The makers of The Handmaid's Tale and Big Little Lies stole the show at the 2017 Emmy Awards in Los Angeles last night, scooping up the biggest prizes of the night.
The ceremony, which took place at the Microsoft Theatre, turned out to be a refreshing night of surprises celebrating TV newcomers like the aforementioned shows as much as long-time favourites like Saturday Night Live. And that's not all. Here are the main talking points from this year's eventful Emmys...
It's no secret that Donald Trump digs have become somewhat of an award show tradition over the past year, and last night was no different. In fact, this year's Emmys host Stephen Colbert didn't waste any time making the first Trump joke in his opening monologue.
“If we’re honest with ourselves — and as artists, I think we have to be honest with ourselves — we know that the biggest TV star of the last year is Donald Trump,” he said. And that was just the tip of the iceberg. Throughout the night, winners and presenters took a moment on stage to either joke about the US president's orange wig (Alec Baldwin, you legend) or flat out call him out with powerful words. "We refused to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot," said actress Jane Fonda. Preach!
It was a huge night for the makers of the dystopian TV series who took home five of the biggest awards including Best Drama series, Best Actress for Elisabeth Moss and Best Supporting Actress for Ann Dowd.
Nicole Kidman gave a powerful speech as she accepted her award for for Best Lead Actress for her role in HBO hit Big Little Lies last night. The 50-year-old star got serious about domestic violence - one of the key issues tackled in the series.
“Sometimes when you’re acting, you get a chance to bring a bigger message — we shine a light on domestic abuse," she said. "It is a complicated, insidious disease that exists far more than we allow ourselves to know. It is filled with shame, secrecy and by you acknowledging me with this award, it shines a light on it even more. So thank you, thank you, thank you. I bow down to you.”
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She also thanked her husband Keith Urban and their children, saying: “I also am a mother and a wife. I have two little girls, Sunny and Faith and my darling Keith who I asked to help me pursue this artistic path and they had to sacrifice so much for it, so this is yours. I want my little girls to have this on their shelf and to look at it and go, ‘every time my momma didn’t put me to bed, it’s because of this. I got something."
Donald Glover (or Childish Gambino as music fans will know him as) became the first African American director to win an Emmy for his comedy series, Atlanta. Glover, who stars in the show as well as directing it won both Outstanding Director prize and the Best Lead Actor in a Comedy awards. This also makes him the first director to win the latter prize since 1997 - safe to say he absolutely smashed it. During his acceptance speech, he too made a dig at Donald Trump saying: "I want to thank Trump for making black people number one on the most oppressed list. "He's the reason I'm probably up here." In his second speech, he thanked his family and announced that he and his partner, Michelle, have a baby on the way. Double congrats to him!
Riz Ahmed made history as he became the first man of Asian descent to win an Emmy. The 34-year-old actor bagged himself the Outstanding Acting In A Limited Series award for his role in The Night Of beating Benedict Cumberbatch and Ewan McGregor. He used his acceptance speech to raise awareness for the Innocence Project and the New York-based South Asian Youth Action organisation.
It was also an amazing night for Charlie Brooker who took home both the Writing For A Limited Series and Outstanding Television Movie awards for his episode of Black Mirror titled 'San Junipero'.
The Master of None actress made history as the first African American women to win a comedy writing Emmy for her work on the episode Thanksgiving, which she co-wrote with the series’ lead actor Aziz Ansari.
The episode was based on her experiences of coming out as a lesbian, and a visibly moved Waithe called for marginalised people to bring their stories into the mainstream. “The things that make us different — those are our superpowers,” she said.
The sacked former head of White House communication made a surprise appearance, which led to some veeery memorable reactions (Anna Chumsky’s face though!) and some huge discomfort. What was a man who had lied on behalf of the White House doing on stage at the Emmys?
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Melissa McCarthy, who played Spicer on Saturday Night Live in some of that show’s most memorable sketches, looked as uncomfortable as many viewers were.
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Yep, this was definitely one of the most inappropriate cameos in Emmys history.
Outstanding directing in a comedy series
Donald Glover, Atlanta - WINNER
Jamie Babbit, Silicon Valley
Mike Judge, Silicon Valley
Morgan Sackett, Veep
David Mandel, Veep
Dale Stern, Veep
Outstanding guest actress in a comedy series
Wanda Sykes, Black-ish
Carrie Fisher, Catastrophe
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live
Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live - WINNER
Angela Bassett, Master of None
Becky Ann Baker, Girls
Outstanding guest actor in a comedy series
Matthew Rhys, Girls
Riz Ahmed, Girls
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Saturday Night Live
Dave Chappelle, Saturday Night Live - WINNER
Tom Hanks, Saturday Night Live
Hugh Laurie, Veep
Variety sketch series
Billy On The Street
Documentary Now!
