In between doling out awards mainly to HBO, Netflix, and Amazon, the 70th annual Primetime Emmy Awards functioned like a three-hour Saturday Night Live skit.
Hosted by Colin Jost and Michael Che, the ceremony aired Monday, September 17, and although some sketches fell flat (we’re talking to you, Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen), most hit the mark. Among the highlights were an opening musical number about conquering diversity (see above), and a bit in which “reparations Emmys” were awarded to black actors from popular series of the ‘80s and ‘90s (including Jimmie Walker and Jaleel White).
The broadcast also featured a mic-dropping moment when Glenn Weiss proposed to his girlfriend during his acceptance speech for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special (for the 90th Academy Awards).
Of course the ceremony is all about the awards, and this was the year of the underdog, with upsets in quite a few categories. Leading the pack was Amazon series The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which took home five of the major awards, including the Emmy for comedy series, writing, directing, and both lead actress and supporting actress.
Netflix led in terms of overall nominations, with 112 to HBO’s 108, but the two studios tied for wins at 23 each. With Games of Thrones back in the running this year, HBO snagged a few more awards for the hit show, including Outstanding Drama Series. Possibly the most surprising turn of events was a pair of wins for HBO’s Barry, including both Outstanding Lead Actor and Supporting Actor for Bill Hader and Henry Winkler, respectively.
In a win for fans of the popular FX series The Americans, the show finally got some recognition for its main cast and writing after wrapping up its sixth and final season this year.
The full list of nominees and winners in each of the major categories is below.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Claire Foy (The Crown)
Tatiana Maslany (Orphan Black)
Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Sandra Oh (Killing Eve)
Keri Russell (The Americans)
Evan Rachel Wood (Westworld)
Winner: One of the biggest category upsets, Claire Foy took home the win for her role as Queen Elizabeth in the Netflix series, despite many believing that Elisabeth Moss had it in the bag for her riveting role as the tortured handmaid Offred in The Handmaid’s Tale. The win was a sweet one for the British actress, given that she will be replaced by Olivia Colman for the upcoming third season, who will play an older version of the Queen.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman (Ozark)
Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us)
Ed Harris (Westworld)
Matthew Rhys (The Americans)
Milo Ventimiglia (This Is Us)
Jeffrey Wright (Westworld)
Winner: After six seasons and a series finale that aired in May, Rhys finally snagged the award for his role in this period spy thriller as a Soviet KGB officer posing as an American family man living in Virginia during the Cold War.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Antonio Banderas (Genius: Picasso)
Darren Criss (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story)
Benedict Cumberbatch (Patrick Melrose)
Jeff Daniels (The Looming Tower)
John Legend (Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert)
Jesse Plemons (USS Callister: Black Mirror)
Winner: The series is about the murder of famous designer Gianni Versace, but Darren Criss was the breakout star as the deeply troubled shooter Andrew Cunanan. His performance as the remorseless young man got him the win.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Jessica Biel (The Sinner)
Laura Dern (The Tale)
Michelle Dockery (Godless)
Edie Falco (Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders)
Regina King (Seven Seconds)
Sarah Paulson (American Horror Story: Cult)
Winner: Despite Sarah Paulson and Edie Falco having been the favorites in this category, multiple Emmy winner Regina King took home the statue for her role in the Netflix crime drama about racial tensions when a white police officer accidentally hits and injures a black teenager, then tries to cover it up.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)
Ted Danson (The Good Place)
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm)
Donald Glover (Atlanta)
Bill Hader (Barry)
William H. Macy (Shameless)
Winner: Despite being the first person to finally oust Jeffrey Tambor from the winner’s throne in this category last year, Donald Glover was beat out by underdog Bill Hader for his lead role in this dark comedy from HBO about a dissatisfied Midwestern hitman who ends up joining the theater in L.A.
