“Why would you have an award show in the middle of a pandemic?” Jimmy Kimmel asks rows of empty seats at the Staples Center as the Emmy Award kicked off Sunday.
The tongue-and-cheek opener from veteran host Kimmel promises viewers a 72nd Emmy awards show like no other.
“No, seriously, why are we having an award show in the middle of a pandemic?” he asks as the team at ABC intercuts reaction shots and track laughter from previous Emmy ceremonies. “…What is happening tonight is not important. It’s not going to stop Covid. It’s not going to put out the fires. But it’s fun and right now we need fun. My God do we need fun. This has been a miserable year. This has been a year of division, injustice, disease, Zoom school, disaster and death.”
The event doesn’t have an audience or a red carpet. Instead, nominees have been sent their own camera kit to broadcast live from their living rooms as Hollywood doles out trophies to TV’s top talent in the first major entertainment industry ceremony since the coronavirus pandemic began.
A number of winners reminded the audience to register and get out to vote in November during their speeches. Additionally, nominees and winners wore different T-shirts with slogans like “Vote,” “Remember Her Name” and “Black Lives Matter.”
Pop TV darling “Schitt’s Creek” swept the comedy category Sunday. Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy took home the awards for best lead actress and best lead actress in a comedy series. Dan Levy and Annie Murphy won for best supporting actor and best supporting actress in a comedy.
Dan Levy garnered the top prize for writing for a comedy series. He also won the award for best direction of a comedy alongside Andrew Cividino. The show took also home the prize for outstanding comedy series.
“Schitt’s Creek,” which aired its sixth and final season earlier this year, previously had not won any Emmy awards for the show. During the Creative Arts Emmys earlier this week, the show took home awards for best casting and best contemporary costuming.
ABC is presented winners in the comedy category with Emmy trophies by sending people in tuxedo hazmat suits to nominees’ homes.
For the winner of best variety talk series, ABC shipped black boxes to each of the nominees with the promise that only the person who won would find an Emmy inside. John Oliver took home the prize for “Last Week Tonight.”
And the winners are:
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series:
WINNER: Catherine O’Hara — “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop TV)
Christina Applegate — “Dead to Me” (Netflix)
Linda Cardellini — “Dead to Me” (Netflix)
Rachel Brosnahan — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)
Issa Rae — “Insecure” (HBO)
Tracee Ellis Ross — “Blackish” (ABC)
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series:
WINNER: Eugene Levy — “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop TV)
Anthony Anderson — “Black-ish” (ABC)
Don Cheadle — “Black Monday” (Showtime)
Ted Danson — “The Good Place” (NBC)
Michael Douglas — “The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
Ramy Youssef — “Ramy” (Hulu)
Writing for a Comedy Series
WINNER: Dan Levy — “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop TV)
Sam Johnson and Chris Marcil — “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
Tony McNamara — “The Great” (Hulu)
Stefani Robinson — “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
Michael Schur — “The Good Place” (NBC)
Paul Simms, “What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
David West Read, “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop TV)
Directing for a Comedy Series
WINNER: Andrew Cividino and Daniel Levy — “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop TV)
James Burrows — “Will & Grace” (NBC)
Gail Mancuso — “Modern Family” (ABC)
Daniel Palladino — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
Matt Shakman — “The Great” (Hulu)
Amy Sherman-Palladino — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
Ramy Youssef — “Ramy” (Hulu)
Supporting Actor, Comedy
WINNER: Dan Levy — “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop TV)
Mahershala Ali — “Ramy” (Hulu)
Alan Arkin — “The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
Andre Braugher — “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” (NBC)
Sterling K. Brown — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
William Jackson Harper — “The Good Place” (NBC)
Tony Shalhoub — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
Kenan Thompson — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Supporting Actress, Comedy
WINNER: Annie Murphy — “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop TV)
Alex Borstein — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
Betty Gilpin — “GLOW” (Netflix)
D’Arcy Carden — “The Good Place” (NBC)
Marin Hinkle — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Prime Video)
Kate McKinnon — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Yvonne Orji — “Insecure” (HBO)
Cecily Strong — “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Best Comedy Series
WINNER: “Schitt’s Creek” (Pop TV)
“Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
“Dead to Me” (Netflix)
“The Good Place” (NBC)
“Insecure” (HBO)
“The Kominsky Method” (Netflix)
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” (Amazon)
“What We Do in the Shadows” (FX)
Best Variety Talk Series
WINNER: “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)
“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah” (Comedy Central)
“Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” (TBS)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” (CBS)
Best Actress in a Limited Series or a Television Movie
WINNER: Regina King — “Watchmen” (HBO)
Cate Blanchett — “Mrs. America” (FX)
Shira Haas — “Unorthodox” (Netflix)
Octavia Spencer — “Self Made”
Kerry Washington — “Little Fires Everywhere” (Hulu)
Best Actor in a Limited Series or a Television Movie
WINNER: Mark Ruffalo — “I Know This Much Is True” (HBO)
Jeremy Irons — “Watchmen” (HBO)
Hugh Jackman — “Bad Education” (HBO)
Paul Mescal — “Normal People” (Hulu)
Jeremy Pope — “Hollywood” (Netflix)
Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama Special
WINNER: Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson — “Watchmen” (HBO)
Tanya Barfield — “Mrs. America” (Hulu)
Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman — “Unbelievable” (Netflix)
Sally Rooney and Alice Birch — “Normal People” (Hulu)
Anna Winger — “Unorthodox” (Netflix)
Directing for a Limited Series
WINNER: Maria Schrader — “Unorthodox” (Netflix)
Lenny Abrahamson — “Normal People” (Hulu)
Steph Green — “Watchmen” (HBO)
Nicole Kassell — “Watchmen” (HBO)
Lynn Shelton — “Little Fires Everywhere” (Hulu)
Stephen Williams — “Watchmen” (HBO)
This story will be updated as the award winners are announced. Please check back for updates.
Disclosure: Comcast is the parent company of NBCUniversal and CNBC.
