Quick witted, full of stars, TV reunions and some “Schitt’s Creek” nostalgia, the second 2024 Emmy Awards was an inoffensive, pleasurable evening, which is honestly an A+ as far as awards shows are concerned. A night without any slaps, misread winners or terrible musical numbers is a good night for all.
On ABC Sunday, the 76th Primetime Emmy trophies glittered and hosts Eugene and Dan Levy lobbed jokes, while big emotions ruled the wins, some predictable and others truly shocking. The Emmys were fun, but also (as usual) too long and full of awkward bits about TV cops and doctors. But we can’t have everything. We’ll have to settle for some good winners this year: Victories for FX restaurant-set dramedy “The Bear,” Max’s showbiz comedy “Hacks,” FX’s historical epic “Shogun” and Netflix’s limited-series phenomenon “Baby Reindeer,” which scored four major wins.
Highlights from the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards:
Although last year’s winners and nearly every Emmy pundit predicted the top comedy award would go to FX’s “The Bear,” it was “Hacks,” Max’s comedy about an older comedian played by Jean Smart that triumphed when the final award was announced by Catherine O’Hara (who, with an appearance from Annie Murphy, made it a full “Schitt’s Creek” reunion).
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“Hacks” producers Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky were just as stunned (but elated) as the rest of us as they accepted the award.
“We really feel like (comedy) can bridge divide when you laugh with someone, you have something in common with them,” Aniello said. “So please support comedy, it speaks truth to power. Support your local comedian!”
The momentum didn’t start until the night was nearly over, but after many other categories and wins for other series, my pick for best TV show of the year, “Shogun,” finally started getting the awards it so deserves (at least in Sunday’s ceremony, after it won 14 last weekend at the Creative Arts Emmys, a record for a drama series in a single season). That included the biggest of the night, outstanding drama series, with star and producer Hiroyuki Sanada helping accept the award for the bilingual series in Japanese. But that wasn’t all.
Sanada also won for best actor in a drama series for his role as a political power player in feudal Japan in the FX adaptation of the James Clavell historical novel. And Anna Sawai won best drama actress for playing noblewoman and translator Toda Mariko.
“It was an East meets West dream project, with respect,” Sanada said of the production, which brought together American and Japanese filmmakers to tell the story of the first English contact with Japan in the year 1600. “And ‘Shogun’ taught me that when people work together we can make miracle.  We can create a better future together.”
As decorated an actress as Jodie Foster is, she’s never won an Emmy award before tonight. But she took to the stage to enormous applause to accept the award for outstanding actress in a limited series for her phenomenal performance in HBO’s “True Detective: Night Country,” filmed mostly in Iceland but set in an Indigenous community in frosty Alaska.
Foster thanked her director Issa López, her co-star Kali Reis and her family, but “mostly the indigenous people … of Northern Alaska. Mostly they told us their stories and they allowed us to listen. It was love, love, love…”
Netflix limited series “Baby Reindeer” took over the streaming service earlier this year as one of its most-watched shows of all time, and Sunday it took over the Emmys’ limited-series category. The based-on-a-true-story series follows a man who survived sexual abuse and assault and then was later stalked and harassed by a woman he meets in a chance encounter. The deeply intense and dark series had a great night. First Jessica Gunning, who played the stalker, won the award for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series. Next, creator, writer and star Richard Gadd won for writing the series, and gave a raw and heartfelt speech.
“Look, 10 years ago I was down and out, right? I never ever thought I’d get my life together,” he said. “And then here I am, just over a decade later, picking up one of the biggest writing awards in television. I don’t mean that to sound arrogant, I mean that as encouragement to anyone who’s going through a difficult time right now, to persevere.”
Gadd was back up onstage to accept the award for outstanding actor in a limited series, a win he wasn’t prepared for as he fumbled over his quick acceptance speech. But at least he managed to remember to thank his mom and dad this time. And then he showed up at the mic one more time when the “Reindeer” won for outstanding limited series.
Emmy winner John Leguizamo introduced the chairman of the Television Academy, Chris Abrego, with a speech about the struggle TV has had representing people of color, particularly Latino people. He mentioned the limited representations of himself he could see on TV as a kid, caricatures like Speedy Gonzales from “Looney Tunes.”
“I used to watch ‘Star Trek’ and think, ‘Wow, in the future there won’t be an Latin people,'” he deadpanned. The actor, who recently took out a full-page ad in the New York Times encouraging the TV Academy to nominate people of color for their extraordinary work, praised the diversity of the nominees this year, and appeared to bring nominee Selena Gomez to tears.
“But we need more stories from excluded groups: Black, Asian, Jewish, Arab, LGBTQ+ and disabled,” he went on. “This show tonight is proof that our industry is making progress.”
