Sabrina Carpenter has achieved her first Primetime Emmy for her work on ‘The Muppet Show’

Grammy winner Sabrina Carpenter secures her first Primetime Emmy as The Muppet Show takes home the award for Outstanding Variety Special.

Sabrina Carpenter has achieved her first Primetime Emmy, as The Muppet Show special secured the award for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded).

Carpenter received the award for his role as an executive producer and performer in the Disney+ special, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the cherished television series that aired from 1976 to 1981.

The award was presented on Saturday, September 5, during the inaugural evening of the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards ceremonies, previously referred to as the Creative Arts Emmys.

The Muppet Show triumphed over Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour, Dave Chappelle: The Unstoppable…, Nikki Glaser: Good Girl, and Wicked: One Wonderful Nite in the category.

The victory signifies the second occasion Carpenter has triumphed over Taylor Swift for an award on the journey toward EGOT status.

In February 2025, Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet took home the award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the Grammy Awards, surpassing Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department. Carpenter also took home the award for Best Pop Solo Performance for “Espresso” that evening.

Carpenter has reached the midpoint in the journey toward EGOT status, having earned both Emmy and Grammy awards.

Swift is currently halfway to achieving EGOT status, having won a juried Primetime Emmy in 2015 for Outstanding Creative Achievement in Interactive Media for AMEX Unstaged: Taylor Swift Experience, where she took on the roles of artist and executive producer.


The Muppet Show enjoyed a successful evening, securing three more awards for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special, Outstanding Production Design for a Variety Special, and Outstanding Picture Editing for a Variety Program.

On the first night of the 2026 Primetime Emmys, only three programs garnered more awards than The Muppet Show.

The Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny topped the list with seven awards, while The Traitors followed closely with six, and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert secured five awards.

Carpenter was one of several executive producers acknowledged for The Muppet Show, alongside Seth Rogen, David Lightbody, Leigh Slaughter, Michael Steinbach, Evan Goldberg, James Weaver, Alex McAtee, Matt Vogel, Eric Jacobson, Albertina Rizzo, and Alex Timbers.

Ryan Janata was awarded the title of co-executive producer, and Dani Iglesias received recognition as producer.

The special has one remaining nomination on the second night of the Primetime Emmys on Sunday, September 6, with Matt Vogel nominated for Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance for his portrayal of Kermit the Frog.

A total of 49 categories were showcased on Saturday, with an additional 53 planned for Sunday. During the live Emmy telecast on Monday, September 14, only 19 categories will be showcased.

The 78th Emmy Awards ceremonyhosted by Mariska Hargitayst, will be broadcast live on NBC from the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live and will also be available for streaming on Peacock.