TV's biggest night was a mix of predictable wins and a few surprises.
The 2024 Emmys were officially the second ceremony to be held this year, as the 2023 ceremony was postponed from its September date to January after the actors and writers strike ended last summer.
Father-son duo and “Schitt's Creek” stars Dan and Eugene Levy will host the night, which airs live from Los Angeles' Peacock Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 15 on ABC (8 p.m. ET).
Shows nominated this year included “Baby Reindeer”, “The Bear”, “The Crown”, “Fallout”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, “Abbott Elementary” and “Fallout”.
Nominated stars included Jeremy Allen White, Quinta Brunson, Ayo Edebiri, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Jon Hamm, Larry David and “Baby Reindeer” star Richard Gadd.
Here are all the best and worst moments from the 2024 Emmys.
Best – Eugene and Dan Levy Roast 'The Bear'
During their opening monologue, which wasn't offensive and was mildly amusing, Eugene and Dan Levy did a nice spoof on “The Bear.”
Now in Season 3, the FX/Hulu series continues to dominate the Emmys and Golden Globes in the comedy category, despite being a workplace drama dealing with themes of suicide, depression, divorce and dying relatives, and featuring constantly stressed-out characters.
“'The Bear' is nominated for 23 Emmy Awards tonight, making it the most nominated comedy in history,” Eugene said during the monologue.
He joked, “Now, I love this show and I know some of you might be expecting us to joke about whether or not 'The Bear' is actually a comedy… but in the true spirit of 'The Bear,' we won't be making any jokes.”
Best – Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney CAll Meryl Streep has is a “jockstrap”
The real-life spouses and co-stars of “It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia” performed in the category of Supporting Actress in a Comedy.
After McElhenney explained how these displays “hold everything in place and show significant support,” Olson said, “What you were describing sounds a lot like a jockstrap.”
McElhenney protested that he didn’t think that was true. As he continued to talk and began to explain how “the whole package falls apart” without these supporting roles, he paused and admitted that his wife was right.
Olson said, “Are you calling Meryl Streep a jockstrap? Are you calling Carol Burnett a jockstrap?”
It was an amusing way to present the award; it didn't go on too long – and it showed off his comedic talent (showing how silly it is that “It's Always Sunny” never got nominated).
Worst – Jeremy Allen White wins for “The Bear”
Jeremy Allen White is a talented actor, and his performance in “The Bear” is brilliant. Still, it's ridiculous that he's winning awards in the “Comedy” category for this role. This year in particular, it was especially cringeworthy, as there were so many deserving people Comedy Several actors were also in the running for the award, including Matt Berry for “What We Do in the Shadows.” This was Larry David's last chance to win for “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai's last chance to win for his brilliant work in “Reservation Dogs.”
This isn't White's fault. But at this point, it's absurd that his win is shutting out comedy actors who actually deserve praise for comedy roles.
Best – Liza Colon-Zayas Makes Emmys History
This is a win for “The Bear” that's well-deserved. Liza Colon-Zayas, who won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy, made Emmy history as the first Latina to win in the category.
“Thank you to my husband, David Zayas,” she added, referring to her husband, actor David Zayas, best known for “Dexter.”
Getting emotional, she said, “They asked me to write a speech and I didn't do it, because I didn't think it would be possible. How could I have thought it would be possible to be in the presence of Meryl Streep and Carol Burnett and Janelle and Sheryl Lee Ralph?”
Best – Jessica Gunning won the award for “Baby Reindeer”
Gunning, 38, a first-time nominee and first-time winner, took home the trophy for best actress in a limited series or movie for her haunting role in “Baby Reindeer,” in which she played a stalker.
She appeared emotional as she thanked star and creator Richard Gadd for “trusting me to be your Martha.” During her speech, Gunning said she has “tried many times to put into words what working on the show has meant to me.”
But since she couldn't find the words to “I'm going to sing!”, she quickly clarified that she was joking, causing the crowd to burst into laughter. It was a perfect mix of heartwarming and funny, resulting in a spotlight on a new star.
Best – John Oliver's Gibberish Speech
After John Oliver won the award for best scripted variety series for “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” he lost control of his acceptance speech shortly thereafter, with amusing results.
He thanked his family, saying, “I want to thank my wife and husband – Hudson,” but he corrected himself midway through, saying, “His name is Hudson,” meaning his son. The comedian took the opportunity to poke fun at himself, saying, “Oh, that's gonna bother me!”
He then confessed to killing his beloved family dog. As playoff music started playing in the background, he said, “Fuck you, I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now,” joking about the famous ASPCA commercials, before pleading, “Just kill me right now!”
Best – “SNL” stars roast Lorne Michaels
“SNL” stars Maya Rudolph, Seth Meyers, Bowen Yang and Kristen Wiig came out to present a writing award for a variety special. Immediately, they began interrupting and talking over each other.
“We heard that our dear friend, our mentor, Lorne Michaels, was nominated for an Emmy 85 times and lost,” Vig said. “He never won.”
Rudolph told Michaels: “Every time you lost, you got robbed. Hey, you got robbed!”
Meyers then corrected everyone, pointing out that the “SNL” producer has won 21 Emmy Awards – and the show has won over 200 awards. So, whatever he said was not true.
“What? 200? That's too much,” Vig said, after his co-workers “turned against” Michaels.
The whole incident was very entertaining.
worst – Ebon Moss-Bachrach Advertisements during the event
“The Bear” star Ebon Moss-Bachrach and “Red White and Royal Blue” star Taylor Zakhar Perez did one of those pointless, time-wasting sketches. In it, the two men meet “backstage” at a bar when Moss-Bachrach reassures Zakhar Perez that it's okay to drink at the Emmys. “The Bear” star even asked the bartender for details on the drink. It felt like a whiskey commercial, and it turned out that it was.Talk about embarrassing.
Moss-Bachrach is an Emmy-winning actor; this is indecent!
These actors (and Emmy) are above that. Skip the ads to the commercial break. Then both actors went on stage and commented, “That was good.” No, it wasn't good.
The worst thing the Emmy Awards have done is draw attention to how it has overlooked Greg Berlanti
The super producer, known for shows like “Dawson's Creek”, “Riverdale”, “You”, “Supergirl”, “The Flight Attendant” and “Superman & Lois”, was honored with the Governors Award in recognition of his significant impact on TV.
Berlanti gave a nice speech about how he went from being a “scared” gay kid during his youth to telling LGBTQ+ stories on TV as an adult. It was a heartfelt speech, and the award is rightfully his since he directs so many shows — but the moment also draws attention to the fact that most of his shows have been shut out of the Emmys. Many of them aired on The CW or were geared toward teens. The Emmys don't give love to shows like that. Weird.
Best – Jodie Foster wins her first Emmy
Foster, 61, took home the trophy for best actress in a limited series for her leading performance in “True Detective: Night Country.”
Even though Foster is a Hollywood veteran, this was her first Emmy win. This shows that it's never too late, and even industry veterans win “first time around.”
During her acceptance speech, the “Silence of the Lambs” actress thanked her wife and sons and said, “This is an incredibly emotional moment for me because 'True Detective' was a magical experience.”
The “Contact” actress thanked the “indigenous people of northern Alaska.” “They told us their stories,” she said, describing the experience as “deep and amazing and older than this place and this time. That's the message, which is that love and work equals art.”
