THE EMMYS RECAP: All the Emmy Awards 2024 winners and highlights as they happened
The Emmys ceremony delivered a rarity, a genuine upset win.
The widely expected triumph for The Bear as best comedy series didn’t convert. Instead, the third season of Hacks upstaged the buzzy series about a traumatised chef, and took home the main series gong.
Hacks also won in writing for a comedy while lead Jean Smart picked up her third Emmy for playing Deborah Vance, a prickly and ageing stand-up comedian.
The Bear didn’t go home empty-handed, winning four other Emmys including three in acting — while showrunner and creator Christopher Storer won in directing.
The series perhaps underperformed for a couple of reasons. The first is that even though these Emmys were to recognise the series’ universally acclaimed second season, the dates were that the show’s third season, which was divisive, was going to air during the voting period.
The other is the bubbling discourse that the intense show wasn’t actually a comedy but a drama with comedic elements.
Hacks has no such identity crisis.
On the drama side, Disney’s Shogun took out best drama as well as a pair of acting gongs for its leads, Japanese actors Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai. It also won an award for directing.
The historical series is an American production but it is mostly in Japanese and Shogun becomes the first non-English language series to win a series Emmy.
The show is set in 17th century feudal Japan and deals with the power vacuum after the death of a ruler as warring factions battle for supremacy.
The other big winner of the night was Netflix miniseries Baby Reindeer, which won four gongs including best limited or anthology series, plus a writing and acting award for creator Richard Gadd and best supporting actress for Jessica Gunning.
Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki won her first Emmy for portraying Princess Diana in the final season of The Crown but fellow expat Naomi Watts lost out for her role in Feud: Capote versus the Swans.
Jodie Foster won an Emmy for her performance in True Detective: Night Country and Fargo actor Lamorne Morris beat out Robert Downey Jr in a competitive category.
There was a reunion for The West Wing and Happy Days while TV icons such as Meredith Baxter, Jimmy Smits, Christine Baranski and George Lopez presented segments themed to “TV cops” or “TV dads” or “TV lawyers”.
Hosts Eugene Levy and Dan Levy even engineered a Schitt’s Creek reunion when they brought Annie Murphy onstage just before the final category before all three threw to Catherine O’Hara to present the award.
All the updates as it happened below.
That’s a wrap
That’s the Emmys for another year!
Scroll down for all the updates as they happened.
Hacks upsets The Bear
Well, who saw that coming?!
Hacks, which, let’s be honest, had a spectacular third season, won the Emmy for comedy series, beating out widely expected winner The Bear.
Paul W. Downs, a writer, co-creator and star on the show, looked genuinely shocked. He said, “You know, there are about 20 per cent of our population is over 60-plus, and there are only 3 per cent of those characters on television, and I would like to see more of them, because while I’m a great young supporting actor, I really want to be a good old lead.”
His creative and life partner Jen Statsky added, “Comedy is so important, obviously to us, but we really feel like it can bridge divides. When you laugh at someone, you have something in common with them.
“So, please support comedy. It speaks truth to power, it really does. Support your local comedian, and we have to go because we start shooting the next season in five days. Thank you and goodnight.”
Best Comedy Series
- Abbott Elementary
- The Bear
- Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Hacks
- Only Murders in the Building
- Palm Royale
- Reservation Dogs
- What We Do in the Shadows
Shogun brings it home
Shogun has taken the big award of the evening, best drama series.
Co-creator Justin Marks pointed out how incredible it was that the network “greenlit a very expensive, subtitled Japanese period piece whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition”.
He added, “We share this award with our extraordinary cast and crew from Japan and North America. Shogun is a show about translation, not what is lost, but what is found when you do safety meetings in two languages and you learn not to walk onto tatami mats with your utility boots.”
Best Drama Series
- The Crown
- Fallout
- The Gilded Age
- The Morning Show
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith
- Shōgun
- Slow Horses
- 3 Body Problem
West Wing reunion
It’s the 25-year anniversary of The West Wing is this week (yes, there will be a love letter to the show on The Nightly to come) and a cast reunion is in order!
Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Dule Hill, Janel Moloney and Richard Schiff took to the stage in a mock-up of the Oval Office. They joked about how much politics has changed since The West Wing was on the air.
Schiff said, “It’s hard to believe that just 25 years ago, Aaron and the writers actually had to use their imaginations to create interesting plot lines for the West Wing today, where storylines can be plucked right off the news, storylines that writers would have deemed a bit far fetched, if not utterly ridiculous.”
Anna Sawai wins for Shogun
New Zealand-born Japanese actor Anna Sawai also won for Shogun, for playing Lady Mariko, a complex and meaty role.
Sawai said, “Thank you to the Academy for naming me alongside my fellow nominees whose work I have grown I grew up watching and love.
