Mariska Hargitay has said she initially felt shocked when NBCUniversal asked her to host the 2026 Emmy Awards, as she is not principally known as a comedian or presenter. After considering the offer over a weekend, she accepted it as a new challenge and said she was particularly pleased to become the first woman to host the ceremony since Jane Lynch in 2011.

Hargitay received the invitation while backstage during her Broadway run in Every Brilliant Thing and initially worried the call might mean she was being fired. The Law & Order: SVU star, who won an Emmy in 2006 and whose documentary My Mom Jayne has three nominations, will host the 78th Emmys as NBC marks its centenary; she is the first host primarily known for dramatic acting since 2008.