Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
Entertainment
Benjamin Lee in New York

Game of Thrones takes best drama as Fleabag wins big at Emmys – as it happened

Phoebe Waller-Bridge and the cast and crew of Fleabag.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge and the cast and crew of Fleabag. Photograph: Kevin Winter/Getty Images

End credits

undefined

So while the ceremony might have felt like a drag at times (did all of those awards really need to be televised) and while the decision not to have a host didn’t pay off quite as well as it did for the Oscars, there were enough surprise wins to make this year’s Emmys a compelling night.

The biggest story was Phoebe Waller-Bridge, whose self-confessed “pervy” show cursing its way into the hearts of Emmy voters was something not many had predicted, especially given the competition. It was less of a surprise that Game of Thrones would win the biggest award of the night but the dramatic categories did at least offer some surprise acting wins, such as Billy Porter and Jodie Comer. Brits enjoyed a strong showing across the board, the best for years, with further wins for Ben Whishaw, Charlie Brooker and Jesse Armstrong.

It feels like the Emmys is in need of a clearer vision for the ceremony next year, as well as some more logical music cues, and I have a feeling that when the ratings come in tomorrow, the night will be down on last year but the unpredictability made it mostly tolerable. It feels like the result of an expanded and more diverse academy, voters who are younger and less willing to reward the obvious, safer choices. Here’s hoping that same riskiness pays off at the Oscars come February ...

Updated

Here’s your full news wrap:

One of tonight’s biggest surprise winners was Jodie Comer, named outstanding lead actress in a drama series for Killing Eve. Here’s Rebecca Nicholson’s interview with her from earlier this year:

Someone asked Chernobyl writer Craig Mazin backstage if a second season was happening and errr yeah, no it’s not:

“We will not be doing that,” he said. “We told a story of a place in time and we did it pretty darn well, and it’s time to start thinking about other places and other times … whatever we look at, whether it’s fiction or based on history, it’s relevant to who we are now and what we’re facing.”

Updated

Backstage, Michelle Williams expanded on her speech on gender pay inequality:

An important re-reminder here of the night’s most memorable speech, courtesy of Michelle Williams:

Let’s hope she has a suitable rucksack with her:

When it comes down to the networks and streaming services behind the scenes, the night’s big winner was HBO, who last year tied with Netflix with 23 wins each. This year the channel was way out in the lead with 32 awards. Netflix finished second with 27 and Amazon was third with 15.

Updated

An interesting moment backstage here:

Fair:

Gwyneth’s on stage entrance has already become a “me” meme:

The unusual number of surprise wins tonight meant that there were some notable snubs including no love for the final season of Veep and star Julia Louis-Dreyfus while Sharp Objects and Escape at Dannemora were also left out in the cold.

undefined

Apparently Bill Hader was asked about the firing of Saturday Night Live cast member Shane Gillis after racist comments were unearthed. Backstage he avoided tackling the question, saying: “No, I have no thoughts on that.”

He added: “You shouldn’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings, I think especially in comedy. [If] you did stuff six or seven years ago that wouldn’t be good now, that’s for good reason ... Like everybody, you have to grow.”

Updated

And here’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s final speech of the night in case you haven’t seen it yet:

While Game of Thrones only won two televised awards tonight, it picked up 12 in total with the technical wins at the Creative Arts Emmys earlier this month. It’s only the second time a show has won 12 Emmys in one year. The last time was in 2015 and the show was, yup, Game of Thrones!

In case you need to recap on who won what tonight, here’s a list of the main winners:

A snippet here of Billy Porter’s moving speech:

Updated

WINNER: Game of Thrones - drama series

undefined

Aaand as predicted, the final season of HBO’s hit fantasy drama has won the night’s biggest trophy. It was a critically divisive season but given that it was the Academy’s final chance to show its support for the show, this was a foregone conclusion. Given that the show lost out on some of the other big awards it was up for, it’s not quite the sweep many expected though.

WINNER: Fleabag - comedy series

undefined

Woah and Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s dark comedy has pulled off one of the night’s biggest surprises winning out against the final season of Veep and Emmys favourite The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. “This is just getting ridiculous,” Waller-Bridge says on stage. She jokes that she told two jokes over a pint and got the show optioned. She also gives a big shoutout for Andrew Scott who received a huge applause from a sexy priest-loving crowd.

Updated

Every time:

WINNER: Jodie Comer (Killing Eve) - lead actress in a drama series

undefined

More British success here with Jodie Comer deservedly winning for her villainous role in the acclaimed drama Killing Eve. She beat out co-star Sandra Oh who many tipped to win, following on from her Bafta win, and it continues a huge night for Phoebe Waller-Bridge who created the show.