“Thank you to John Landgraf and the whole FX team for believing in our story. Thank you Justin (Marks) and Rachel (Kondo) for believing in me and giving me this role of a lifetime. Thank you to every single one of cast led by Hiro(yuki Sanada).
He really has opened door to doors and continues to open doors for people like me.
Thank you so much, Cosmo (Jarvis). You are the most honest and truthful, and no BS actor I know, and you made me give my 120 per cent. Lastly, thank you to my team, and thank you to my family. Mum, I love you. You are the reason I’m here. You showed me stoicism, and that’s how I was able to portray Mariko.”
Best Lead Actress in a Drama Series
- Jennifer Aniston — The Morning Show
- Carrie Coon — The Gilded Age
- Maya Erskine — Mr. & Mrs. Smith
- Anna Sawai — Shōgun
- Imelda Staunton — The Crown
- Reese Witherspoon — The Morning Show
Hiroyuki Sanada wins for Shogun
An emotional Hiroyuki Sanada won the Emmy for best actor in a drama series for his commanding performance in Shogun.
Sanada is a legend in his homeland of Japan but is also familiar to western audiences from roles in John Wick, Avengers: Endgame and Westworld.
He said, “I’m beyond honoured to be here with these amazing nominees. Thank you for FX, Disney and Hulu for believing in me. Thank you to my team for always supporting me, and thank you for all the crew and cast of Shogun. I’m so proud of you.
“It was an East meets West dream project with respect, and Shogun taught me that when people work together, we can make miracles, we can create a better future together. Thank you so much.”
Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series
- Idris Elba — Hijack
- Donald Glover — Mr. & Mrs. Smith
- Walton Goggins — Fallout
- Gary Oldman — Slow Horses
- Hiroyuki Sanada — Shōgun
- Dominic West — The Crown
Baby Reindeer triumphs
Scandals and pending lawsuits were not going to stop the steamroller phenomenon that was Baby Reindeer.
It has just won the Emmy for Limited or Anthology Series.
Gadd’s speech about taking risks was a huge hit in the room.
He said, “Look, I know the industry is in slump right now, and I know it might force or put pressure on networks and stuff to tighten the purse strings and broaden the slate.
“I do believe no slump is ever broken without a willingness to take risks. I think if Baby Reindeer has proved anything, it’s that there’s no set formula to this. You don’t need big stars, proven IP, long running series, catch all storytelling to have a hit.
“Really the only constant across any success in television is good storytelling. Good storytelling that speaks to our times. So, take risks, push boundaries, explore the uncomfortable.”
Best Limited Or Anthology Series
- Baby Reindeer
- Fargo
- Lessons in Chemistry
- Ripley
- True Detective: Night Country
Of course it’s Jodie Foster
It should be Jodie Foster, she’s an absolute queen, and she was so, so good in True Detective: Night Country.
She said, “It’s an incredibly emotional moment for me, because True Detective Night Country was just a magical experience, and it all comes from the top, beautiful, wonderful, talented. I love you so much, Issa Lopez.”
Lopez is the showrunner and writer of the fourth season of True Detective.
Best Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series
- Jodie Foster — True Detective: Night Country
- Brie Larson — Lessons in Chemistry
- Juno Temple — Fargo
- Sofía Vergara — Griselda
- Naomi Watts — Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
Richard Gadd wins acting gong for Baby Reindeer
Richard Gadd gets a do-over on his acceptance speech, winning his second award for Baby Reindeer, this time for acting.
He forgot to thank his parents on the last go, so he’s pretty happy to have an opportunity to rectify that oversight.
He said, “You know, they’re the best. We’ve had some trying times as a family, they were there for me, a constant source of love and support. The thing I’m most grateful for is they never, ever told me what I needed to do with my life, and they never ever told me who I needed to be.
“That’s the greatest gift a parent can give a child. They always said, Follow your heart and the rest will fall into place’. And I think it’s good advice, follow your heart and the rest will fall into place. Thank you.”
Best Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series
- Matt Bomer — Fellow Travelers
- Richard Gadd — Baby Reindeer
- Jon Hamm — Fargo
- Tom Hollander — Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
- Andrew Scott — Ripley
Shogun wins first trophy of the night
The show we’ve been waiting for, for the Shogun sweep to start (hopefully).
The drama series just won in the directing category for Frederick E.O. Toye.
Toye thanked the cast and crew but also name-checked his directing influences.
“I wanted to thank my heroes who taught me how to direct. David Lean, Alfred Hitchcock, Akira Kurosawa and Robert Wise, and thank you for letting me steal from them every day.”
Best Directing for a Drama Series
- Mr. & Mrs. Smith — Hiro Murai
- Shōgun — Frederick E.O. Toye
- Slow Horses — Saul Metzstein
- The Crown — Stephen Daldry
- The Morning Show — Mimi Leder
- Winning Time: The Rise Of The Lakers Dynasty — Salli Richardson-Whitfield
