The 75th Emmy Awards were held on Monday night (January 15th) at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. Originally scheduled for September 18th, 2023, and rescheduled due to the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, the ceremony was hosted by Anthony Anderson and aired live on FOX. In lieu of play-off music, the Black-ish actor’s mother, Doris Bowman, played the role of “enforcer” and nudged winners to wrap up their acceptance speeches.
Falling in line with the Golden Globe Awards and Critics Choice Awards, Succession and The Bear were the big winners of the evening with six awards each—including Outstanding Drama Series and Outstanding Comedy Series respectively. Beef followed close behind with five wins.
Quinta Brunson made history as the second Black woman to win the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her role on Abbott Elementary, becoming emotional during her acceptance speech. Isabel Sanford was the first Black woman to win the award in 1981 for her role on The Jeffersons, according to The New York Times.
Niecy Nash stole the show with her acceptance speech for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her role in Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. “And you know who I want to thank? I want to thank me,” she said. “For believing in me and doing what they said I could not. And I want to say to myself in front of all you beautiful people, ‘Go on girl with your bad self. You did that!’”
Nash added, “Finally, I accept this award on behalf of every Black and brown woman who has gone unheard yet over-policed. Like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor. As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power, and baby I’mma do it till the day I die. Mama, I won!”
Ayo Edebiri thanked her parents while accepting the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in The Bear. “Thank you so much for loving me and letting me feel beautiful and Black and proud of all of that. I just love you so much," she said. "Probably not a dream to immigrate to this country and to have your kid be like, 'I want to do improv.’ But you're real ones."
While accepting the award for Outstanding Reality Competition Program for RuPaul’s Drag Race, RuPaul addressed the rise of anti-drag legislation. “If a drag queen wants to read you a story at a library, listen to her because knowledge is power and if someone tries to restrict your access to power, they are trying to scare you so listen to a drag queen. We love you, thank you,” he said.
Presenters for the evening included Tracee Ellis Ross, Natasha Lyonne, Ke Huy Quan, Colman Domingo, Marla Gibbs, Peter Dinklage, Jenna Ortega, Pedro Pascal, Jon Hamm, and Jodie Foster.
Pedro Pascal got revenge on Kieran Culkin for saying “Suck it, Pedro” at the Golden Globes after winning Best Actor in a drama series for Succession. Explaining what happened to his “shoulder” while presenting the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, Pascal joked, “Keiran Culkin beat the shit out of me.”
Christina Applegate received a standing ovation after taking the stage to present the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, causing her to tear up. This comes after she announced in 2021 that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. “Thank you so much,” she said to applause. “Oh my god, you’re totally shaming me with disability by standing up. It’s fine … Body not by Ozempic. Okay, let’s go.”
Cast members from shows such as Cheers, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Grey’s Anatomy, Martin, Ally McBeal, and Community all reunited onstage to present awards as well.
As the show took place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, it ended with a clip of one of his most famous speeches from the March on Washington.
See the full list of winners below:
Outstanding Drama Series
Succession HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat
Outstanding Comedy Series
The Bear FX • FX Productions
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Succession • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions
Sarah Snook as Shiv Roy
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Succession • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions
Kieran Culkin as Roman Roy
Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series
Beef Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Beef Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production Ali Wong as Amy Lau
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Beef • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production Steven Yeun as Danny Cho
Outstanding Variety Special (Live)
Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium Disney+ • Disney+ Presents in association with Rocket Entertainment / A Fulwell 73 Production
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Succession • Connor’s Wedding • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions
Mark Mylod, Directed by
Outstanding Writing For A Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Beef • The Birds Don’t Sing, They Screech In Pain • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production
Lee Sung Jin, Written by
Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series
Succession • Connor’s Wedding • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions
Jesse Armstrong, Written by
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Black Bird • Apple TV+ • Apple Studios
Paul Walter Hauser as Larry Hall
Outstanding Directing For A Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Beef • Figures of Light • Netflix • A Netflix Series / An A24 Production
Lee Sung Jin, Directed by
Outstanding Talk Series
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah Comedy Central • Central Productions, LLC
Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver • HBO Max • HBO in association with Sixteen String Jack Productions and Avalon Television Daniel O’Brien, Senior Writer Owen Parsons, Senior Writer Charlie Redd, Senior Writer Joanna Rothkopf, Senior Writer Seena Vali, Senior Writer Johnathan Appel, Writer Ali Barthwell, Writer Tim Carvell, Writer Liz Hynes, Writer Ryan Ken, Writer Mark Kramer, Writer Sofia Manfredi, Writer John Oliver, Writer Taylor Kay Phillips, Writer Chrissy Shackelford, Writer
Outstanding Reality Competition Program
RuPaul’s Drag Race MTV • World of Wonder
Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series
The Bear • System • FX • FX Productions
Christopher Storer, Written by
Outstanding Directing For A Comedy Series
The Bear • Review • FX • FX Productions
Christopher Storer, Directed by
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story • Netflix • Ryan Murphy Productions for Netflix
Niecy Nash-Betts as Glenda Cleveland
Outstanding Scripted Variety Series
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver HBO Max • HBO in association with Sixteen String Jack Productions and Avalon Television
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
The Bear • FX • FX Productions
Jeremy Allen White as Carmen ‘Carmy’ Berzatto
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
The Bear • FX • FX Productions
Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Richard “Richie” Jerimovich
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Succession • HBO Max • HBO in association with Project Zeus, Hyberobject Industries, Gary Sanchez Productions and Hot Seat Productions
Matthew Macfadyen as Tom Wambsgans
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
The White Lotus • HBO Max • HBO in association with Rip Cord and The District
Jennifer Coolidge as Tanya McQuoid-Hunt
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary • ABC • Delicious Non-Sequitur Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television and 20th Television
Quinta Brunson as Janine Teagues
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
The Bear • FX • FX Productions
Ayo Edebiri as Sydney Adamu
