The 67th annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony was a night full of TV glamour and firsts as Jon Hamm, Viola Davis, “Game of Thrones” and “Veep” took home big honors at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Some of the night’s biggest awards went to HBO shows: Outstanding Drama Series went to “Game of Thrones,” and “Veep” scooped up the Comedy Series trophy.
HBO’s “Veep” scored two awards early on in the show — including one for writing and a Supporting Actor win for Tony Hale. Plus, Julia Louis-Dreyfus took home the acting honor for the political comedy series.
“This is just mind-blowing,” said the former “Seinfeld” star about her fourth straight win. She also managed to toss in a joke, noting “What a great honor it must be for you to honor me tonight” before adding that Donald Trump actually said that. “It’s getting trickier and trickier to satirize this stuff,” she quipped.
“Veep” wasn’t the only big winner Sunday night. Amazon’s “Transparent” won a couple of awards, too. Jill Soloway walked away with a directing trophy, and series star Jeffrey Tambor took home an actor honor, dedicating his win to the transgender community: “Thank you for your patience, thank you for your courage, thank you for your stories, thank you for your inspiration, thank you for letting us be part of the change. God bless you.”
“Olive Kitteridge” took several honors, including the Emmy for Outstanding Limited Series. Frances McDormand won an acting honor for her work on the series. “We’re all here because of the power of the stories that need to be told. Sometimes that’s enough. Thank you,” she said.
“The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” took home multiple awards, too, including directing and writing honors. Stewart, who recently stepped down as host of the Comedy Central show, hit the stage to accept the honor, saying, “To everyone on television, cling to it as long as you can … I’ve been off of television for six weeks … this is the first applause I’ve heard.” Guess it’s safe to say he misses “The Daily Show”? Either way, Stewart still has his great sense of humor.
Jon Hamm of “Mad Men” broke his losing streak, walking away Sunday for the Emmy for Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
“How to Get Away with Murder” star Viola Davis became the first African-American to win Best Actress in a Drama Series.
Other winners included Regina King, who scored the honor for Best Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for “American Crime,” and Allison Janney, star of the CBS show “Mom,” who took home the night’s first prize: Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
“There were eight of us in this category. I feel like I won the lottery,” said Janney, who also gave a shout-out to the sitcom’s producer Chuck Lorre for “thinking of me to play” her character on the hit show.
Actor/comedian Andy Samberg — this year’s host — kicked things off with a video that poked fun at the massive number of TV shows available via steaming and TV. As soon as he took the stage, Samberg said, “Justin Timberlake is not coming,” referencing the duo’s “Saturday Night Live” sketches.
He then gave a monologue that addressed politics, diversity and the state of TV.
“Sure, Donald Trump seems racist,” the “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” star said at one point as he paused. “What else?”
When it came to diversity, Samberg called out nominees like Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson. He said, “The big story this year is diversity,” he said, but then added, “So congratulations, Hollywood, you did it. Racism is over! Don’t fact-check that.”
Soon, it was time for the handing out of awards.
Samberg continued to entertain throughout the night in between awards and speeches. At one point, he gave out a password to HBO’s streaming service HBO Now, noting how the cable network recently noted how it wasn’t worried about the sharing of HBO Now passwords. His username referenced a character on HBO’s “Game of Thrones,” and his password? Password1. Apparently, it worked!
Going into the show, temperatures in downtown Los Angeles were rising, reaching nearly 100 degrees as stars hit the red carpet in bright hues, including yellow, plenty of cutouts, and even sunglasses.
Samberg had high expectations for the gala, saying ahead of his Emmy debut that he knows “it’ll be a funny show.”
The star-studded list of presenters includes Jamie Lee Curtis, Emma Roberts, Kerry Washington, Lady Gaga, Mindy Kaling, Seth Meyers, John Stamos, Colin Hanks, LL Cool J, Ben McKenzie, Amy Poehler and Gina Rodriguez.
The Emmys buzz has been going since last weekend, when the Creative Arts Emmys honored Jimmy Fallon, Taylor Swift, “Robot Chicken” and “Drunk History” and others.
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