The Emmy spotlight will officially shine on September 14, when the 78th Emmy Awards take over the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, with Mariska Hargitay hosting the main ceremony live on NBC and Peacock. But some of television’s biggest achievements have already had their moment in the spotlight.

Over September 5 and 6, the Creative Arts Emmy Awards handed out honors across more than a hundred artistic, technical and performance categories, celebrating the people and productions that often work behind the scenes to make television memorable. From standout acting performances to spectacular production, sound, costumes, and visual effects, the two nights offered plenty of reasons to celebrate and plenty of early clues about this year’s Emmy race.

Here’s a closer look at the winners who have already taken home television’s coveted golden statuette.

The first night of the Creative Arts Emmys, held on September 5, delivered a clear early leaderboard. The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny emerged as the night’s biggest winner, taking home an impressive seven Emmys. Close behind was The Traitors, which collected six trophies, while The Late Show With Stephen Colbert followed with five. The Muppet Show also had a strong showing with four wins, and Love on the Spectrum added three to its haul. Meanwhile, My Mom Jayne: A Film By Mariska Hargitay and Ocean With David Attenborough each walked away with two awards. With the gold already piling up, here’s a look at all the winners from Night One.

Outstanding Game Show: Jeopardy! took home the Emmy for Outstanding Game Show, beating Celebrity Family Feud, The Price Is Right, Wheel of Fortune, and Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.

Outstanding Host for a Game Show: Jimmy Kimmel, for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, won Outstanding Host for a Game Show. He prevailed over Steve Harvey for Celebrity Family Feud, Ken Jennings for Jeopardy!, Colin Jost for Pop Culture Jeopardy!, and Martin Short for Match Game.

Outstanding Variety Special (Live): The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny won Outstanding Variety Special (Live), beating the 83rd Annual Golden Globes, the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, the Oscars and the 78th Annual Tony Awards. 

Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded): The Muppet Show won Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded), beating Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable…, Nikki Glaser: Good Girl, Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show and Wicked: One Wonderful Night.

Outstanding Reality Competition Program: The Traitors won the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Competition Program, beating The Amazing Race, RuPaul's Drag Race, Survivor, and The Voice. 

Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program: Alan Cumming continued his Emmy-winning run with a victory for hosting The Traitors. He beat RuPaul Charles of RuPaul's Drag Race, Kristen Kish of Top Chef, Ariana Madix of Love Island USA, and Jeff Probst of Survivor. It marked Cumming's third consecutive win in the category.

Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program: Love on the Spectrum won Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program, beating America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders, RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked, Summer House, and Welcome to Wrexham. The Netflix series also picked up wins for casting and picture editing, giving it three victories on the night.

Outstanding Structured Reality Program: Antiques Roadshow won Outstanding Structured Reality Program, beating Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, Love Is Blind, Queer Eye, and Shark Tank.

Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program: Love on the Spectrum also won Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program, defeating The Amazing Race, RuPaul's Drag Race, Survivor, and Top Chef.

Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program: The Traitors, with director Ben Archard, won Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program, beating The Amazing Race, Love on the Spectrum, RuPaul's Drag Race, and Top Chef.

Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program: The Traitors won Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program, beating The Amazing Race, Love on the Spectrum, Survivor, and Welcome to Wrexham.

Outstanding Production Design for a Variety or Reality Series: The Traitors won Outstanding Production Design for a Variety or Reality Series for “The Black Banquet.” It beat Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, RuPaul's Drag Race, and Saturday Night Live.

Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert won Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series, beating Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Saturday Night Live. The show ultimately finished Night One with five Emmy wins.

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert also took home the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, beating Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Series: The Late Show with Stephen Colbert won Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Series, beating Dancing with the Stars, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Saturday Night Live, and The Voice.

Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming: The Muppet Show won Outstanding Picture Editing for Variety Programming, beating Nikki Glaser: Good Girl, Ramy Youssef: In Love, Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show, and Wanda Sykes: Legacy.

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special: The Muppet Show added another Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, beating Chris Fleming: Live at the Palace, Nikki Glaser: Good Girl, The Oscars, and Wanda Sykes: Legacy.

Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special: The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny won Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special, beating Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable…, Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show, the 78th Annual Tony Awards, and Wanda Sykes: Legacy.

Outstanding Music Direction: The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny also won Outstanding Music Direction, beating The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Oscars, Saturday Night Live, and Wicked: One Wonderful Night.

Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming: The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny won Outstanding Choreography, beating the 2025 MTV Video Music Awards, The Oscars, RuPaul's Drag Race, and Wicked: One Wonderful Night.

Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Special: The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny won Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Special, beating the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, The Oscars, the 78th Annual Tony Awards, and Wicked: One Wonderful Night.

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special: The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny won Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Variety Series or Special, beating The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Muppet Show, The Oscars, and Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour | The Final Show.

Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special: My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay won Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special, beating John Candy: I Like Me, Marty, Life Is Short, Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, and Ocean with David Attenborough. Hargitay also won for directing the documentary, giving her two Emmys on the night.

Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program: Mariska Hargitay won Outstanding Directing for a Documentary/Nonfiction Program for My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay. She beat Lawrence Kasdan for Marty, Life Is Short, Judd Apatow for Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, Rebecca Miller for Mr. Scorsese; and Alexandria Stapleton for Sean Combs: The Reckoning.

Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series: Mr. Scorsese won Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, beating The American Revolution, Rafa, Sean Combs: The Reckoning and The Yogurt Shop Murders.

Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special: Tucci in Italy, hosted by Stanley Tucci, won Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special, beating The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse, Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr., My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, and The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy.

Outstanding Narrator: Octavia Spencer won Outstanding Narrator for Lost Women of Alaska: The Missing. She beat David Attenborough for A Gorilla Story and Ocean with David Attenborough, Werner Herzog for Ghost Elephants, and Jodie Foster for Breakdown: 1975. The victory marked Spencer's first Emmy.

Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program: Ocean with David Attenborough won Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program, beating My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay, The Tale of Silyan, Tucci in Italy, and The Yogurt Shop Murders.

Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program: Sean Combs: The Reckoning won Outstanding Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program, beating John Candy: I Like Me, Marty, Life Is Short, Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, and Mr. Scorsese.

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program: Billy Joel: And So It Goes won Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program, beating John Candy: I Like Me, Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man!, Ocean with David Attenborough and Tucci in Italy.

Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series: Colbert Before Air won Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series, beating Bad Thoughts, The Daily Show: Desi Lydic Foxsplains, The Randy Rainbow Show, and SubwayTakes with Kareem Rahma.

Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series: Inside the Pitt won Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series, beating Hacks: Bit by Bit, Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette – A Love Untold, Shrinking – In It Together, and This Is a Gardening Show.

Prime Video's 'Spider-Noir' Defies Cancellation With 5 Emmy Wins

While Night 1 ended with many accolades being taken home, Night 2 was no less.

If Night 1 set the stage, September 6 brought the spotlight firmly onto the stars. The second night of the Creative Arts Emmys expanded beyond the usual craft categories to include some of the ceremony’s most anticipated acting honors, including guest performances in comedy and drama and the supporting actor and actress races for limited or anthology series and movies, the first time the latter categories were presented as part of the Creative Arts weekend.

And there was no shortage of big winners. Widow’s Bay led the night with an impressive eight Emmys, followed by DTF St. Louis with six and Spider-Noir with five. The Pitt and Pluribus each collected four awards, while Beef, Margo’s Got Money Troubles and Palm Royale took home three apiece. The night also delivered some memorable acting milestones: Shailene Woodley won her first Emmy for Paradise, Ernest Harden Jr. was honored for The Pitt, David Harbour and Linda Cardellini won for DTF St. Louis, and Betty Gilpin took home the guest actress award for Widow’s Bay. The late Rob Reiner was also honored posthumously for his guest role in The Bear.

With the second night bringing both technical triumphs and some of the weekend’s most emotional wins, here’s a closer look at everyone who took home Emmy gold.

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Rob Reiner won posthumously for his guest appearance as himself on The Bear, beating Bryan Cranston (The Studio), Walton Goggins (The White Lotus), Jeff Hiller (The White Lotus), Keegan-Michael Key (Only Murders in the Building), and Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building). Reiner’s victory was one of the evening’s most emotional moments.

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Betty Gilpin won for her performance in Widow’s Bay, beating Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The Studio), Olivia Colman (The Bear), Laurie Metcalf (The Studio), June Squibb (Only Murders in the Building), and Rose Byrne (The White Lotus). 

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series: Ernest Harden Jr. won for his role as Louie Cloverfield in The Pitt. He beat Colman Domingo (Euphoria), Jeff Hiller (Pluribus), Jeff Kober (The Pitt), Jonathan Pryce (Slow Horses), and Bradley Whitford (The Diplomat). It was one of four Emmys won by The Pitt on Night Two.

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Shailene Woodley won for her performance in Paradise, beating Patricia Arquette (Severance), Gwendoline Christie (Severance), Jane Lynch (The Gilded Age), Aimee Lou Wood (The White Lotus), and Liza Colón-Zayas (The Bear). The victory marked Woodley’s first Emmy and gave Paradise its first-ever Emmy win.

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: David Harbour won for DTF St. Louis, beating Jason Bateman (Black Rabbit), Richard Gadd (Half Man), Richard Jenkins (DTF St. Louis), Charles Melton (Beef), and Nick Offerman (DTF St. Louis / Margo’s Got Money Troubles). It was Harbour’s first career Emmy win, contributing to DTF St. Louis’s six-award haul.

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Linda Cardellini won for DTF St. Louis, beating Olivia Colman (The White Lotus), Julianne Nicholson (Paradise), Parker Posey (The White Lotus), Catherine O’Hara (The Studio), and Elle Fanning (Margo’s Got Money Troubles). 

Outstanding Animated Program: South Park won Outstanding Animated Program, adding another Emmy to its long-running awards history and making its mark among Night 2 scripted-programming winners.

Outstanding Cinematography for a Comedy Series: Spider-Noir won for its cinematography, contributing to the series’ impressive five-Emmy haul despite the show having been canceled by Prime Video shortly before the ceremony. Its other wins included stunt coordination, title design, special visual effects, and sound editing.

Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: DTF St. Louis won for cinematography, adding another award to the HBO limited series’ six-win night. The series also picked up Emmys for acting, writing, directing, and picture editing.

Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program: Widow’s Bay won for its production design, one of eight awards collected by the Apple TV+ series. The show also won for casting, sound editing, sound mixing, cinematography, music supervision, and music composition, alongside Betty Gilpin’s guest actress win.

Outstanding Production Design for a Period or Fantasy Program: Fallout won the Emmy for its production design, adding to its two-award haul on Night Two. The series also received recognition for costumes.

Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series: Widow’s Bay continued its winning streak with the Emmy for casting in a comedy series, helping the show emerge as the evening’s biggest overall winner with eight trophies.

Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series: The Pitt won for casting in a drama series. The victory was one of four Emmys the medical drama collected on Sunday, alongside Ernest Harden Jr.’s guest acting win.

Outstanding Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: DTF St. Louis won the casting award in the limited-series field, contributing to its six victories on Night Two.

Outstanding Picture Editing for a Comedy Series: DTF St. Louis picked up another Emmy for picture editing, becoming one of the evening’s strongest performers with six wins overall.

Outstanding Picture Editing for a Drama Series: Pluribus won for picture editing, part of its four-Emmy night. The series also won for its main title theme music, production design, and sound mixing.

Outstanding Costumes for a Comedy Series: Margo’s Got Money Troubles won for its costumes, beginning a three-award haul that also included hairstyling and makeup.

Outstanding Costumes for a Period or Fantasy Series: Bridgerton won for costumes, adding to the period drama’s two awards on the night. It also won for Julie Andrews’ character voice-over performance.

Outstanding Costumes for a Contemporary Series: Beef won for its costumes, contributing to the series’ three wins on Night Two. The show also took home awards for sound editing and sound mixing.

Outstanding Hairstyling for a Comedy Series: Margo’s Got Money Troubles won for hairstyling, giving the series its second of three Emmys on the night.

Outstanding Hairstyling for a Period or Fantasy Program: Bridgerton added a second Emmy for hairstyling, joining its costume win.

Outstanding Makeup for a Comedy Series: Margo’s Got Money Troubles completed its three-award haul with a win for makeup.

Outstanding Makeup for a Period or Fantasy Program: The Pitt won for prosthetic makeup, one of the four Emmys collected by the medical drama during Night Two.

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series: Spider-Noir won for sound editing, contributing to its five awards despite its recent cancellation.

Outstanding Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Beef won for sound editing, helping the series finish the evening with three Emmys.

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series: Widow’s Bay won for sound mixing, another piece of its impressive eight-award sweep on Night Two.

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Beef took home the Emmy for sound mixing, giving the series a second win in the sound categories and three overall.

Outstanding Music Composition for a Series: The Pitt won for music and lyrics for the song “Need Someone,” completing its four-award night.

Outstanding Main Title Theme Music: Pluribus won for its main title theme music, part of the show’s four victories on Night Two.

Outstanding Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: The Beast in Me won for its music composition, with Sean Callery and Sara Barone receiving the Emmy.

Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series: The Boys won for stunt coordination, adding another technical Emmy to the Prime Video drama’s awards history.

Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy Series: Spider-Noir won for stunt coordination for a comedy series, one of five awards the canceled series collected during the evening.

Outstanding Stunt Performance: A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms won for stunt performance, earning recognition for its action work.

Outstanding Special Visual Effects: Spider-Noir won for special visual effects, adding another trophy to its unexpected five-award haul.

Outstanding Title Design: Spider-Noir also won for title design, bringing its Night Two total closer to the evening’s biggest winners.

Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance: Julie Andrews won for her character voice-over performance in Bridgerton. The Emmy gave the Netflix period drama its second win of the evening.

Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation: The juried animation category recognized several individual artists rather than a single winner. The Television Academy honored Uzoma Dunkwu for Eyes of Wakanda, David Krentz and Scott Wills for Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, Howard Chen for The Mighty Nein, and Takashi Okazaki for Star Wars: Visions. Juried Emmy categories work differently from regular competitive categories, so they do not have a conventional nominee-versus-winner format.

Legacy Award: The inaugural Legacy Award went to I Love Lucy, recognizing the landmark sitcom’s enduring influence on television, audiences, and popular culture. The award was introduced as a new honor celebrating programs whose impact has remained significant across generations.

With the Creative Arts Emmys now wrapped, the stage is set for television’s biggest night on September 14. Across two evenings, the awards have already celebrated the performers, creators and craftspeople who make this year’s most talked-about shows possible — from Bad Bunny’s record-setting Super Bowl halftime performance to Widow’s Bay’s eight-win sweep. But the golden statuettes handed out so far are only the beginning. With the Primetime Emmys still to come, the question now is whether these early victories will foreshadow another big night for the winning shows, or whether television’s biggest contenders will have one more surprise in store. All eyes now turn to September 14.

‘I Love Lucy’ Makes Emmys History With the Television Academy’s First-Ever Legacy Award

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