Level 1 — Absolute Beginner

A big awards show started in Los Angeles. It is called the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. It happens on two nights, September 5 and September 6, 2026.

The show is at the Peacock Theater. This place is in downtown Los Angeles, California. Many actors and TV workers come to this show.

These awards are for special jobs in TV. They give awards for guest acting, dancing, stunts, and choosing actors. There are 101 award categories in total.

A TV show named Hacks has the most nominations. It has 17 nominations. Two other shows, Beef and The Pitt, each have 13 nominations.

award

A prize given to someone for doing something very well.

nominate

To choose someone as a possible winner of an award.

ceremony

A special event held to celebrate or honor something.

theater

A large building where shows and performances happen.

category

A group that things are sorted into, like a type of award.

stunt

A dangerous or exciting action done for a movie or show.

cast

The group of actors who perform in a show.

broadcast

To send out a TV or radio program for people to watch or hear.

Level 2 — Elementary

The 78th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards began a two night ceremony on September 5 and 6, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. This event celebrates parts of television that do not usually appear on the main Emmy broadcast, such as guest acting roles, choreography, stunt work, and casting.

The first night, September 5, focuses mostly on unscripted shows and competition programs, like reality TV. The second night, September 6, focuses mostly on scripted series, meaning shows with written scripts, like dramas and comedies. Across both nights, 101 different award categories are being presented.

Nominations for these awards were announced on July 8, 2026. The HBO Max dark comedy Hacks led with 17 nominations, more than any other show. The anthology series Beef and the medical drama The Pitt followed close behind, each with 13 nominations.

Several well known presenters are appearing at this year's ceremonies, including actors Noah Wyle, Betty Gilpin, and Colin Hanks. The winners from both nights will later be combined into one television special that airs on FXX on September 12, just before the main 78th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on September 14.

unscripted

A type of TV show, like reality TV, that is not written in advance.

scripted

Written in advance, as with the dialogue in a drama or comedy show.

choreography

The planned patterns of movement used in a dance performance.

anthology

A TV series where each season or episode tells a separate, complete story.

presenter

A person who introduces an award or a performer at a ceremony.

dark comedy

A funny show that also deals with serious or uncomfortable topics.

casting

The process of choosing actors to play roles in a show.

special

A single television program made for a particular event or occasion.

Level 3 — Intermediate

The television industry's craft honors kicked off this week as the 78th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards opened a two night ceremony on September 5 and 6, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles. Unlike the main Emmy broadcast, which spotlights leading performances and top series, the Creative Arts ceremony recognizes the technical and behind the scenes work that keeps television running, including guest acting, choreography, stunt coordination, and casting, across a sprawling 101 categories presented over the two evenings.

The two nights are organized by genre rather than treated as an undifferentiated block. The first night leans toward unscripted and competition programming, the reality shows and contests that rarely receive attention at the main ceremony, while the second night shifts toward scripted series, giving dramas and comedies their own dedicated spotlight. This structure reflects just how many distinct crafts and formats now compete for recognition in a fragmented streaming landscape.

When nominations were announced on July 8, 2026, the tally made clear which shows had captured voters' attention this season. Hacks, the HBO Max dark comedy, topped the field with 17 nominations, a wide margin ahead of its closest competitors. The anthology series Beef and the medical drama The Pitt tied for second place, each earning 13 nominations, suggesting that both a genre bending anthology and a grounded procedural drama can compete for recognition on equally strong footing.

Presenters this year include actors Noah Wyle, Betty Gilpin, and Colin Hanks, lending star power to categories that otherwise rarely receive a televised spotlight. Ultimately, the results from both Creative Arts nights will be edited together into a single television special, the 78th Emmy Awards (Creative Arts), airing September 12 on FXX, positioning it as a lead in of sorts to the main 78th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony on September 14, also staged at the Peacock Theater.

coordination

The organized planning and management of a complex activity, such as stunts.

procedural

A TV genre focused on the step by step process of a profession, like medicine or law.

genre

A category of art or entertainment defined by a particular style or subject.

fragmented

Broken into many separate, disconnected parts.

tally

A running count or total of something, such as votes or nominations.

margin

The amount by which one result is greater than another.

spotlight

Special attention or focus given to someone or something.

edited

Arranged, cut, and combined into a finished version, as with a video.

Level 4 — Advanced

Television's craft awards convened this week as the 78th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards inaugurated a two night ceremony on September 5 and 6, 2026, at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, a sprawling companion event to the main Primetime Emmys that has, over decades, grown to encompass the technical, choreographic, and casting achievements the flagship broadcast has no room to accommodate. Spread across 101 categories and two nights organized loosely by genre, the ceremony devotes its first evening chiefly to unscripted and competition programming and its second chiefly to scripted series, a structural choice that quietly acknowledges how thoroughly the modern television ecosystem has splintered into distinct, competing formats each demanding its own recognition.

That splintering was on full display when nominations were announced on July 8, 2026. The HBO Max dark comedy Hacks emerged as the season's dominant force with 17 nominations, a tally that outpaced every other contender by a comfortable margin. Trailing it, the anthology series Beef and the medical drama The Pitt arrived in a dead heat for second place, each securing 13 nominations, a pairing notable for how little the two shows otherwise resemble one another, one built on serialized, genre hopping storytelling, the other a tightly procedural ensemble drama.

Presenters announced for this year's proceedings include Noah Wyle, Betty Gilpin, and Colin Hanks, names drawn largely from prestige scripted television, a choice that lends visibility to categories, casting, stunt work, guest performances, that rarely command a broadcast spotlight of their own. Their presence underscores a persistent tension in how the industry stages these two ceremonies: honoring the unglamorous machinery of television production while still relying on recognizable faces to hold an audience's attention.

Rather than airing live in full, the results from both Creative Arts nights will be consolidated into a single edited television special, formally titled the 78th Emmy Awards (Creative Arts), broadcasting September 12 on FXX. That timing positions the special as a deliberate curtain raiser for the main 78th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, which covers the marquee acting, directing, and top series categories, on September 14, staged once again at the Peacock Theater, effectively bookending a nine day stretch in which the television industry recognizes nearly every corner of its own output.

inaugurate

To formally begin or start an event, institution, or era.

flagship

The most important or prominent item in a group, used as an example of its best.

ecosystem

A complex network of interconnected parts that function as a whole, used here figuratively for an industry.

serialized

Presented in a continuing series of installments that build on one another.

ensemble

A group of performers who work together as a unit, often with no single lead role.