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.
Variety special writing
Best Variety Special Writing
- Alex Edelman: Just For Us
- The Oscars
- John Early: Now More Than Ever
- Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man And The Pool
- Jacqueline Novak: Get On Your Knees
John Oliver dedicates win to the good dogs
You cannot keep John Oliver down. He will always win.
Last Week Tonight was switched into the scripted variety series in the previous year and now wins here instead of in the talk variety category.
He thanked his “most fantastic dog” that he and his family must say goodbye to. SOB.
“She was at our wedding, and she got us through a pandemic. She was with us for the two presidencies and we have to say goodbye to her.
“This for all dogs. All dogs, very good boys, very good girls. You all deserve the treat.”
He punctuated the speech by heckling the play-off music which attempted to wrap him up. He even dropped the F-bomb, which will surely have been beeped in the US broadcast, but never the Australian one.
Best Scripted Variety Series
- Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
- Saturday Night Live
Fake Martha wins for Baby Reindeer
The so-called real-life Martha may not be having a good time but the woman who brought the character to life on screen just nabbed an Emmy.
Jessica Gunning took to the stage and thanked Richard Gadd, her co-star who created the series based on his own experiences with a stalker.
“My biggest thanks, though, has to go to Mr. Richard Gadd. So many times I have tried to put into words what working on Baby Reindeer, has meant to me, and I fail every time.
“So I’m gonna sing. Joking.
“I’ll keep it simple and just say thank you for trusting me to be your Martha. I will never, ever forget her or you or this. It really means a lot.”
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
- Dakota Fanning — Ripley
- Lily Gladstone — Under The Bridge
- Jessica Gunning — Baby Reindeer
- Aja Naomi King — Lessons In Chemistry
- Diane Lane — Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
- Nava Mau — Baby Reindeer
- Kali Reis — True Detective: Night Country
The Traitors triumphs over RuPaul
Alan Cumming accepted the award for new series The Traitors, which beat out perennial winner RuPaul’s Drag Race.
After thanking Scotland, where the series is filmed, Cumming gave credit to The Netherlands where the show was conceived.
“I also want to thank Holland, because I don’t think we thank because so many of these shows, like The Traitors, were first made up in Holland, and they obviously have something in the water, so let’s find it. Let’s drink it, and all America’s problems will be solved. Thank you so much.”
Best Reality Competition Program
- The Amazing Race
- RuPaul’s Drag Race
- Top Chef
- The Traitors
- The Voice
Jean Smart breaks The Bear’s streak
In one of the most-watched races of the night, Jean Smart has won over Ayo Edebiri in the best actress in a comedy category.
Edebiri had been cleaning up the circuit earlier this year but when Hacks dropped a new season just before the eligibility window closed for this year’s awards, it became an immediate competition.
Smart has won for both previous seasons of Hacks as well as three other Emmys for guest starring roles.
She gave a special shout-out to her agent of 30 years, Scott Henderson, who is retiring.
She called him, “the most amazing, supportive, cultured, tasteful, funny, kind, loving man who never tried to talk me in or out of things I really didn’t feel great about.
“And Scott, I love you and I wish you all the best. He’s gonna bicycle through France, because that’s better than representing me, I don’t know, but thank you.”
Best Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
- Quinta Brunson — Abbott Elementary
- Ayo Edeberi — The Bear
- Selena Gomez — Only Murders In The Building
- Maya Rudolph — Loot
- Jean Smart — Hacks
- Kristen Wiig — Palm Royale
Meeeooooow
Candace Bergen is up on stage to present the next award and she gets in an uproarious dig at vice-presidential candidate J.D. Vance’s “childless cat ladies” comment.
“In one classic moment, my character was attacked by vice president Dan Quayle when Murphy became pregnant and decided to raise the baby As a single mother,” Bergen recalled of the 1992 scandal.
“Oh, how far we’ve come today, a Republican candidate for vice president would never attack a woman for having kids. So as they say, ‘My work here is done now’.
“Meow.”
Elizabeth Debicki wins for playing Princess Diana
Australian actor Elizabeth Debicki has won for her performance of Princess Diana in the final season of The Crown.
She said she didn’t write a speech because she’s superstitious but exhibited the same poise and elegance as the late Princess as she winged it.
“Playing this part, based on this unparalleled, incredible human being has been my great privilege. It has been a gift. Thank you so very much.”
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
- Christine Baranski — The Gilded Age
- Nicole Beharie — Morning Wars
- Elizabeth Debicki — The Crown
- Greta Lee —Morning Wars
- Lesley Manville — The Crown
- Karen Pittman —Morning Wars
- Holland Taylor —Morning Wars
The Bear makes it three
Liza Colon-Zayas, who plays the brilliant Tina in The Bear, is absolutely stoked that she’s won in a category that also had Meryl Streep and Carol Burnett.
She said, “Thank you to my husband, David Zayas. He told me to write a speech, and I did it because how, how could I have thought it would be possible to be in the presence of Meryl Streep and Carol Burnett and Janelle (James) and Sheryl Lee Ralph and Hannah (Einbinder).”
Colon-Zayas added a message for other Latina women, “Vote. Vote for your rights”.
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
- Carol Burnett — Palm Royale
- Liza Colón-Zayas — The Bear
- Hannah Einbinder — Hacks
- Janelle James — Abbott Elementary
- Sheryl Lee Ralph — Abbott Elementary
- Meryl Streep — Only Murders In The Building
Yes, chef!
Jeremy Allen White fought off a potential insurgency from Larry David to take home his second consecutive Emmy win for The Bear.
White said, “This show, this show has has changed my life. It has instilled a faith that change is is is possible, that change is possible. If you are able to reach out, you are really, truly, never actually alone.”
White was always the favourite to win but there was the potential of a sentimental upset for David for the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm.
Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
- Matt Berry — What We Do in the Shadows
- Larry David — Curb Your Enthusiasm
- Steve Martin — Only Murders In The Building
- Martin Short — Only Murders In The Building
- Jeremy Allen White — The Bear
- D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai — Reservation Dogs
Billy Crudup wins for Morning Wars
Billy Crudup wins his second Emmy for his performance as the wild and manic TV exec Cory Ellison in Morning Wars, which is known elsewhere in the world as The Morning Show.
Crudup previously won for this exact role for the show’s first season.
He gave a shout-out to wife Naomi Watts.
“I’m happy to be here with my piece of eye candy there, my wife, who also happens to be an immigrant and also gave a searing performance this year, for which she’s nominated, and she starts businesses too. So nice to be by her side.”
Watts is nominated in limited series for her role in Feud: Capote versus the Swans.
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
- Tadanobu Asano — Shōgun
- Billy Crudup — Morning Wars
- Mark Duplass —Morning Wars
- Jon Hamm —Morning Wars
- Takehiro Hira — Shōgun
- Jack Lowden — Slow Horses
