This year’s Primetime Emmy Awards have officially ended, and they were like no other. While Jimmy Kimmel, who last hosted back in 2016, was a familiar face, the setting was not. For the first time, the show took place virtually, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
- Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
- Outstanding Limited Series or Movie
- Outstanding Drama Series
- Outstanding Comedy Series
- Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
- Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
- Outstanding Variety Talk Series
- Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
- Outstanding Reality Competition Series
Despite everyone participating from different locations, the 72nd annual ceremonies was still focused on celebrating the best in television and recognizing actors and the people behind series for their impressive work.
Who and which shows won the biggest, most-talked-about awards? Here are all the winners. Did your favorite take home a golden statue?
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show)
Olivia Colman (The Crown)
Jodie Comer (Killing Eve)
Laura Linney (Ozark)
Sandra Oh (Killing Eve)
Zendaya (Euphoria)
Winner: This American teen drama, which is loosely based on an Israeli miniseries of the same name, earned Zendaya the statue for her emotional leading role as Rue Bennett, a recovering teenage drug addict. The series itself has been widely praised for not only its acting and story, but also the way it approaches mature subject matter with brutal honesty. At just 24 years old, this marks Zendaya’s first Emmy Award. She got her start on Disney Channel sitcom Shake It Up.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman (Ozark)
Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us)
Steve Carell (The Morning Show)
Brian Cox (Succession)
Billy Porter (Pose)
Jeremy Strong (Succession)
Winner: Jeremy Strong appeared genuinely surprised that he won for his role as Kendall Roy, the troubled son of the head of a global media powerhouse on HBO’s Succession Kendall is the one child of four who seemed best primed to take over the family-run business, held back only by his own demons. Though Strong faced stiff competition from fellow nominees, including his co-star Brian Cox (who plays his ruthless father) and last year’s winner Billy Porter, his portrayal of the immature son with modernized ideas of where to take the business is so real that he earned the moment.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Jeremy Irons (Watchmen)
Hugh Jackman (Bad Education)
Paul Mescal (Normal People)
Jeremy Pope (Hollywood)
Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True)
Winner: Jharrel Jerome, who pulled out a surprise win last year for When They See Us, left some big shoes to fill in this category. And The Hulk himself, Mark Ruffalo, was the most fitting actor to fill them. History suggests that when someone plays a dual role, they get recognized for it. And in this limited series, Ruffalo played two very different twins, one suffering from severe mental illness. So, it’s no surprise he was sent home with a statue in recognition of it.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Cate Blanchett (Mrs. America)
Shira Haas (Unorthodox)
Regina King (Watchmen)
Octavia Spencer (Self Made)
Kerry Washington (Little Fires Everywhere)
Winner: Regina King always poses tough competition, so it’s no surprise she took home the award for her role as Angela Abar/Sister Night, a detective who wears a nun’s habit in this superhero drama based on the 1986 DC Comics series of the same name. This marks King’s fourth Primetime Emmy Award: She won previously in 2015 and 2016 for American Crime and in 2018 for Seven Seconds.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)
Don Cheadle (Black Monday)
Ted Danson (The Good Place)
Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method)
Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek)
Ramy Youssef (Ramy)
Winner: Eugene Levy took home the award for Schitt’s Creek, the little comedy that took the world by storm. It surprisingly marked the veteran actor’s first Emmy for acting. He joked that he finally won an Emmy for comedy for the “straightest role he’s played” in his career. The series, about a wealthy family that loses everything and is forced to start over in a small town, started to capture viewer attention outside of its home country of Canada once it began streaming on Netflix. Levy’s only other Emmy is for writing on the sketch comedy series SCTV back in 1983.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)
Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me)
Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)
Issa Rae (Insecure)
Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish)
Winner: Catherine O’Hara is a legend in the business, and she brought the role of Moira, a once-insanely wealthy and privileged former soap star to life, complete with ridiculous accent and selection of crazy wigs. Being honored among her presence was award enough for the other five nominees. So while it would have been nice for Christina Applegate to finally get the recognition she deserves for Dead to Me, O’Hara was tough competition and took home the win.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Laura Dern (Big Little Lies)
Meryl Streep (Big Little Lies)
Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown)
Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve)
Julia Garner (Ozark)
Sarah Snook (Succession)
Thandie Newton (Westworld)
Winner: Going two-for-two for Ozark, Julia Garner won again for her captivating role as the perpetually angry small town criminal Ruth Langmore, who became a powerful right-hand to the Byrd family in their dealings with an illegal drug empire. Garner, who has also appeared in The Americans, Maniac, and Dirty John, now has back-to-back Emmys for the Netflix series.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul)
Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)
Mark Duplass (The Morning Show)
Nicholas Braun (Succession)
Kieran Culkin (Succession)
Matthew Macfadyen (Succession)
Jeffrey Wright (Westworld)
Winner: Bringing home a win for Apple’s new streaming service, Apple TV+, Billy Crudup won for his role as Cory Ellison, the new network executive who took over operations and was hell-bent on shaking things up. His portrayal as the ruthless businessman kept viewers guessing as to whether he was the good guy or the bad guy, and who’s side he was really on (besides his own). While Crudup has won many awards through his lengthy career, this actually marks his first-ever Emmy.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Betty Gilpin (GLOW)
D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place)
Yvonne Orji (Insecure)
Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)
Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live)
Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek)
Winner: “Ew, David” has become a meme and a staple on T-shirts thanks to Annie Murphy‘s portrayal of the self-absorbed, spoiled daughter of formerly wealthy parents on this little Canadian comedy that did the equivalent of “going viral” when it started streaming on Netflix. While she had stiff competition, it was sweet to see newcomer Murphy take home the win.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
William Jackson Harper (The Good Place)
Alan Arkin (The Kominsky Method)
Sterling K. Brown (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Mahershala Ali (Ramy)
Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live)
Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek)
Winner: The low-budget comedy from Canada put Eugene Levy’s son Dan Levy on the map as not only a talented actor but writer and producer as well. He not only starred in this show with his real father as an entitled grown son, he also wrote the show alongside his comedy legend dad (he won that award, too). He did a wonderful job of not only portraying an LGBTQ character in a way that has rarely been done before, with very little focus on his sexuality at all, but in delivering witty one-liners, episode after episode.
Outstanding Limited Series or Movie
Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu)
Mrs. America (Hulu)
Unbelievable (Netflix)
Unorthodox (Netflix)
Watchmen (HBO)
Winner: Watchmen, the miniseries based on the 1986 DC Comics series of the same name, took home the award this year. It serves as a sequel that takes place 34 years after the original events. It focuses on racial violence in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where a white supremacist group targets the police department. The series received a total of 26 Emmy nominations.
Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul (AMC)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Killing Eve (BBC America/AMC)
The Mandalorian (Disney Plus)
Ozark (Netflix)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
Succession (HBO)
Winner: Succession was the hands-down favorite to win in this category, especially since the show took home the Golden Globe. With a talented cast and a mesmerizing settings that highlight incredible opulence, the series personifies the wonderful escapism that’s often the goal when we park ourselves on the couch to delve deep into a dramatic show. Led by Brian Cox, the series has made breakout stars of the rest of the main cast. The win was no surprise.
Outstanding Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Dead to Me (Netflix)
The Good Place (NBC)
Insecure (HBO)
The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video)
Schitt’s Creek (Pop TV)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Winner: Schitt’s Creek depicts a ridiculously simple concept: An obscenely wealthy family goes from riches to rags after losing all their money, and is forced to move to a small town they once bought as a joke because it’s the only asset they still own. The story is original and refreshing, the acting and writing superb, the portrayals of members of the LGBTQ community praiseworthy, the reception overwhelmingly positive, and the underlying message about family and focusing on what’s important in life is something we can all get behind.
A few other notable awards categories (winners highlighted):
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Dylan McDermott (Hollywood), Jim Parsons (Hollywood), Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend), Yayha Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen), Jovan Adepo (Watchmen), Louis Gossett Jr. (Watchmen)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Holland Taylor (Hollywood), Uzo Aduba (Mrs. America), Margo Martindale (Mrs. America), Tracey Ullman (Mrs. America), Tony Collette (Unbelievable), Jean Smart (Watchmen)
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central), Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS), Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC), Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO), Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO), Drunk History (Comedy Central), Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Outstanding Reality Competition Series
The Masked Singer (Fox), Nailed It (Netflix), RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1), Top Chef (Bravo), The Voice (NBC)
