The 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards bring TV’s biggest stars together for a night of celebration of a year on the silver screen, leading to unexpected pairings and groupings of actors in photos behind the scenes of the live show and at the after-parties. Here, we’ve compiled a collection of standout photos from the night.
Big winners from the 2026 Emmys include Jean Smart and Matthew Rhys, who each made history with their respective wins. Smart won her fifth Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks, making her the first actor to ever win a lead Emmy for every single season of a TV show.
Rhys won in the lead actor categories for both Limited Series and Lead Actor, Comedy, for The Beast in Me and Widow’s Bay, respectively, making him the first actor to ever win two lead acting Emmys in the same night and the same year.
Other big wins from the night include a sweep for Widow’s Bay and a first-time win after many nominations for Rhea Seehorn for Pluribus. She won Lead Actress, Drama for the Apple TV series after previously being nominated several times for Better Call Saul.
Noah Wyle won his second consecutive Emmy for Lead Actor, Drama for The Pitt. And Allison Janney snagged a surprise win for The Diplomat, when it was predicted that an actress from The Pitt would win Outstanding Stand Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. See the full list of 2026 Emmy winners here.
Scroll through the gallery below to see the stars behind the scenes inside the live ceremony in Los Angeles on September 14.
Later on, we’ll add photos from the after-parties.