5 Standout Women’s Takeaways From Creative Arts Emmys Night 2

The 78th Emmy Awards continued Sunday night with the second evening of the Creative Arts Emmys, celebrating the artists, craftspeople and performers whose work helps bring television’s biggest stories to life.

Held Sept. 6 at the Peacock Theater at L.A. LIVE in downtown Los Angeles, night two of the Creative Arts Emmys, offered another reminder that television’s most influential women are working across every corner of the industry—from acting and costume design to hair, makeup, production and other behind-the-scenes disciplines. Here are the biggest takeaways from the evening.

Women continue to shape the look and feel of television

Some of the night’s most notable wins came from women working behind the scenes to define how television looks.

The team behind Margo’s Got Money Troubles took home Emmys for Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Series, Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling and Outstanding Contemporary Makeup (Non-Prosthetic), highlighting the collaborative work required to establish a show’s visual identity. Costume designer Mirren Gordon-Crozier and her team, as well as hairstyling and makeup artists including Jaime Leigh McIntosh and Erin Ayanian Monroe and their respective teams, were among those recognized.

Meanwhile, Palm Royale continued to demonstrate the power of women-led creative departments, with women among the artists recognized for the show’s period costumes and makeup.

Costume designer Alix Friedberg praised her team, while winning, “This show was built with the hands of the most incredibly talented costume teams, textile artists, and builders based in the great city of L.A.” Friedberg’s team won the Emmy for Outstanding Period Costumes for a Series for their vibrant, maximalist work on Apple TV+’s Palm Royale.

These categories may not always receive the same attention as acting awards, but they are essential to how audiences experience a series—and women remain central to that creative process.

Women are making television’s worlds—not simply appearing in them

The Creative Arts Emmys are particularly valuable because they spotlight the people audiences don’t always see on screen.

From costume and makeup to production design, editing, animation, and other technical categories, night two reinforced just how many women are working as creative architects behind some of television’s most ambitious projects.

Their contributions help establish a show’s period, tone, characters, and overall visual language. In other words, women aren’t simply contributing to television’s stories—they are helping build the worlds in which those stories unfold.

Recognition for women performers remains an important part of the conversation

On the acting side, Shailene Woodley earned her first Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Annie Clay in Hulu’s Paradise. The win also marked the series’ first Emmy.

Linda Cardellini was also among the night’s recognized women performers, taking home the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.

Their wins underscore the continued recognition of women’s range across television’s increasingly diverse formats.

The Emmy celebration continued with Decoy at the Governors Gala

The Creative Arts Emmys celebration didn’t end with the final award. Following night two, Decoy, the Official Wine Partner of the Emmy Awards, welcomed television talent, creators, and industry leaders to the Governors Gala at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The evening brought together some of television’s most recognizable names, including Seth Rogen, Natasha Lyonne, Wanda Sykes, Linda Cardellini, David Alan Grier, Noah Wyle, Lori Greiner, Andrew Rannells, Jim Rash, Miriam Shor, Jeff Hiller, Taylor Dearden, Tina Ivlev, Samba Schutte, Kim A. Snyder and Marie-Flore “Ri” Beaubien.

Women who were recognized during the Creative Arts Emmys were also part of the celebration. Beef costume winners Kellie Ishisaki and Sarah Basta, who received the Emmy for Outstanding Contemporary Costumes for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, attended the gala, as did Shailene Woodley, who won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series for her role as Annie Clay in Hulu’s Paradise.

For Decoy, the Governors Gala provided an opportunity to celebrate the creativity and craftsmanship behind television while bringing together the storytellers, creators and culture-makers who make Emmy season such a significant moment for the industry.

The biggest takeaway: Women are contributing at every level

Perhaps the clearest takeaway from night two is that women’s influence on television cannot be reduced to who takes home an acting trophy.

Women are designing the costumes. Creating the hair and makeup looks. Building the visual worlds. Producing and editing the stories. Developing the performances. And increasingly, receiving the recognition that reflects the breadth of that work.

The Creative Arts Emmys remind us that television is a collaborative art form—and women are integral to nearly every layer of its creation.

And when the cameras stop rolling and the celebrations move to the Governors Gala, those same women are still at the center of the conversation. Women aren’t simply participating in television’s future; they’re helping build it.

Both nights of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards will be edited into a single broadcast airing Saturday, September 12, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on FXX. The broadcast will also stream on Hulu beginning September 13.