Updated

WINNER: Jason Bateman (Ozark) - directing in a drama series

undefined

Well another surprise win here for Ozark, a show that’s clearly being appreciated by the Academy more than it’s being appreciated by critics and another dent for Game of Thrones, which is quickly losing out on some of the bigger awards. But can it still win the last award of the night?

WINNER: Billy Porter (Pose) - lead actor in a drama series

undefined

A big win here for Billy Porter in a stacked category that also includes Jason Bateman and Kit Harington. “The category is love y’all!” he says, clearly overjoyed before delivering a powerful James Baldwin quote about having the right to be here and to be seen. “We are the people that get to change the molecular structure of the hearts and minds of the people that live on this planet,” he adds in one of the most crowd-friendly moments of the night, receiving a standing ovation.

And the award for best Felicity Huffman joke goes to:

In case you didn’t see it, here’s some of Patricia Arquette’s emotive speech:

WINNER: Julia Garner (Ozark) - supporting actress in a drama series

undefined

Big surprise here with the Ozark star winning against THREE Game of Thrones cast members. She seems as surprised as we are, giving a genuine and emotional speech. It’s a big boost for the show which has received a lot of nominations from different bodies but never usually wins.

WINNER: Jesse Armstrong (Succession) - writing in a drama series

undefined

A lovely surprise here given that Game of Thrones was also stuffed in this category with The Handmaid’s Tale and Killing Eve. “Quite a lot of British winners, maybe too many, might want to have a think about those immigration restrictions,” Armstrong quips on stage. A much-deserved win here for one of the best and least awarded shows on TV right now.

WINNER: Peter Dinklage (Game of Thrones) - supporting actor in a drama series

undefined

And this could be the start of Game of Thrones winning the evening. “I count myself so fortunate to be a member of a community that is all about tolerance and diversity,” Dinklage says for winning yet another award for his performance in the hit series. There are swears! The first of the evening which were bleeped out but will surely get revealed on Twitter within minutes.

Twitter has been wondering what the hell is going on with RuPaul and Billy Porter:

And here it is:

Fleabag be Fleabaggin:

Updated

WINNER: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - variety talkshow series

undefined

The fourth win in a row in this category for John Oliver’s acclaimed HBO series. “Thank you to Game of Thrones for the lead in over these years,” he jokes on stage.

Updated

WINNER: Don Roy King (Saturday Night Live) - directing for a variety series

undefined

The ninth win here for SNL’s Don Roy King, a show that the Emmys continues to reward year after year. But two awards tonight after a mostly laugh-free season does make one wonder if anyone from the Academy has been watching it lately.

There’s been a ton of great Chernobyl content on the site but here’s one of the most revealing and fascinating reads:

The Emmys music tonight has been odd and I’m not the only one a bit confused by some of the intros:

WINNER: Saturday Night Live - variety sketch series

undefined

It was a hugely underwhelming season but that didn’t stop SNL from winning this one yet again. It’s the most nominated show of all time with more than 250 nods to date. The show’s big chief, Lorne Michaels, is using the speech to pay tribute to Chris Farley, whose legacy was part of the episode he submitted this year, hosted by Adam Sandler.

Updated

WINNER: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver - writing in a variety series

John Oliver

Emmys mainstay John Oliver is on stage with his very big and very talented writing staff, beating out Stephen Colbert’s and Samantha Bee’s teams. For anyone who watches the show, even in snippets, it’s a much-deserved win and implies that the show will probably win variety series in a few awards time.

Here’s a snippet of Michelle Williams’s speech, unarguably the most powerful of the night thus far:

WINNER: Chernobyl - limited series

undefined

Aaaand to the bizarrely picked sounds of Nina Simone’s Feeling Good, the tough but gripping series about the Chernobyl disaster has picked up one of the night’s biggest awards, beating out Ava DuVernay’s When They See Us. “We can make stories be known permanently,” Craig Mazin says about the importance of telling true stories on screen.

WINNER: Michelle Williams (Fosse/Verdon) - lead actress in a limited series or television movie

undefined

No big surprise here given that she was one of the biggest names in the category and that her performance was seen by pretty much everyone as the best thing about a show that had a mixed response from critics. Given her history of being unfairly underpaid because of her gender, Williams is using the moment to speak out about gender parity in the workplace. It’s a powerful speech, delivered quite wonderfully.

Now it’s time for a Veep tribute given that we’ve just seen its final season. The cast have all arrived on stage and this time the camera crew have wisely avoided checking to see if Gwyneth is engaged or not. Oh wait, they found her! She’s still bored!

