Det. Olivia Benson has a new assignment -- hosting the Emmy Awards.
Mariska Hartigay, who has played the intense, passionate and scrupulous detective (since promoted to captain) for nearly three decades on “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit,” will host the 78th annual Emmy Awards on Sept. 14, Variety reported.
The show will air live on NBC’s airwaves and will be streamed on Peacock from L.A. Live’s Peacock Theater at 8 p.m. ET., according to the entertainment news website.
Hartigay, 62, has appeared in 601 episodes of “Law & Order: SVU,” which is beginning its 28th season, IMDb.com notes. It is the longest-running primetime drama in American television history, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
Hosting the ceremony will make Hargitay the first woman to host since Jane Lynch did it in 2011, Variety reported.
Mariska Hargitay is set to host the #Emmys on Sept. 14.
— Variety (@Variety) July 7, 2026
She is the first woman to emcee the awards show in 15 years.https://t.co/z9HU5h7FD2 pic.twitter.com/IYJT2vNP7O
“Bringing important stories into the light has been the heartbeat of my career. It’s my great honor to host the 78th Emmy Awards -- in the 100th birthday year of my beloved NBC — and celebrate this extraordinary community of storytellers,” Hargitay said in a statement. “Whether it’s an actor or a director, a costumer or a sound designer, we are all so privileged to take part in creating television that unites us.
“Regardless of how, where or when we watch, we are together in our laughter, our tears, our love of stories -- and our delighted anticipation to see what happens next.”
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Hartigay’s hosting assignment is a departure from recent Emmy Awards shows. The show has mostly been hosted by standup comedians, late-night talk show hosts or comedy actors, Variety reported.
Not only is Hargitay the first female Emmy host in 15 years, she is also just the fourth this century, according to the entertainment news website. The others were Ellen DeGeneres (2001 and 2005), Heidi Klum (who co-hosted with Tom Bergeron, Howie Mandel, Jeff Probst and Ryan Secrest in 2008) and Lynch.
Hargitay won an Emmy for playing Olivia Benson on “Law & Order: SVU” in 2006 and has been nominated eight other times, according to The Hollywood Reporter. She also won a News and Documentary Emmy in 2019 for producing “I Am Evidence”; her 2025 HBO documentary about her late mother, Jayne Mansfield -- “My Mom Jayne” is eligible for this year’s awards, according to the entertainment news website.
“Mariska has earned her place among television’s icons,” Jen Neal, NBC/Peacock’s executive vice president, said in a statement. “Few performers have left the kind of mark on television that Mariska has. For 27 seasons, she has brought strength, compassion and humanity to one of the most beloved characters on TV.
“As NBC celebrates 100 years of unforgettable storytelling, we can’t think of anyone more fitting to help celebrate the incredible legacy of television.”
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