It means some of the night’s most star-studded moments will have already been handed out. The two nights themselves will also be edited into a single condensed broadcast airing September 12 on FXX, so fans who missed any of the craft moments can catch up before the big show. For viewers, the net effect is a faster main telecast built around the marquee races — even if the guilds are not thrilled about it.

Where to Watch This Year’s Winners

Most of this weekend’s winners are streaming right now. The Traitors and Love on the Spectrum are on Peacock and Netflix respectively, The Muppet Show is on Disney+, and John Candy: I Like Me is on Prime Video. Jeopardy! remains a nightly syndicated fixture in most markets, and the Eras Tour film is still available on Disney+ for anyone who wants to compare the halftime choreography against the stadium tour.

The two-night Creative Arts format is new, but the takeaway of 2026 is old-fashioned: craft shows, game shows and a well-dressed Scottish castle all found their Emmy favor. The question now is which of the big scripted shows will join them when the Peacock Theater lights up again on September 14. Got a favorite in the drama or comedy race? The telecast is going to settle it either way.

Sources: Deadline (78th Emmy Winners List, live updates), Television Academy press announcement, AP News, Wikipedia (78th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards).