Australia's Sarah Snook is nominated twice - for outstanding lead actress and producer - in the limited series All Her Fault.
Snook is no stranger to the winners' podium after taking home an Emmy in 2024 for her role as Shiv Roy in the series Succession.
Mariska Hargitay, star of NBC's drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, will host the ceremony, breaking with a tradition of having a comedian serve as emcee.
The festivities will be broadcast live at 10am AEST on Tuesday from downtown Los Angeles on NBC and stream on Peacock. Presenters will include Jon Hamm, Sally Field, Amy Poehler and Zendaya.
Hargitay said she worked with writers from Stephen Colbert's former late-night show to craft Emmys material.
"To spend time in a room full of brilliant comedy writers and be in this just joy and celebration, it's very different from what I do," Hargitay said ahead of the ceremony.
Nicole Kidman is another Australian nominated - for executive producer in the Apple TV comedy series Margo's Got Money Troubles.
The Emmys offer a rare night of celebration as Hollywood grapples with production cutbacks, anxiety over artificial intelligence and the proposed Paramount Skydance purchase of HBO owner Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has divided the industry and faces legal challenges.
At the show, Hacks star Smart could become the first performer to win the Emmy for best comedy actress in every season of a TV show's run while Ford could claim his first Emmy at age 84 for Shrinking.
HBO Max's The Pitt, set in a Pittsburgh trauma centre, is favoured to win best drama - the night's top award - for a second straight year.
Competitors include newcomer Pluribus, an Apple TV show about a woman at war with an alien hive mind.
Australia's Shabana Azeez, who stars as medical student Victoria Javadi in The Pitt, walked the blue carpet on Sunday in a golden sheath dress.
Her Pitt co-star star Noah Wyle is a leading contender for a second straight best actor Emmy.
Hacks, featuring Smart as a septuagenarian stand-up comic fighting to stay relevant, looked like the clear frontrunner two months ago. Also on HBO Max, the series earned best comedy once in its previous four seasons.
The show must fend off surging support, however, for Apple TV's Widow's Bay, a new horror comedy starring Matthew Rhys as mayor of a small New England town that appears to be cursed.
