Emmys 2026: The Black and Latinx Nominees to Watch Monday Night

elevision's biggest night lands on a Monday this year. The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards air live from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on September 14 at 8 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock, with Mariska Hargitay hosting, the first woman to do so since Jane Lynch in 2011. Behind the scenes, Jesse Collins Entertainment is producing the telecast again, with Collins, Dionne Harmon, and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay as executive producers. That's a Black-led production company running the show, and it matters, because the same company produced the Super Bowl halftime show that already cleaned up at last weekend's Creative Arts ceremonies.

Here's where Cup of Soul's attention will be.

The Front-Runners

Abbott Elementary has six major nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series, and it sits in a category with Hacks (24 total nominations) and The Bear. Quinta Brunson is nominated twice, for lead actress and for writing the "Team Building" episode, and she remains the only person in that writing race who also stars in her show. Tyler James Williams and Janelle James are up for supporting comedy actor and actress. The show has never won the top prize. This is as good a shot as it's had.

Sterling K. Brown is nominated for lead actor in a drama for Paradise, in a category that includes Noah Wyle for The Pitt, the most-nominated show of the year with 25 total. Brown already has an Emmy for This Is Us. A second would put him in rare company.

Colman Domingo is up for supporting actor in a comedy for The Four Seasons, and Colman continues to be one of the busiest, most consistently excellent performers working. He shares the category with Williams, which means two Black men in a seven-person race.

The Newcomers

Chase Infiniti landed a lead actress in a drama nomination for The Testaments on Hulu. She's up against Carrie Coon, Keri Russell, Rhea Seehorn, and Zendaya, nominated for the final season of Euphoria. Two Black women in the lead drama actress category is worth noting on its own. Zendaya already has two Emmys for playing Rue. Infiniti is the wild card.

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II is nominated for lead actor in a comedy for Marvel's Wonder Man, which puts a Black superhero lead in a category with Steve Carell, Martin Short, and Jason Segel. A comedy nomination for a Disney+ Marvel series is unusual in itself.

Ayo Edebiri returns to the lead comedy actress race for The Bear, and Jessica Williams is up for supporting comedy actress for Shrinking.

Behind the Camera

This is the part the trades tend to skip. Salli Richardson-Whitfield is nominated twice for directing a drama series, once for The Gilded Age and once for Task. Two nominations in the same directing category in one year is rare for anyone. Hanelle Culpepper is nominated in the same category for directing the Paradise episode "Exodus." That's two Black women in a six-slot directing race that also includes Vince Gilligan and Noah Wyle. Whatever happens Monday, that's the story.

The Ms. Pat Show on BET+ also earned a directing nomination in comedy, for Mary Lou Belli's episode "Give It Arrest," which keeps a Black-led, Black-network sitcom in a category otherwise dominated by HBO, Apple, and FX.

The Latinx Story

The headline is already written. Bad Bunny's Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show won seven Creative Arts Emmys last weekend, including Outstanding Variety Special (Live), directing, choreography, music direction, and lighting. A Spanish-language halftime show that drew political criticism in February is now the most-decorated program of Creative Arts weekend. Charm La'Donna and Karina Ortiz share the choreography win. Miguel Gandelman took music direction.

In the acting races, Oscar Isaac is nominated for lead actor in a limited series for Beef, and Carlos Manuel Vesga is up for supporting actor in a drama for Pluribus. Liza Colón-Zayas, last year's supporting comedy winner for The Bear, announced this year's nominations alongside Television Academy chair Cris Abrego, who is himself Latino. Representation at the Academy's leadership level is part of why the halftime show got its due.

The Controversy

Five categories were moved out of the telecast this year, including supporting actor and actress in a limited series and the directing and writing awards for limited series. The DGA, WGA, and SAG-AFTRA issued a joint statement calling the move a devaluation of the people the Academy is supposed to honor. The Academy says the freed-up time will go to musical performances and comedy segments. For an awards show trying to rebuild its audience, the trade-off is stars on the sidelines for a livelier broadcast. We'll see if it works.

Also Worth Knowing

Octavia Spencer won her first Emmy at Creative Arts for narrating Lost Women of Alaska. Michael J. Fox receives the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. And the Academy debuts its new Legacy Award, honoring programs with lasting cultural impact.

Cup of Soul will have reactions Monday night and a full breakdown Tuesday morning.