MARISKA HARGITAY TO HOST 78TH PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS

Mariska Hargitay will host the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards on 14 September, airing on NBC. NBCUniversal announced the decision on Tuesday, the day before Emmy nominations are announced. The ceremony will stream on Peacock and take place at the Peacock Theatre. Hargitay is the first woman to host the ceremony in 15 years.

Hargitay has starred in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit since 1999, playing detective Olivia Benson. She has received eight Emmy nominations for the role and won the award for lead actress in a drama series in 2006. The series is set to surpass 600 episodes during its 28th season. Hargitay may be nominated again this year as director and producer of the documentary My Mom Jayne, which focuses on her mother, Jayne Mansfield. Hargitay is a non-comedian selected for the hosting role, a rarer choice compared to last year's host Nate Bargatze.

The Emmy hosting role rotates annually between CBS, NBC, ABC and Fox. NBC historically leads in all-time Emmy nominations, particularly through Saturday Night Live. When nominations are announced in Los Angeles by recent winners Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller, programmes including Pluribus from Apple TV and HBO Max's The Pitt are expected to be among leading nominees.