The 2026 Emmys season already looked a little different with the show set to take place on a Monday (Sept. 14), instead of the awards‘ more frequent Sunday night timeslot, but the calendar got another tweak on Friday as the TV Academy announced the 2026 Emmy nomination dates.
While the majority of this year’s nominees will be revealed on Wednesday, July 8, nominations in 13 craft categories that rely on peer-group screening panels won’t be revealed until the next week, on Wednesday, July 15.
While the process of determining nominees in those categories is not new (the peer group votes on all submissions an…
The 2026 Emmys season already looked a little different with the show set to take place on a Monday (Sept. 14), instead of the awards‘ more frequent Sunday night timeslot, but the calendar got another tweak on Friday as the TV Academy announced the 2026 Emmy nomination dates.
While the majority of this year’s nominees will be revealed on Wednesday, July 8, nominations in 13 craft categories that rely on peer-group screening panels won’t be revealed until the next week, on Wednesday, July 15.
While the process of determining nominees in those categories is not new (the peer group votes on all submissions and then the top 10-15 vote getters are sent to the peer group screening panel to vote on the final nominees), the separate nominations announcement date is.
The below 13 categories have this type of voting:
Outstanding Cinematography For A Series (Half-Hour) Outstanding Cinematography For A Series (One Hour) Outstanding Cinematography For A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Series Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Special Outstanding Music Composition For A Series (Original Dramatic Score) Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special (Original Dramatic Score) Outstanding Music Composition For A Documentary Series Or Special (Original Dramatic Score) Outstanding Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (One Hour) Outstanding Sound Editing For A Comedy Or Drama Series (Half-Hour) or Animation Outstanding Sound Editing For A Limited Or Anthology Series, Movie Or Special Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork For A Series Outstanding Technical Direction and Camerawork For A Special
The Emmys also announced the voting periods for the 2026 TV awards. Nomination-round voting runs from June 11-22, with voting in the peer-group-specific panels set for June 26-July 7. Final-round voting, on the 2026 winners, runs from Aug. 17-26.
The 2026 Emmys is set to air live on NBC and Peacock on Monday, Sept. 14 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The Creative Arts Emmys, in which the majority of the Emmys trophies are presented, will take place roughly a week earlier, on Saturday, Sept. 5 and Sunday, Sept. 6.
Eligibility for the 78th Emmys runs from June 1, 2025 to May 31, 2026.
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