Marcello Hernandez used his moment on stage at the 2026 Emmys to invite Zendaya and her husband, Tom Holland, to dinner at his house, before presenting the award for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series to Hiro Murai for Widow's Bay.
The Saturday Night Live star made the pitch during the Sept. 14 ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. "It's an honor for me to be here," Hernandez said. "It's my first time at the Emmys. I get to present so I just want to take this opportunity to say hi to a few people I might not be able to say hi to later."
Before turning to Zendaya, Hernandez exchanged words with Harrison Ford, who was nominated for his role in Shrinking, and Oscar Isaac, nominated for his role in Beef.
The dinner invitation
Hernandez then addressed Zendaya directly. "I want to say hi to Zendaya," he said. "You're a beast and you're amazing and I saw you and I wanted to play it cool, and I decided I can't do that so I would like to invite you and Spider-Man to have dinner at my house."
Zendaya was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Euphoria, an award that ultimately went to Rhea Seehorn for Pluribus. She smiled as Hernandez spoke, then laughed at the invitation, before turning to Holland, her husband since earlier this year, as the couple nodded and clapped.
A story about Matthew McConaughey
Matthew McConaughey was not in the audience at the time; he and Woody Harrelson presented Outstanding Comedy Series later in the night. Hernandez still took the opportunity to recall his aunt telling him as a kid that if he worked "very hard," he might one day get to spend time with McConaughey. "I'm basically doing it," he joked.
Hargitay takes on Kidman's AMC ad
Host Mariska Hargitay used her opening monologue to riff on Nicole Kidman's well-known AMC theater commercial, reworking it for a night honoring television instead of film. Kidman interrupted from the audience, saying, "That's mine, that's my bit, you can't do that." Hargitay shot back, "Zip it, movie lady, it's TV's turn tonight."
The night's big winners
Noah Wyle won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for The Pitt for the second year running, with his wife, Sara Wells, by his side. David Harbour took home the award for supporting actor in a limited series, anthology or movie for DTF St. Louis.
Jean Smart won her fifth lead actress in a comedy Emmy, and eighth overall, for playing Deborah Vance on Hacks, beating fellow nominees Lisa Kudrow and Elle Fanning. Shailene Woodley won guest actress in a drama series for Paradise, reuniting with her Big Little Lies co-star Kidman at the ceremony. Seehorn's win for Pluribus marked her first Emmy, with fellow nominee Carrie Coon also in the room.
Reunions and other moments
Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz reunited from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, while Richard Jenkins and Peter Krause marked a rare reunion from Six Feet Under. Zendaya was photographed alongside Holland and Gary Oldman, and separately with Chase Infiniti, her fellow Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama nominee for The Testaments.
Widow's Bay director Hiro Murai was photographed with his partner, Emma Barrie, and The Witcher's Anya Chalotra. Kaley Cuoco sat between her fiance, Tom Pelphrey, who won an Emmy that night, and his Task co-star Mark Ruffalo. Colman Domingo was seen sipping a mini Ketel One Family Made Vodka martini at the bar.
Ayo Edebiri, Zendaya and Quinta Brunson went home without new statues this year but have four Emmys between them from past ceremonies. Hacks stars Hannah Einbinder and Megan Stalter, both nominated for supporting roles, celebrated the sitcom's final season despite losing out to Widow's Bay across the board. Beef, meanwhile, had already picked up three trophies the previous weekend at the Creative Arts Emmys.
