With the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards over and done, here’s everything you need to know about the big winners.
The 2016 Primetime Emmy awards, honoring accomplishments in television, held their awards last night. The night was a mix of sweeps and surprises, with a few shows sweeping their respective categories. Notably, HBO won big with Game of Thrones once again, and FX’s People vs O.J. Simpson picking up loads of awards. Plenty of other series got love, and it was well-deserved, including Orphan Black and Transparent. Also, Jeb Bush was there. No, we don’t know why, but there he was. Here’s a look at all the shows that won, and the shows you should now rush to catch up on.
Of course, Game of Thrones had quite the night. Although the series didn’t receive any acting awards this year, it won Best Drama, along with dual Writing-Directing awards for “Battle of the Bastards.” Making this especially notable is that Game of Thrones has now won the most Emmy awards for a scripted series – EVER. Alongside Game of Thrones, tonight was also a big night for the freshman series American Crime Story: The People vs O.J. Simpson. The series picked up most every award in the Limited Series category, including Best Limited Series, Best Actor, Best Actress, Supporting Actor, and Writing. Veep won Best Comedy for the second year in a row, with Julia Louis-Dreyfus winning Best Comedy Actress for the fifth year in a row.
On an individual level, Rami Malek won Best Drama Actor for his work on the chilling Mr. Robot. At long last, Tatiana Maslany received a Best Actress award for her amazing character work on Orphan Black. Jeffrey Tambor (Transparent) won Best Comedy Actor for the second year in a row. There were a few surprise wins as well. Louie Anderson won Best Supporting Comedy Actor for his role as Zach Galifianakis’ mother on Baskets. Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline) and Maggie Smith (Downton Abbey) beat out every Game of Thrones performer nominated, denying HBO a full drama sweep.
Key & Peele finally won for their sketch comedy series, which ended last year. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver won Best Variety Talk Show, and The Voice once again won best Reality-Competition Show. Patton Oswalt’s recent Netflix special won for Best Variety Special Writing, while Grease: Live won for Variety Special Directing over Beyonce’s Lemonade. Many people are not happy about that.
Overall, many of the awards given felt very deserved. Tatiana Maslany’s win feels especially earned, as it’s taken four years for her to even be nominated. It’s a shame that The Americans, the criminally underrated FX drama, didn’t win many awards this year. However, The Emmys tend to dole out awards near the end of a show’s run. It’s likely we’ll see the series win big once it ends in two years. Likewise, as wonderful as The People vs O.J. Simpson was, it’s a bummer to see Fargo get totally shut out, especially considering how fantastic this past season was.
Here’s a comprehensive list of winners, via Deadline, for those interested:
Outstanding Drama Series: Game Of Thrones
Outstanding Comedy Series: Veep
Outstanding Limited Series: The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Outstanding Television Movie: Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series Or Movie: Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O.J. Simpson
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series Or Movie: Sarah Paulson, The People v. O.J. Simpson
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Louie Anderson, Baskets
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series Or Movie: Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O.J. Simpson
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series Or Movie: Regina King, American Crime
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Game Of Thrones, “Battle Of The Bastards”
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: Game Of Thrones, “Battle Of The Bastards”
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: Transparent, “Man On The Land”
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Master Of None, “Parents”
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special
The Night Manager
Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special
The People v. O.J. Simpson, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program: The Voice
Outstanding Variety Sketch Series: Key & Peele
Outstanding Variety Talk Series: Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special: Grease: Live
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special: Patton Oswalt: Talking For Clapping
