Emmys move key acting and writing awards off primetime broadcast
The Television Academy is cutting the 2026 NBC telecast to 19 awards, shifting several limited series, directing and writing prizes to Creative Arts.
By Bianca Rossi · Entertainment Editor
3 min read
The Television Academy is taking several high-profile Emmy races out of the main Primetime ceremony this year, including limited series supporting acting, writing and directing awards, according to Deadline.
The board of governors voted to move the categories to the Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies, Deadline columnist Pete Hammond reported. Those events are scheduled for the weekend of Sept. 5 and 6, ahead of the Primetime Emmy Awards on NBC on Monday, Sept. 14.
The change cuts the televised Primetime ceremony to 19 award presentations, Deadline reported. The apparent goal is to make more room for entertainment segments, in a model closer to the Grammys, where many awards are handed out before the main telecast.
Which Emmy awards are moving
According to Deadline, the categories being shifted off the NBC broadcast include several prizes tied to limited series, anthology series and television movies. The moves mark the first time the Academy has taken these particular limited-series categories out of the Primetime show.
- Supporting actor in a limited series, anthology series or television movie
- Supporting actress in a limited series, anthology series or television movie
- Writing for a limited series, anthology series or television movie
- Directing for a limited series, anthology series or television movie
- Writing for a variety series
Deadline reported that drama and comedy writing and directing categories will remain on the Primetime broadcast for now.
The limited series supporting actor nominees this year are Jason Bateman, Richard Gadd, David Harbour, Richard Jenkins, Charles Melton and Nick Offerman, according to Deadline. The supporting actress nominees are Linda Cardellini, Dakota Fanning, Laurie Metcalf, Joy Sunday, Youn Yuh-jung and Constance Zimmer.
Guild reaction could be the next fight
The Television Academy plans to inform the guilds of the changes, Deadline reported. Hammond noted that past efforts to trim writing and directing awards from the main show have met resistance, especially from the Writers Guild of America.
According to Deadline, the Academy tried to move variety writing and directing categories in 2020 and again in 2024, when Fox aired the ceremony. The 2024 plan was reversed after objections from the Writers Guild.
Hammond also wrote that guild agreements have historically allowed the Emmys to use clips without paying residual fees, savings he said can reach several hundred thousand dollars. He said that, during his earlier tenure as a Television Academy writers branch governor, proposals to remove categories from the broadcast drew strong pushback from writers and the guild.
Deadline reported that an earlier proposal during that period would have removed all limited series and movie categories from the main Emmy show and possibly packaged them separately. Hammond wrote that the idea was eventually dropped, keeping those awards on the Primetime broadcast.
The actors’ categories add a fresh wrinkle. Guest acting awards for drama and comedy have long been presented at Creative Arts, but Deadline reported that moving limited series supporting actor and actress prizes is new territory.
The Academy said in its announcement, as described by Deadline, that the shift is meant to keep the NBC ceremony and future broadcasts engaging for television viewers. Deadline reported that it has contacted the guilds for comment.
This story draws on original reporting from Deadline.