WINNER: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch - television movie

undefined

More Brits on stage here with Charlie Brooker beating out Deadwood: The Movie and Brexit with the interactive Christmas episode. “I think being British we were conditioned to think 52% of you would vote for Brexit,” Brooker says, one of the sharper jabs of the night.

Updated

Gwyneth Paltrow’s disinterest in the Game of Thrones cast on stage has been attracting attention on the Twitter

WINNER: Jharrel Jerome (When They See Us) - lead actor in a limited series or movie

undefined

A highly competitive category here, which also included Hugh Grant and Mahershala Ali, but a much-deserved win for Moonlight star Jharrel Jerome, whose performance in Ava DuVernay’s Central Park Five drama was arguably the most haunting. “I feel like I should be in the Bronx right now,” he says before expressing love for his mother, which chokes him up. He ends with a shoutout for the five men in the audience, leading to a big audience response. It’s a huge win against more high-profile actors and suggests that Chernobyl might not be the big limited series winner after all.

Updated

WINNER: Craig Mazin (Chernobyl) - writing in a limited series or movie

undefined

More love here for Chernobyl and a big award for its writer whose previous credits include The Hangover 2 and The Hangover 3. It’s looking like Chernobyl could end up triumphing over When They See Us, which has yet to pick up anything tonight.

WINNER: Ben Whishaw (A Very English Scandal) - supporting actor in a limited series

undefined

A much deserved win here for Ben Whishaw for his effective turn in the fact-based drama who just complained on stage about being hungover, not an ideal place to be hungover in front of an audience who didn’t seem to find it very funny.

Yeah this was awkward...

WINNER: Johan Renck (Chernobyl) - directing in a limited series or movie

undefined

A sign of Emmy support for the grim HBO/Sky drama despite starrier competition, including Stephen Frears and Ava DuVernay. It’s undeniably the most cinematic show on the list and now all eyes are waiting to see whether Chernobyl or When They See Us will win for limited series in a few awards time.

WINNER: Patricia Arquette (The Act) - supporting actress in a limited series or movie

undefined

Two nominations for Arquette tonight and she’s won her first for a role in Hulu’s fact-based crime drama. Many, including myself, predicted Patricia Clarkson to win this for Sharp Objects but there has been huge support for this show, Hulu’s biggest ever numbers-wise. “I’m grateful at 50 to be geting the best parts of my life,” she says before a tearful ode to sister Alexis Arquette and a rallying cry for more trans acceptance, one of the night’s most touching moments.

Seth Meyers in on stage to ermmm introduce a montage of Game of Thrones scenes? Sure, makes sense. Just a reminder that the show was a record 32 nominations tonight and will likely be the big winner.

Oh and now the cast has assembled on stage or at least some of the bigger names. There’s a standing ovation, including from the cast members who weren’t invited to join them.

Someone needs to sort this out fast

WINNER: RuPaul's Drag Race - outstanding competition series

undefined

No big surprise here given that RuPaul had already picked up an award for host at the Creative Arts Emmys earlier this month. “Speaking of voting and love, go and register to vote,” he said at the end of his speech, before giving a URL to the audience, the first political moment of the night if that’s on your bingo card.

Updated

WINNER: Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) - lead actress in a comedy series

undefined

And she did it! Many predicted another win for Rachel Brosnahan or Julia Louis-Dreyfus but Phoebe Waller-Bridge has found herself on stage yet again. She’s overwhelmed again, understandably! Maybe season three might not be such an impossibility now ...

“Well, well, well, how’s the old no host thing going?” Stephen Colbert asks before Jimmy Kimel jokes that even Applebee’s has a host. Kimmel just made a joke about feigning interest in Jason Bateman’s vacation stories which led to a pretty amusing reaction shot of Bateman’s heart quietly breaking, soon to be a gif.

Here’s a quick snippet of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s speech if you fancy a gander:

WINNER: Bill Hader (Barry) - lead actor in a comedy series

undefined

Another actually rather funny intro from Maya Rudolph and Ike Barinholtz, who pretended to have arrived directly from laser eye surgery which led to them misreading every nominee. Rudolph called Michael Douglas Nicky Twotimes, for example. Barry’s Bill Hader beat out Anthony Anderson, Ted Danson and the aforementioned Douglas for one of the night’s biggest awards for a show that the Emmys continues to praise.

Updated

WINNER: Harry Bradbeer (Fleabag) - comedy series directing

undefined

Another big win for Fleabag, beating out Emmys favourite The Marvelous Mrs Maisel. “For a director, something like Fleabag only comes once in your life,” Harry Bradbeer says before panicking that he only has 28 seconds left before he gets kicked off the stage. Can Fleabag continue its streak and win some even bigger trophies?