In one of the first surprises of the night, Lamorne Morris, most known for sitcom “New Girl,” won out against stiff competition for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series for his performance in FX’s “Fargo.” The crowd went wild and a visibly elated Morris thanked God, his mother and promised to thank everyone he forgot on a podcast (an Emmy first? Maybe!) And he had plenty of love for his fellow nominees: “Robert Downey, Jr. I have a poster of you in my house, please sign it!”
John Oliver’s HBO series “Last Week Tonight” can’t stop winning Emmy Awards (it’s up to 30 after Sunday night), so the comedian has had plenty of opportunities to make an acceptance speech. After thanking his staff, his wife and his kids (messing up one of their names), he moved on to thanking the most important being out there: his dog. Getting emotional talking about how his late pup helped him through the pandemic and life, the orchestra started to play him off. So the frequently foul-mouthed Oliver spouted some profanities (and was bleeped by the broadcast). Oliver was able to speak again without play-off music, and say a word for all the good boys and girls out there. It was clearly the most emotional the audience got all night. Because dogs are that good.
Five-time Emmy winner and star of shows like “Murphy Brown” and movies like “Miss Congeniality,” Candice Bergen took the stage to present the award for outstanding actress in a comedy (to Jean Smart, who won for “Hacks” for the third time), and used her time at the mic for political humor. She mentioned the time Republican Vice President Dan Quayle spoke out against “Murphy” after the unmarried character became pregnant and decided to raise her baby. She then lobbed a loaded joke at current GOP VP nominee JD Vance, without even mentioning his name.
“Today a Republican candidate for vice president would never attack a woman for having kids. So as they say, my work here is done. Meow.”
The double-barreled joke played Vance’s past comments noting that only women with families cared about the fate of the nation. He also bemoaned the nation being run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies.”
The TV Academy is saying “yes, chef!” Again. And they probably will keep saying it all night long. FX’s “comedy” “The Bear” walked away with four statues Sunday: Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy for Ebon Moss-Bacharach, outstanding actor in a comedy for Jeremy Allen White, outstanding directing for a comedy for Christopher Storer and an emotional and historic win for Liza Colón-Zayas in outstanding supporting actress in a comedy. The actress is the first Latina woman to win in this category, a milestone she acknowledged in a short but powerful speech that had her category competitors Streep and Burnett cheering. It was hard not to get emotional, too.
“It’s an epic honor. … People can see this and see that it is possible,” Colón-Zayas said to press backstage after her win.
Father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy were the first to admit they aren’t stand-up comedians when they took to the stage for the opening monologue to Emmys, but that didn’t stop them absolutely killing it with their sweet and dry wit. Nobody was offended, there were many genuine laughs in the room and it was all over in a quick seven minutes. That’s all we could ever want or need from an opening monologue.
The Levys hit the right balance of light-hearted and biting jokes, and the right people (and corporations) were always the butts of the gags: Each other, the TV Academy and FX’s “The Bear” pretending to be a comedy. Eugene promised that he wouldn’t make a joke about tense restaurant-set series being nominated as a comedy because, “in the true spirit of ‘The Bear,’ we will not be making any jokes.”
They topped it all off by introducing “stars of ‘The Golden Bachelor’ Steve Martin and Martin Short,” and it set the tone for a great night.
The Emmy awards hadn’t even officially started when the tears started flowing Sunday night. The normally bubbly E! red carpet show host Laverne Cox was brought to tears as she embraced “Baby Reindeer” star Nava Mau, who got similarly emotional. Both actresses have made Emmys history as trans women: Cox, the first trans person to ever earn an acting nomination for Netflix’s “Orange is the New Black” in 2014; and Mau, the first trans woman to be nominated for best supporting actress in a limited series for “Baby Reindeer” this year.
“I’m so proud of you,” Cox told Mau, wiping away tears. “Ten years ago, I became the first openly transgender person to be nominated for an acting Emmy, and 10 years later, I’m not the last.”
Before entering Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, TV’s A-listers served on the red carpet. They strutted, sashayed and swaggered in gorgeous gowns accessorized with megawatt smiles.
USA TODAY’s Erin Jensen has picked the best looks that have sauntered across the red carpet so far, from Selena Gomez to “3 Body Problem” star Eiza González. We love a sparkle!
Angela Bassett and Jamie Lee Curtis are among the stars who already took home Emmy awards last weekend at the Creative Arts Emmys, in which awards are given out in non-televised ceremonies for categories including outstanding guest actor, casting and reality host. Bassett snagged her first Emmy for narrating the National Geographic documentary series “Queens.” Curtis won as comedy guest actress ifor a Season 2 episode of FX’s “The Bear,” also her first Emmy. 
Contributing: Patrick Ryan, Erin Jensen