The ceremony did not broadcast four categories in the limited series/TV movie field, nor did it include Stephen Colbert’s win for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.

Emmy producers react to show running short after cutting 5 categories

The ceremony did not broadcast four categories in the limited series/TV movie field, nor did it include Stephen Colbert’s win for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.

By Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel

Wesley Stenzel is a news writer at **. He began writing for EW in 2022.

EW's editorial guidelines

September 15, 2026 2:55 p.m. ET

Leave a Comment

Mariska Hargitay at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 14, 2026. Credit:

Trae Patton/NBC via Getty

- The 2026 Emmys ceremony ran five minutes ahead of schedule.

- The broadcast excluded five categories that were relegated to the Creative Arts Emmys.

- The executive producers of the broadcast reacted to the show running short in a conversation with reporters.

The producers of the Emmys don’t seem to regret cutting five categories for the 2026 ceremony.

Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay, who executive produced the telecast this year, reflected on the Mariska Hargitay–hosted ceremony in a meeting with reporters after the festivities wrapped on Monday. The producers reacted to the show running five minutes ahead of schedule during their remarks.

“It gave Mariska some time to have some fun too, and breathe with some of those moments,” Rouzan-Clay said (per *Variety*). “And we didn’t have to rush people off the stage.”

The producers also said that they knew they could ask Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, who presented the final award of the night, to vamp a bit to make their segment fill more time.

“You book Woody and Matthew,” Collins said. “And you just don’t know what they’re going to do.”

Emmy statuettes at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 14, 2026.

Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty

The *True Detective* costars ultimately did stretch their segment out, and acknowledged that they were killing time on stage.

“They told us we need to spend more time up here, that the show is going short,” McConaughey said before getting to the nominees.

“Oh, are we supposed to stretch it out here a little bit? They’re a little bit short for time,” Harrelson added after the nominees were read.

“They just came up and said we should just go on and filibuster for a while,” McConaughey said.

See all the winners at the 2026 Emmy Awards

What did John Mulaney say at the 2026 Emmys? Oral sex joke explained

Part of the reason that the show ran ahead of schedule was that there were fewer categories to present than in previous years. This year’s ceremony cut five categories that are ordinarily presented during the primetime broadcast, instead relegating them to the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony that took place the previous weekend.

The categories were Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, won by *The Late Show With Stephen Colbert*, and four limited series/TV movie categories, all of which were won by *DTF St. Louis*. Linda Cardellini won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, David Harbour won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, and Steven Conrad won both Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Another time-saving tactic: giving nominees the opportunity to share their list of loved ones and collaborators whom they wish to thank ahead of time, so the list can be displayed as text on screen rather than take up time being read aloud during the speeches.

***Get your daily dose of entertainment news, celebrity updates, and what to watch with our****** EW Dispatch newsletter******.***

However, Harmon insists that the lists aren’t intended to save time. “We’ve done it multiple years,” she said. “Not everybody turns in their list, but if they do, we put it up. It’s just a personal choice. Some people don’t want to forget. It’s not about time. It’s about not forgetting.”

- Awards Shows & Events

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Emmys”