Drunk History
Portlandia
Saturday Night Live - WINNER
Tracey Ullman’s Show
Writing for a drama series
Joe Weisberg and Joel Fields, The Americans
Gordon Smith, Better Call Saul
Peter Morgan, The Crown
Bruce Miller, The Handmaid’s Tale - WINNER
The Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things
Lisa Joy and Jonathan Nolan, Westworld
Outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series
Louie Anderson, Baskets
Alec Baldwin, Saturday Night Live - WINNER
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Tony Hale, Veep
Matt Walsh, Veep
Directing for a limited series, movie or dramatic special
Jean-Marc Vallee, Big Little Lies - WINNER
Noah Hawley, Fargo
Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette & Joan
Ron Howard, Genius
James Marsh, The Night Of
Steve Zaillian, The Night Of
Outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or movie
David Thewlis, Fargo
Alexander Skarsgård, Big Little Lies - WINNER
Alfred Molina, Feud
Stanley Tucci, Feud
Bill Camp, The Night Of
Michael Kenneth Williams, The Night Of
Writing for a variety series
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Saturday Night Live
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver - WINNER
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Outstanding supporting actress in a drama series
Uzo Aduba, Orange is the New Black
Millie Bobby Brown, Stranger Things
Ann Dowd, The Handmaid’s Tale - WINNER
Samira Wiley, The Handmaid’s Tale
Chrissy Metz, This Is Us
Thandie Newton, Westworld
Outstanding reality competition series
American Ninja Warrior
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Project Runway
The Voice - WINNER
Top Chef
Writing for a comedy series
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Stephen Glover, Atlanta
Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe, Master of None - WINNER
Alec Berg,Silicon Valley
Billy Kimball, Veep
David Mandel, Veep
Writing for a limited series, movie or drama
David E Kelley, Big Little Lies
Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror: San Junipero - WINNER
Noah Hawley, Fargo
Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette and Joan
Jaffe Cohen, Michael Zam and Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette and Joan
Richard Price and Steven Zaillian, The Night Of
Outstanding variety talk series
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver - WINNER
The Late Late Show With James Corden
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Real Time With Bill Maher
Outstanding lead actor in a comedy
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Aziz Ansari, Master of None
Zach Galifianakis, Baskets
Donald Glover, Atlanta - WINNER
William H Macy, Shameless
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Outstanding lead actress in a comedy
Pamela Adlon, Better Things
Jane Fonda, Grace & Frankie
Allison Janney, Mom
Ellie Kemper, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Julie Louis-Dreyfus, Veep - WINNER
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Lily Tomlin, Grace & Frankie
Outstanding comedy series
Atlanta
Black-ish
Master of None
Modern Family
Silicon Valley
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
Veep - WINNER
Outstanding lead actor in a limited series or TV movie
Riz Ahmed, The Night Of – WINNER
Benedict Cumberbatch, Sherlock: The Lying Detective
Robert De Niro, The Wizard of Lies
Ewan McGregor, Fargo
Geoffrey Rush, Genius
John Turturro, The Night Of
Outstanding lead actress in a limited series or TV movie
Carrie Coon, Fargo
Felicity Huffman, American Crime
Nicole Kidman, Big Little Lies – WINNER
Jessica Lange, Feud
Susan Sarandon, Feud
Reese Witherspoon, Big Little Lies
Outstanding television movie
Black Mirror: San Junipero – WINNER
Dolly Parton’s Christmas Of Many Colors: Circle Of Love
The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks
Sherlock: The Lying Detective
The Wizard Of Lies
Outstanding limited series
Big Little Lies – WINNER
Fargo
Feud
Genius
The Night Of
Outstanding lead actor in a drama
Sterling K Brown, This Is Us – WINNER
Anthony Hopkins, Westworld
Matthew Rhys, The Americans
Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
Milo Ventimiglia, This Is Us
Outstanding lead actress in a drama
Claire Foy, The Crown
Viola Davis, How to Get Away with Murder
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid’s Tale – WINNER
Evan Rachel Wood, Westworld
Keri Russell, The Americans
Robin Wright, House of Cards
Outstanding drama series
Better Call Saul
The Crown
The Handmaid’s Tale – WINNER
House of Cards
Stranger Things
This Is Us
Westworld
