The 77th Primetime Emmys were held Sept. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Comedian Nate Bargatze hosted the awards show. Drawing on his “Washington’s Dream” act on Saturday Night Live, he opened the event acting as Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor of television, in a laboratory in the 1920s. Farnsworth’s lab assistants, played by SNL cast members Mikey Day, Bowen Yang and James Austin Johnson, asked the inventor questions about the future of television. Like “Washington’s Dream,” Farnsworth calls out the irony of channel names, streaming and even the focus of the night: The Emmys.
A doubled-edged sword ran throughout the night: a shifting charity donation-meter. At the start of the show, Bargatze announced that he would donate $100,000 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America. However, that donation would lose $1,000 every time an acceptance speech ran longer than 45 seconds. If a speech went under, $1,000 per extra second was added. In the end, Bargatze announced a total donation of $350,000, thanks to CBS’ contribution.
The Studio, a series on Apple TV+, broke the record for most Primetime Emmys won by a comedy series in a single year, taking home a total of thirteen awards. Outstanding Comedy Series was one of the awards the series took home, beating other nominees and previous winners such as The Bear and Hacks. Actor from The Studio, Seth Rogen, won four Emmys for his work on the show, including Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He tied the record for most Emmys won by an individual in one night.
The Pitt won Outstanding Drama Series, but received a total of three awards. Noah Wyle won Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, claiming his first Emmy after six previous nominations. His co-star Katherine LaNasa won for supporting actress, beating out a group that included four stars of The White Lotus.
Adolescence was nominated for six awards and won them all, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. At age 15, Owen Cooper became the youngest male performer to win an Emmy in any acting category. Cooper shares in his acceptance speech, “Tonight proves if you listen, you focus and you step out of your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life. I was nothing three years ago. I’m here now.” His co-stars Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty also received awards for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, respectively.
Among other winners, Tramell Tillman won his first Emmy for his performance on Severance, which makes him the first black man to win an Emmy for the supporting actor in a drama series category. Jeff Hiller won for supporting actor in Somebody Somewhere, even beating out first time nominee and legendary actor Harrison Ford. Jean Smart won Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks—another consecutive win for her. Her co-star Hannah Einbinder won for Supporting Actress. Britt Lower won for actress in a drama series for her role in Severance. Cristin Milioti won for actress in a limited or anthology series for The Penguin, which is set in Matt Reeves’ The Batman universe.
In addition to awards, there were multiple allusions made to current political affairs throughout the ceremony. Television Academy Chairman Cris Abrego criticized Congress for voting to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Abrego stated that “At a time when division dominates the headlines, storytelling still has the power to unite us.” Hannah Einbinder ended her acceptance speech by saying, “Go Birds, f— ICE and free Palestine.” Einbinder has been very vocal in her criticism of the Trump administration’s policies on immigration and Israel’s assault on Palestine. Although she did manage to lighten up the mood of her statement with her display of love for the Philadelphia Eagles. Other stars showed their solidarity with Palestine by wearing pins and other symbolic items, including Javier Bardem who wore a kaffiyeh.
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert won for talk series. The crowd cheered as Stephen Colbert and his staff took the stage. This followed CBS cancelling Colbert’s show last July. Despite CBS’ claims they did this for financial reasons, the decision came three days after Colbert slammed parent company Paramount for a $16 million settlement with Donald Trump. Coincidently, CBS aired the Emmys this year. While staying apolitical in his speech, Colbert said, “At a certain point, and you can guess what that point was, I realized that in some ways we were doing a late night comedy show about loss. And that’s related to love because sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it.” He ended his speech by thanking CBS and sharing his hope that late night talk shows continue. This year’s ceremony highlighted many new faces and names in entertainment, while bringing attention to cultural and political topics prominent in the world right now.