True

WINNER: Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Fleabag) - comedy series writing

undefined

Wahey. A big win here for Fleabag’s Phoebe Waller-Bridge, who has two shows in contention with this and Killing Eve in the dramatic categories. She’s rather overwhelmed. “I find writing really hard and really painful but I’d like to say from the bottom of my heart that the reason I do it is this,” she says to much laughter before thanking everyone involved with her acclaimed BBC comedy. She says she’s reassured that a dirty, pervy and angry woman can make it to the Emmys. As are we.

Updated

Aggressive ads tonight for The Masked Singer given that it’s on the same network as the Emmys, which now means that Ken Jeong and Nick Cannon are doing a thirsty “please make this viral” but about making a TikTok for his kids. It’s like the memorable Ellen selfie except that it’s entirely, annoyingly forgettable instead.

Updated

WINNER: Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel) - supporting actress in a comedy series

undefined

Amy Poehler and Catherone O’Hara arrived on stage to announce this one with a bit that will most likely be retweeted with the words ‘THESE TWO FOR EMMYS HOSTS 2020!!!1” but they were rather undeniably funny, the only amusing moment so far. Another win here for The Marvelous Mrs Maisel with Alex Borstein winning for the second year in a row, beating out Fleabag’s Olivia Colman. She just said the audience reminds her of a hot bikram yoga class as there are lots of hot and nervous women. Quite a powerful speech after about women needing to step out of line to be heard. Video footage coming later.

More stars in dresses!

Zendaya
Zendaya. Photograph: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
Amy Adams
Amy Adams. Photograph: Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP
Sandra Oh
Sandra Oh. Photograph: Rob Latour/REX/Shutterstock

Updated

WINNER: Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel) - supporting actor in a comedy series

undefined

It’s the first award of the night and the fourth Emmy for Tony Shalhoub. “Like many of you, I’m not a fan of those endless lists,” he says before understandably getting out his own list to thank the team of the acclaimed Amazon show. He beat out Henry Winkler to win this one and it’s a strong sign that Maisel may be the biggest comedic winner of the night but can it win the big awards against the final season of Veep?

I mean...

It begins

So without a host the ceremony has started with Homer Simpson on stage as a fake host and plenty of confused celebrity reactions given that he’s animated and not there at all. What year is it and why is Homer Simpson considered a zeitgeisty figure to kick things off with?

An “accident” has meant that Anthony Anderson has to “save the Emmys” in a rather frantic and unfunny bit. So now Bryan Cranston is the new host instead, he who hasn’t appeared on TV since Breaking Bad ended. Again, huh? He’s talking about the moon landing in what’s now being taken very seriously, going through the history of TV. Tonally, this is all over the shop already. “Television has never been bigger, television has never mattered more and television has never been this damn good” he says before a montage. Woof.

undefined

This year’s ceremony will follow in the footsteps of the Oscars by going host-less, a relief to anyone who endured Michael Che and Colin Jost’s wildly unfunny performance in 2018.

There’s a whole bunch of big name presenters though, including: Gwyneth Paltrow, Jon Hamm, Kerry Washington, Naomi Watts, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Ben Stiller, Viola Davis, Angela Bassett and the cast of the Kardashians.

Suits are less suity than usual!

Jeremy Strong
Jeremy Strong Photograph: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
Sterling K. Brown
Sterling K. Brown Photograph: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images
James Van Der Beek
James Van Der Beek Photograph: Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau Photograph: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

Who wore it better?

Ava DuVernay is here with the Central Park Five and her Netflix drama, When They See Us, about the injustices they faced is set to be one of the night’s big winners:

undefined

undefined

Because there are roughly 13,000 awards to give out, earlier this month the Creative Arts Emmys took place to ensure that tonight’s ceremony isn’t three days long. Here are some of the major winners (it was a good night for Game of Thrones which could be a good sign of how things work out later):

Outstanding guest actress in a drama: Cherry Jones (The Handmaid’s Tale)

Outstanding guest actor in a comedy: Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)

Outstanding special visual effects: Game of Thrones

Outstanding guest actor in a drama: Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid’s Tale)

Outstanding guest actress in a comedy: Jane Lynch (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)

Outstanding original main title theme music: Succession

Outstanding structured reality program: Queer Eye

Outstanding documentary: Leaving Neverland

Outstanding host for a reality program: RuPaul (RuPaul’s Drag Race)

So word is that the red carpet is aggressively humid today thanks to a particularly scorching LA day which has led to big industrial hanging fans, water on hand and a touch-up station for celebrities to ensure they’re looking as unsweaty as possible. The girls from Go Fug Yourself are already prepping for some underarm embarrassment:

People are here! Wearing things! Here they are!

