What didn’t air at the Emmys – Zendaya’s PDA, Macaulay Culkin’s grief

LOS ANGELES — The 2026 Emmy Awards delivered some human, heartstring-pulling moments, from Macaulay Culkin grieving his late onscreen mother Catherine O'Hara to winners like Stephen Colbert and Tom Pelphrey sweetly thanking their significant others in their acceptance speeches.

But some of the best bits at the Sept. 14 ceremony weren't caught on the NBC broadcast. USA TODAY caught glimpses of how the stars battled the late summer LA heat, spent their glitzy date night with intimate moments (looking at you, Zendaya and Tom Holland) and dealt with unwieldy outfits.

Here are the moments we witnessed inside the Peacock Theater and backstage that didn't make it on air.

It's hard to overstate how miserably hot the Emmys blue carpet was on a humid Los Angeles September evening.

Word on the carpet was that once astute publicists realized the white protective tent and sun would create a greenhouse effect, there was a mad rush to buy portable fans on Amazon: neck fans, handheld electric fans, OG folding fans. “The Diplomat” star Rufus Sewell seemed particularly enamored with his electric fan, like a kid at a sweltering Christmas.

Sara Wells was holding husband Noah Wyle's electric fan as he did carpet interviews.

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/travel/