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Pamela Adlon (Better Things)
Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Allison Janney (Mom)
Issa Rae (Insecure)
Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish)
Lily Tomlin (Grace and Frankie)
Winner: Expected to win, Rachel Brosnahan took home one of many awards for this period comedy-drama about a homemaker who becomes a stand-up comedian, and used her acceptance speech to raise awareness for women’s issues. “Mrs. Maisel is about a woman who’s finding her voice anew,” she said. “It’s happening all over the country right now.”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Alexis Bledel (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Millie Bobby Brown (Stranger Things)
Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Lena Headey (Game of Thrones)
Vanessa Kirby (The Crown)
Thandie Newton (Westworld)
Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Winner: Both Vanessa Kirby and Ann Dowd, favorites to win, were beaten out by Newton, who plays a self-aware android “host” in a Wild West-themed amusement park in HBO’s sci-fi Western series.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Game of Thrones)
Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones)
Joseph Fiennes (The Handmaid’s Tale)
David Harbour (Stranger Things)
Mandy Patinkin (Homeland)
Matt Smith (The Crown)
Winner: For the third time since 2011, Peter Dinklage took home this award for his role as Tyrion Lannister in the popular HBO series.
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Zazie Beetz (Atlanta)
Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live)
Betty Gilpin (GLOW)
Leslie Jones (Saturday Night Live)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)
Laurie Metcalf (Roseanne)
Megan Mullally (Will and Grace)
Winner: Alex Borstein prevented Kate McKinnon from pulling a hat trick and taking home her third win in a row. While Laurie Metcalf managed to be nominated even after Roseanne was canceled (though it has been resurrected in a different form), it was Amazon for the win again in this category.
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Louie Anderson (Baskets)
Alec Baldwin (Saturday Night Live)
Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt)
Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta)
Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live)
Henry Winkler (Barry)
Winner: After a lengthy career, Henry Winkler took home his first Emmy for playing the passionate acting coach who meets with Bill Hader’s hitman character in the HBO series.
Outstanding Limited Series or Movie
The Alienist (TNT)
The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime (FX)
Genius: Picasso (National Geographic)
Godless (Netflix)
Patrick Melrose (Showtime)
Winner: The previous installment of American Crime, The People v. O.J. Simpson, swept the awards back in 2016, so it was expected that the Assassination of Gianni Versace would claim back the category. The series’ time-jumping look at what might have happened in the days leading up to, and after, the death of the famous fashion designer offered a chilling insight into the thoughts and life of his killer.
Outstanding Drama Series
The Americans (FX)
The Crown (Netflix)
Game of Thrones (HBO)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
This Is Us (NBC)
Westworld (HBO)
Winner: Despite the success of and reception for The Handmaid’s Tale, with Game of Thrones returning to the nominees list, it was no surprise that the HBO series took home the win for the third time.
Outstanding Comedy Series
Atlanta (FX)
Barry (HBO)
Black-ish (ABC)
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
GLOW (Netflix)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Silicon Valley (HBO)
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix)
Winner: After taking home the award for Best Television Series – Musical or Comedy at this year’s Golden Globes, the Amazon comedy followed it up with an Emmy as well, along with many others during the ceremony.
A few other notable awards categories:
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Jeff Daniels (Godless); Brandon Victor Dixon (Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert); John Leguizamo (Waco); Finn Wittrock (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story); Ricky Martin (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story); Edgar Ramirez (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story); Michael Stuhlbarg (The Looming Tower).
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Sara Bareilles (Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert); Penelope Cruz (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story); Judith Light (The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story); Adina Porter (American Horror Story: Cult); Merritt Wever (Godless); Letitia Wright (Black Mirror: Black Museum).
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (Comedy Central); Full Frontal With Samantha Bee (TBS); Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC); Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO); The Late Late Show With James Corden (CBS); The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
At Home With Amy Sedaris (TruTV); Drunk History (Comedy Central); I Love You, America With Sarah Silverman (Hulu); Portlandia (IFC); Saturday Night Live (NBC); Tracey Ullman’s Show (HBO)
Outstanding Television Movie
Farenheit 451 (HBO); Flint (Lifetime); Paterno (HBO); The Tale (HBO); Black Mirror: USS Callister (Netflix)
Outstanding Reality Competition Series
American Ninja Warrior (NBC); The Amazing Race (CBS); Project Runway (Lifetime); RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1); Top Chef (Bravo); The Voice (NBC)
