Reba McEntire and Dolly Parton. Jason Davis/Getty Image; Jason Kempin/Getty Images for American Greetings Reba McEntire has been tapped to perform a special tribute to the late Dolly Parton during the 2026 Emmy Awards on Monday night, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
The Grammy winner is expected to sing a song by the Queen of Country Music, who died last month at age 80 after a brief battle with cancer. In addition to McEntire’s performance, New York Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson is also expected to make a guest appearance during a pre-taped segment at the beginning of the telecast.
It’s no secret that host Mariska Hargitay is a longtime Knicks fan, regularly spotted sitting courtside at games at Madison Square Garden. However, when THR caught up with Hargitay ahead of the ceremony, she wouldn’t confirm whether Brunson would make a special appearance.
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“Not sure, but maybe OG will come flying in with 1.2 seconds left,” Hargitay said at the time.
It was previously announced that the awards ceremony will also feature a performance by Noah Kahan for the In Memoriam segment, as well as celebrations for the 30th anniversary of Buffy the Vampire Slayer with David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar and the 50th anniversary of Charlie’s Angels with Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith.
Heading into the ceremony, HBO Max‘s The Pitt leads the Emmy nominees with 25 nominations, followed by HBO Max’s Hacks (with 24 nominations), Apple TV+’s Widow’s Bay (19), Apple TV+‘s Pluribus (18 nominations), Netflix’s Beef (16), HBO Max’s DTF St. Louis (13) and NBC’s Saturday Night Live and Amazon Prime Video’s Spider-Noir with 11 nominations each.
The 78th Emmy Awards, hosted by Law & Order: Special Victims Unit star, will air live from the Peacock Theater on Monday, Sept. 14, at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.
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