The comedian hosts ‘Who Wants to Be a Millionaire’ on ABC
Credit: Disney/Christopher Willard
NEED TO KNOW
- Jimmy Kimmel won Outstanding Host for a Game Show for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire at the 2026 Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday, Sept. 5
- Other nominees included Steve Harvey for Celebrity Family Feud, Ken Jennings for Jeopardy!, Colin Jost for Pop Culture Jeopardy! and Martin Short for Match Game
- The Creative Arts Emmys will air Saturday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FXX and stream on Hulu the next day
Who wants to be an Emmy winner? Jimmy Kimmel!
The comedian, 58, won Outstanding Host for a Game Show for ABC’s Who Wants to Be a Millionaire at the 2026 Creative Arts Emmys ceremony held on Saturday, Sept. 5, in Los Angeles. Jeopardy!, meanwhile, won Outstanding Game Show the same night.
Kimmel became the host of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire in 2020. Last year, Kimmel also took home the award in the same category.
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During his acceptance speech last year, Kimmel paid tribute to the late Regis Philbin, who served as the original host of the U.S. version of the series. “Regis was the best at this,” he later told Gold Derby in the press room. “I don’t think this show would still be on the air if Regis hadn’t hosted it to start with.”
The comedian’s late-night talk show Jimmy Kimmel Live! is nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series and Outstanding Variety Series.
Other nominees in the Outstanding Host for a Game Show category included Steve Harvey for Celebrity Family Feud, Ken Jennings for Jeopardy!, Colin Jost for Pop Culture Jeopardy! and Martin Short for Match Game.
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Harvey, 69, has hosted Celebrity Family Feud for 11 years. The game show put a spin on Harvey’s other hit, Family Feud, where stars compete alongside their relatives and cast members for a chance to win money for charity. Since its 2015 debut, the TV personality has been nominated for four Emmys for hosting Celebrity Family Feud.
Speaking to Variety in 2024, Harvey revealed his secret to hosting a game show. “I think the key to being a great host is you’ve got to be gracious; you’ve got to be willing to laugh at yourself,” he said. “But then you’ve got to know the line of how far you can push the joke with a contestant. You can’t make the audience think you’re being harsh with them. But at the same time, you’ve got to have fun with them.”
Credit: Christopher Willard/Disney
Jennings, 52, took over Jeopardy! after longtime host Alex Trebek died in November 2020. He became host of its celebrity spinoff during its second season in 2023.
His time on the hit trivia game show started long before that, as he first appeared as a contestant in 2004. Jennings went on to win 74 consecutive games that year, which is the longest regular-season winning streak in Jeopardy! history.
This year marks the game show host’s fifth Emmy nomination. In his first season as host, Jeopardy! won Outstanding Game Show at the 2021 Daytime Emmys.
In an August interview with PEOPLE, Jennings shared why he thinks the game show, which has been on the air for over 40 years, has stayed successful. “For young audiences, old audiences, red states, blue states, it doesn’t matter. This is a place where America comes together,” he said. “And facts actually matter, you know?” Jennings added. “There’s expertise and scholarship on Jeopardy!, and that’s how it should be.”
Credit: Tyler Golden/Amazon Studios
Jost, 44, who is known for hosting “Weekend Update” alongside Michael Che on Saturday Night Live, entered the world of game shows when he became the host of the Jeopardy! spinoff when it debuted in 2024. As host of Pop Culture Jeopardy!, Jost has been nominated twice.
During a December 2024 appearance on the Today show, the comedian shared what it was like to step onto the set to host Pop Culture Jeopardy! “It’s kind of intimidating being on that set; he [Trebek] did it so well; Ken does such a great job. You don’t wanna mess it up. You don’t want to disgrace this hallowed ground,” he said.
Throughout his career, Jost has been nominated for 20 Emmys, winning two: Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special and Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for SNL in 2025.
Credit: ABC/Youtube
When ABC revived the hit game show Match Game in 2025, Short, 76, signed on as host. The show follows four contestants competing for $250,000 by matching fill-in-the-blank answers with a panel of celebrities. Match Game first premiered in 1962 and was hosted by Gene Rayburn. Alec Baldwin hosted the first revival from 2016 to 2022.
“I used to love Match Game in the ‘60s when I was a kid,” Short said in an ABC promo video. “I seemed hip and ruckus, and, again, you felt like you were at a party with these celebrities.”
Throughout his storied career, Short has been nominated for 23 Emmys, winning two: Outstanding Variety Special for AFI Life Achievement Award: A Tribute to Mel Brooks in 2014 and Outstanding Writing in a Variety or Music Program for his work on SCTV Network in 1983.
The 78th Emmy Awards (Creative Arts) are being held on Sept. 5 and Sept. 6 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles and will be edited into a single broadcast that airs Saturday, Sept. 12, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FXX and streams on Hulu the next day. The Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on NBC and Peacock Monday, Sept. 14, with host Mariska Hargitay.
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