Reba McEntire to lead Dolly Parton tribute as Emmys lock final presenters

Reba McEntire will headline a tribute to Dolly Parton at the 78th Emmy Awards. Parton died at age 80. The tribute will honour her life and work inside the live ceremony, according to Deadline.

The ceremony will air live from the Peacock Theater on NBC and Peacock on September 14. Mariska Hargitay will host. McEntire stars in Happy's Place, a comedy on NBC. NBC and its streaming service Peacock will carry the show live.

Fox's upcoming Baywatch reboot will have a big presence on stage. Stephen Amell, Noah Beck, Jessica Belkin, Hassie Harrison, Thaddeus LaGrone and Brooks Nader will present together. The six lead the new version of the lifeguard drama. Their slot introduces the cast to a wide audience before the series has aired.

LL Cool J and Scott Caan will also present. They star in NCIS: New York, a spinoff, meaning a new series grown out of an existing one, for CBS. Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson will present as well. They play the leads in Brothers, a comedy for Apple TV.

Julia Garner will present for Netflix. She stars in The Altruists, a limited series, meaning a drama designed to tell one story in a single season. Jamie Lee Curtis will join her on the presenter list. Curtis is also a nominee this year for The Bear.

Shailene Woodley, of Paradise, will present during the main telecast. Awkwafina, John Mulaney, Emma D'Arcy, Paul Anthony Kelly, Emmy Rossum and Sofía Vergara have also been added as presenters, according to Deadline. That rounds out the lineup announced in the run-up to air. Each will hand out awards during the night.

The list blends broadcast, cable and streaming talent. It brings together stars from upcoming network launches and established streaming titles. For viewers at home, that mix is the point. Presenters introduce categories, hand over trophies and keep the night moving.

The In Memoriam segment will feature Noah Kahan. He will perform "Bridge Over Troubled Water." The annual segment remembers industry members who have died in the past year. This year Parton's tribute will sit alongside it as a separate honour.

For fans, this means a ceremony with two distinct moments of remembrance. One celebrates a single, widely loved figure. The other makes room for many more. What makes this stand out is the balance between sorrow and celebration, with familiar faces guiding the audience through both.