How do you run a Emmys 2026 pool?
The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards air Mon, Sep 14, 2026 · 8pm ET on NBC & Peacock. A pool works like this: everyone predicts the winner in each of the 22 ballot categories before the show, correct picks score points, and the highest total wins. Setup takes about five minutes.
Updated July 2026
Add to calendar 📅The headliners
The envelopes everyone stays on the couch for. In weighted pools these carry the night.
The majors
Lead performances and marquee programs: where pools are usually won or lost.
The craft races
Directing, writing, supporting: the deep cuts that separate the film-school crowd from the rest of us.
Should you just pick the favorites?
History says the safe ballot isn’t safe. The numbers below come from 26 years of winner data. Quote them at your watch party and sound insufferable in the best way.
20%
#At the Emmys, the defending champ holds the envelope just 20% of the time. Chalk is a lie.
Across 208 Emmy category-years (2000–2025), the previous year's winner repeated 42 times.
The envelope, please.
Run this ceremony live: friends join with a code, the leaderboard updates as every winner is announced.