Patricia Clarkson
Patricia Clarkson Photograph: Matt Baron/REX/Shutterstock
Jameela Jamil
Jameela Jamil Photograph: WWD/REX/Shutterstock
Gwendoline Christie
Gwendoline Christie Photograph: Étienne Laurent/EPA
Laura Linney
Laura Linney Photograph: Étienne Laurent/EPA
Viola Davis
Viola Davis Photograph: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images

undefined

Laverne Cox has arrived with ACLU lawyer Chase Strangio to highlight the case of Aimee Stephens who next month will become the first plaintiff in a case about the civil rights of transgender people before the Supreme Court. Stephens was fired after coming out at work as trans.

Here’s a closer look at her bag:

As mentioned, it’s a tough night to predict given the fierce competition but brave Guardian warrior Adrian Horton has battled through her fears of being completely, shamefully wrong to deliver this sturdy list of guesses:

Taylor Swift fans are getting excited about Taylor Swift maybe being at the Emmys and it’s all based on this picture of a white woman in a dress being spotted:

undefined

A surprise return tonight for Billy Bush, back at the Emmys for the first time since his Trump Access Hollywood scandal. He’s back at Extra and will be interviewing celebrities tonight as they arrive on the red carpet which could lead to some interestingly awkward moments.

If you like to imagine the kind of awkward small talk that might occur in the audience during commercial breaks then these pictures of who’s sitting where should help:

undefined
undefined
undefined

It's Emmys time!

Lena Headey in Game of Thrones
Lena Headey in Game of Thrones Photograph: Landmark Media/Alamy Stock Photo

Game of Thrones v Killing Eve! Veep v The Marvelous Mrs Maisel! Julia Louis-Dreyfus v Phoebe Waller-Bridge! Your unwavering attention v your desire to sleep! It’s time for battle upon battle upon battle yet again with TV’s biggest night of the year, the 71st edition of the Emmys.

You’ve probably not heard this mentioned at all by anyone ever but we’re in a “golden era” of television, which other than being hugely stressful for anyone hoping to keep on top of it all has meant that the Emmys has become starrier than ever before. Amy Adams, Michael Douglas, Viola Davis, Michelle Williams, Hugh Grant, Mahershala Ali and Benicio Del Toro are just some of the A-listers in contention tonight and with competition this fierce, it’s made the whole thing way harder to predict.

Perhaps the surest bet of the evening is that you’ll be hearing the words Game of Thrones quite a lot with HBO’s extravagant fantasy drama leading the pack with 32 nominations. It’s been a TV academy favourite for years and given that this will be the final time they’ll get to reward it, expect a big showing. The same can also be said for Veep, which could well dominate the comedy side of things. But there’s also an exciting influx of newer shows and talent from Succession to Fleabag so some surprises could be in store.

Stay with us for the night if you want to see how it all unfolds, from awkward moments to earnest speeches to relentless reminders that you’ve been bingeing the wrong shows. We’ll be here until late!

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Nearly half of Americans unaware of link between eating processed meat and colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer is the second-leading cause of cancer deaths in the US
The Independent UK
The Independent UK
“A historically significant instrument directly tied to the evolution of modern funk”: The bass Bootsy Collins used to record a James Brown anthem has been listed on eBay
The Fender Jazz Bass bought at auction for $40,000, has now been listed on eBay for almost twice as much. But you’ll have to bid an extra $299 if you want the original strings
Guitar World
Guitar World
“When you've been in a band you’re always, in the back of your head, thinking, 'Well, maybe this is it.' And I don't mind that feeling. I don't see it as a sad thing”: Mike Patton on feeling closure at the end of Faith No More
Band haven’t played live since 2016
MusicRadar
MusicRadar
“He picks it up, hits the corner of a stone table and puts a huge ding in it”: When Jeff Beck damaged an impossibly rare vintage Stratocaster – while he and Dweezil Zappa were at a party dressed as knights
This Fender once belonged to Steve Marriott or something… But Beck? He wasn’t too fussed. People pay for these dings nowadays!
Guitar World
Guitar World
‘It’s Actually Really Sexy’: Amanda Seyfried Gushed About Kissing Megan Fox In Jennifer’s Body
What a cult classic.
Cinemablend
Cinemablend
Starlight warped in the fabric of spacetime could help us find hidden black holes dancing together
Flashes of gravitationally lensed starlight could act as cosmic lighthouses revealing the presence of binary supermassive black holes in close orbit.
Space
Space
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.
Download on the AppStore Get it on Google Play