LOS ANGELES — Though the 2026 Emmys saw plenty of celebrities mingling in the VIP section, the after-parties were where the stars let loose and caught up with their industry pals.
As the Emmy-winning "Widow's Bay" (Apple TV) and "The Pitt" (HBO Max) teams fanned out across town to their respective celebrations, some of the nominees branched outside of their TV networks' events. Here's what we heard and saw at the Emmys after-parties.
TV veterans come out for HBO Max
After winning his final Emmy for "The Late Show," Stephen Colbert animatedly chatted with Noah Wyle at HBO Max's exclusive West Hollywood festivities at the San Vicente Bungalows. Meanwhile, in the so-called tarot room, two '90s TV icons – Lisa Kudrow ("The Comeback") and Cynthia Nixon ("The Gilded Age"), who arrived
with "Sex and the City" costar Kristin Davis – were seated in adjacent booths, engaged in more intimate conversations.
The streamer not only celebrated the night's trophies but also its stars' birthdays. Individual cakes were carted over to history-making "Hacks" winner Jean Smart (who turned 75 on Sept. 13) and her costar Meg Stalter (36 on Sept. 15), as well as "A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms" breakout Dexter Sol Ansell, who turns 12 on Sept. 16.
"And Just Like That…" co-creator Michael Patrick King also blew out a candle for his 72nd birthday on Sept. 14 with Davis and Nixon beside him.
Linda Cardellini's dress starts giving up after a long day
"DTF St. Louis" star Linda Cardellini – who won last week during the early Emmy awards, for supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie – made the trek upstairs to peruse culinary options, which consisted of fresh hand rolls at a sushi bar and scoops from Henry's Secret Ice Cream. The "Freaks and Geeks" alumna ended up walking away with a cup of milk and honey ice cream.
Later, as she ventured back down the steps, she admitted that the mother-of-pearl pieces making up her iridescent column gown from Yara Shoemaker were shedding everywhere.
As she held out the delicate dress components as proof of her long day, the Emmy winner seemed far from bothered.
'The Pitt' star Shabana Azeez swaps her shoes for slippers
Another sign of a long day of festivities came with "The Pitt's" Shabana Azeez switching out her footwear as the clock struck midnight.
As Azeez made some final rounds with her fellow onscreen medical school student Lucas Iverson, her butter yellow dress trailed on the brick floor over the black slippers she'd snagged from a server's tray. She seemed to prefer these house slippers, which had "shoes off" stitched on top, over the shoes she'd arrived in.
Kaley Cuoco and Tom Pelphrey's date night goes late
As Tom Pelphrey held court with his supporting actor in a drama series trophy for "Task," he was never too far from his partner, Kaley Cuoco.
After Pelphrey brought "The Flight Attendant" alumna − who is pregnant with their second child − to tears with his acceptance speech earlier in the night, Cuoco was content to stay put on the couch in the billiard room at HBO Max's event, chatting with friends and colleagues as they came by. As the night wound down, she entertained herself on her phone by scrolling on Instagram.
Colbert can't go as hard as he did for 'The Late Show' wrap party
Before he wound up at HBO Max's celebration, Colbert and wife Evelyn McGee Colbert popped over to the Apple TV after-party in Hollywood. There, the duo was asked on the red carpet whether Colbert could party as hard as he did at the team's wrap party after "The Late Show" was pulled off-air by Paramount, ending his 11-year run as host.
"I don't think I can!" Colbert told reporters. "I think I blew it all that night."
Matthew Rhys jokes about double fisting his Emmys like beers
After jokingly lording his historic win over longtime partner Keri Russell, who did not take home a trophy for "The Diplomat," "Widow's Bay" lead Matthew Rhys had more jokes up his sleeve at Apple TV's fête.
"It's not the first time, but I usually do it with beers," he told reporters on the red carpet.
Contributing: Allison Moses
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Emmys after-parties feature wardrobe hilarity, Colbert's victory lap
