The Primetime Emmy Awards 2026 may still be a week away, but the award season has begun. Over the weekend, the Television Academy handed out early awards in technical and creative categories, a week before the main ceremony. Among the big winners was Prime Video’s Spider-Noir, the superhero show that was abruptly cancelled just days earlier.
Spider-Noir’s bittersweet week
Spider-Noir was abruptly cancelled by Prime Video and MGM after its first season, despite receiving positive reviews and strong viewership. The news emerged this week. Just days later, on Sunday, the Nicolas Cage-starrer secured multiple wins at the 2026 Emmy Awards. The series, which debuted on the streamer in May, received 11 nominations for the 2026 Emmy Awards, the most by any Prime Video show. On Sunday, it won awards for stunt coordination for comedy programming, sound editing for a one-hour comedy or drama series, title design, special visual effects in a single episode and cinematography for a series.
Speaking to the press backstage, supervising stunt coordinator Freddy Bouciegues addressed the unusual timing of the wins, coming days after the series was cancelled. When asked whether they hoped Prime Video would reverse its cancellation decision, Bouciegues joked, “Tell me who to call, I’ll ask them.”
The Spider-Noir character debuted in the animated Into the Spider-Verse film, where it was voiced by Nicholas Cage. The actor brought the character to live-action with its own show this year. Spider-Noir follows Ben Reilly, a down-on-his-luck private investigator in 1930s New York who is “forced to grapple with his past life following a deeply personal tragedy, as the city’s one and only superhero.”
Rob Reiner wins posthumously
Nine months after his death, the late actor-director won the Outstanding Guest Actor Award in a Comedy Series for The Bear at the Emmys. The award was a posthumous honour for the legendary actor-filmmaker, who was killed alongside his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, in December last year. It is also the first posthumous Emmy for an on-camera performance since Raúl Juliá won for The Burning Season in 1995.
The win received a standing ovation from the audience. Presenter Wendi McLendon-Covey received the award on the late actor’s behalf and said, “It’s appropriate to stand for this one. I know we all wish Rob could be here tonight.” This was Rob Reiner’s first Emmy for acting in 48 years.
No longer the ‘Creative Arts’ Emmys
This weekend’s ceremony was earlier dubbed the Creative Arts Emmys. But this year, that branding has been done away with. Now, they are simply the first two nights of the 78th Emmy Awards. The two nights will be edited together to air September 12 on FXX and stream on Hulu the following day. The primetime September 14 ceremony, also at the Peacock Theater, will be hosted by Mariska Hargitay. The awards will stream in India on JioHotstar.
Normally, the early ceremony only features technical awards. But this year’s edition also included five categories that were previously presented during the Primetime ceremony, including supporting actor and supporting actress in a limited or anthology series