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Emmys 2026: Bad Bunny's Halftime Show Leads the Creative Arts Winners

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READS523live count PUBLISHED6 Sept2026 READING TIME2 min461 words LANGUAGEEnglish
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The first weekend of the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards handed out the Creative Arts prizes, with the Super Bowl halftime show and the reality hit The Traitors among the biggest winners ahead of the main telecast.

Awards season on the small screen is under way. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards opened with the Creative Arts ceremonies, the weekend event that honors the craft categories before the marquee prizes are handed out on the main telecast.

Held on September 5 and 6 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, the two nights recognized the technical and specialty work that shapes modern television. The results offered an early read on which programs are carrying momentum into the biggest night.

A Big Night for the Halftime Show

The craft categories reward the behind the scenes work that shapes a broadcast, from lighting to sound.
The craft categories reward the behind the scenes work that shapes a broadcast, from lighting to sound.

The standout winner was The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny, which collected seven awards across the Creative Arts ceremonies. That haul underlined how a single live music event can rival scripted series in technical ambition.

The recognition reflects the scale of a modern halftime show, a production that blends live performance with elaborate staging, lighting and sound. For the artists and crews involved, the awards mark a high point in a project watched by a vast global audience.

Reality and Late Night Shine

Close behind was the competition series The Traitors, which won six awards over the weekend. The show has become one of the most talked about titles in unscripted television, and its strong showing confirmed its standing with the Television Academy.

Late night also had a strong outing. The Late Show with Stephen Colbert picked up five awards, a reminder that the format remains a fixture of American television even as the media landscape continues to shift around it.

A Spread of Winners

Other programs shared in the honors as well. The Muppet Show earned four awards, while the documentary series Love on the Spectrum took home three, showing the breadth of work the Creative Arts categories are designed to celebrate.

The documentary My Mom Jayne and the nature film Ocean with David Attenborough each collected two awards. Together the winners spanned live events, reality, comedy, documentary and family programming across the weekend.

A Humanitarian Honor

Beyond the competitive categories, the ceremonies also made room for recognition of a different kind. The actor Michael J. Fox received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award, honoring contributions that reach well beyond the screen.

What Comes Next

The Creative Arts results set the stage for the main event. The televised Primetime Emmys are scheduled for September 14, airing on NBC and streaming on Peacock, when the top series and acting prizes will finally be decided.

Those marquee categories, including the awards for best drama, comedy and limited series, remain to be settled. For now, the weekend has offered a first glimpse of the programs that could dominate the conversation once the main ceremony arrives.

Whatever unfolds on the big night, the Creative Arts winners are a reminder that television is a collaborative craft. Behind every celebrated series and special stands an army of specialists whose work these awards are meant to spotlight.

2 responses
Amelia Williams1 week ago

Good context around Emmy Awards.

4
Michael Parker5 days ago

Solid take on Emmy Awards.

1
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