Celebrities are out in force for the 78th edition of the Emmy awards – with Welsh actor Matthew Rhys making history with wins in two lead actor categories for his work in Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me
Hiro Murai, Katie Dippold and Matthew Rhys (r) who made history with wins in two lead actor categories(Image: Matt Baron/BEI/Shutterstock)
This year’s Primetime Emmy Awards has wrapped up and the full list of winners has now been released.
Host Law & Order star Mariska Hargitay, who is the first woman to host the show in 15 years, presented awards in 19 categories at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles overnight. This year, The Pitt led the pack with 25 total nominations, followed by Hacks (with 24 nominations, a comedy series record), Widow’s Bay (19), Pluribus (18), and Beef (16).
“Widow’s Bay” stormed the Emmy Awards on Monday night, breaking a record for a comedy series with 14 awards including best comedy series and three acting wins. Welsh actor Matthew Rhys made history with wins in two lead actor categories for his work in Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me.
Here’s a round-up of the highlights and the winners list in full:
Taylor Swift was there, kind of
In a pre-taped sketch, Taylor Swift played a rookie in the “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” office.
Hargitay’s Olivia Benson went through two large crime boards to make connections between Swift’s songs and Emmy nominations to see if she’d attend the telecast. One of the detectives called it a “rabbit hole.”
The sketch ended with Hargitay posing with Swift — both glaring into the camera, very seriously — bookmarking Swift’s cat, named in tribute of Olivia Benson.
Swift was actually at Arrowhead Stadium on Monday night, and sitting alongside Tom Cruise, to watch new husband Travis Kelce and his Kansas City Chiefs open the NFL season against the Denver Broncos. It was the first time Swift has seen Kelce play since they were married over the summer.
Jean Smart won five Emmys
Jean Smart was predicted to win her fifth straight Emmy for “Hacks” and did it early and with style. “What a ride this has been,” she said.
It’s her eighth trophy overall, which ties the all-time performer record shared by Cloris Leachman, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Allison Janney, who also won her eighth Monday. Smart becomes the first woman to win the best actress trophy for each season of a show’s run.
She kept a special thank you to the end — to “Hacks” creators Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs and Jen Statsky: “It all begins and ends with them,” she said.
Sally Field got a standing ovation
One of the night’s most popular winners was 79-year-old Sally Field.
The entire Peacock Theater audience was on its feet, and their applause drowned out Fields’ first few words. It was the two-time Oscar winner’s fourth career Emmy and first since 2007.
She is the oldest Emmy winner in her category — lead actress in a limited or anthology series or TV movie for the Netflix’s “Remarkably Bright Creatures.”
“Wow, wow. This is not supposed to happen,” said Field. “I love this project from page one.”
Field later returned to honor her “Steel Magnolias” co-star, Dolly Parton. “I adored her from Day One,” she said. “I am not the only one on earth who will love you forever.”
Dolly Parton tribute
The Emmys were the first major award show to air since the death of Dolly Parton last month, and the Television Academy crafted a separate segment to say goodbye.
Field talked of Parton’s bawdy sense of humor and her humanitarian impulse. Parton’s longtime friend and fellow country music icon Reba McEntire then performed Parton’s “Appalachian Memories.”
“I’ll keep looking to the Father / Keep my head above the water / Appalachian memories keep me strong,” McEntire sang. “I love you, Dolly,” she said in a coda.
“Schitt’s Creek” alums Dan Levy and Annie Murphy and “Home Alone” star Macaulay Culkin honored their late co-star Catherine O’Hara. “She was all our mom,” Culkin said.
‘Buffy’ stars reunite as the show turns 30
Just six months after the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” reboot was scrapped, stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz reunited onstage to celebrate the show’s 30th anniversary.
She also acknowledged it had been a tough two years for the show’s cast and crew, implicitly acknowledging the recent deaths of actors Anthony Head (Giles), Nicholas Brendon (Xavier) and Michelle Trachtenberg (Dawn).
Past Emmy nights have been chocked full of reunions — “The Golden Girls,” “Gilmore Girls” and “Law & Order” were just a few last year. This time, not so much. Other than “Buffy,” there was only one other — Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith teamed up for the 50th anniversary of “Charlie’s Angels.”
Welcome back, Sofia
Sofia Vergara made it to the Emmys this year to present supporting actor in a comedy, bypassing the emergency room. Last year, she had to bow out of presenting at the last minute after suffering an eye allergy just before the show.
All eyes were on Megan Stalter
Megan Stalter, a nominee for best supporting actress for “Hacks,” was dressed as an Emmy statuette, complete with wings and a coat of gold makeup. She even held up a sphere like the real trophy itself.
It was Stalter’s first time attending the Emmys as a nominee. She earned her first career nod for supporting actress in a comedy series for playing Kayla Schaeffer in the fifth and final season of “Hacks.”
Here’s a list of winners at the 78th annual Primetime Emmy Awards:
Comedy series – “Widow’s Bay”
Drama series – “The Pitt”
Lead actor in a comedy series – Matthew Rhys, “Widow’s Bay”
Lead actress in a comedy series – Jean Smart, “Hacks”
Lead actor in a drama series – Noah Wyle, “The Pitt”
Lead actress in a drama series – Rhea Seehorn, “Pluribus”
Limited or anthology series – “DTF St. Louis”
Lead actor in a limited or anthology series or movie – Matthew Rhys, “The Beast in Me”
Supporting actor in a drama series – Tom Pelphrey, “Task”
Supporting actress in a drama series – Allison Janney, “The Diplomat”
Supporting actor in a comedy series – Stephen Root, “Widow’s Bay”
Supporting actress in a comedy series – Kate O’Flynn, “Widow’s Bay”
Lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie – Sally Field, “Remarkably Bright Creatures”
Reality competition series – “The Traitors”
Variety series – “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”
Directing for a drama series – Saul Metzstein, “Slow Horses”
Directing for a comedy series – Hiro Murai, “Widow’s Bay”
Writing for a drama series – Vince Gilligan, “Pluribus”
Writing for a comedy series – Katie Dippold, “Widow’s Bay”
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