The “Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny” walked away with seven trophies at the 2026 Creative Arts Emmy Awards, more than any other program across the two-night ceremony at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, according to Variety, TheWrap and TVLine. The special took Outstanding Variety Special (Live) along with Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special among its haul.
The Traitors finished close behind with six wins, picking up Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program and Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program. The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, The Muppet Show and Love on the Spectrum each collected multiple statues as well, spreading the night’s attention across late night, scripted comedy and unscripted programming rather than letting one category dominate.
A personal win inside the ceremony
Mariska Hargitay, who is set to host this year’s Primetime Emmys, took home two awards of her own for My Mom Jayne: A Film By Mariska Hargitay, a documentary about her mother, actress Jayne Mansfield. She won for directing a documentary or nonfiction program and for the film itself as outstanding documentary or nonfiction special, a rare instance of the ceremony’s host also being one of its biggest individual winners.
Why the Creative Arts Emmys matter
The Creative Arts Emmys recognize the technical and craft categories, directing, cinematography, choreography, sound and the like, that don’t get air time during the main Primetime Emmys broadcast but often signal which shows are considered the strongest overall by the television academy’s voters. A program that dominates the Creative Arts weekend frequently carries that momentum into the following week’s televised ceremony.
This year’s Creative Arts Emmys were handed out over Saturday and Sunday, more than a week ahead of the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, which will be held at the same Peacock Theater venue. With Bad Bunny’s halftime special and The Traitors both entering that ceremony with serious wind at their backs, the two are shaping up as the shows to watch when the cameras turn on for the main event.
