Top moments from the ceremony
HBO’s “The Pitt,” a tense hospital drama, and Apple TV+’s “The Studio,” a madcap satire of modern Hollywood, nabbed top honors at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday night. The three-hour ceremony was hosted by first-time emcee Nate Bargatze, a low-key stand-up comedian who largely steered away from political headlines.
Here’s what you need to know about how the night unfolded:
‘SNL’ stars join Bargatze for opening sketch
“Saturday Night Live” cast members James Austin Johnson, Mikey Day and Bowen Yang joined Bargatze for a cold open skewering the modern television landscape. Bargatze, dressed in a white lab coat, portrayed Philo T. Farnsworth, the inventor who developed the first all-electronic television system. The setting was historical, but the gags were contemporary.
In the sketch, Bargatze’s Farnworth envisioned a new televisual medium called streaming — “a new way for these companies to lose money.” When asked by an underling whether there will one day be a network for white people, Farnsworth said yes: CBS. (The network acronym actually stands for Columbia Broadcasting System.)
Stephen Colbert riffs on cancellation, then wins
Stephen Colbert took the stage at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater to introduce the nominees for best actor in a comedy series. But first, he addressed the elephant in the room: CBS’ decision to take his late-night show off the air. “While I have your attention, is anyone hiring? Because I’ve got 200 very well-qualified candidates here with me tonight, who will be available in June,” Colbert said.
CBS announced in July that “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” would end in 2026, after more than a decade on the air. The news came as CBS’ parent company, Paramount, prepared to complete a blockbuster merger with Skydance — and faced scrutiny from the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission.
Colbert returned to the stage hours later to accept the Emmy for outstanding talk series.
“Sometimes, you only know how much you love something when you get a sense you might be losing it. … I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong and be brave, and if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor,” Colbert said to thunderous applause.
‘Severance’ actor Tramell Tillman makes history
Tramell Tillman made history as the first Black man to triumph in the best supporting actor in a drama series category. Tillman, who stars on “Severance” as corporate enforcer Seth Milchick, riveted the audience with his acceptance speech. He paid tribute to his “first acting coach” — his mother, who was seated in the auditorium. He then quoted her advice to him.
“You remember what you want to remember. You make time for what you want to make for. Do the work. Show up. And most importantly, for the love of God, don’t embarrass me in public,” Tillman said. (He dedicated his award to his mom.)
Hannah Einbinder and others advocate for Gaza ceasefire
“Hacks” star Hannah Einbender, accepting the Emmy for best supporting actress in a comedy series and wearing a red “Artists4Ceasefire” pin, closed her speech with two words: “Free Palestine.” She was not the only attendee who advocated for Palestinian rights and an end to the war in Gaza.
Meg Stalter, one of Einbender’s “Hacks” co-stars, carried a purse that said “CEASEFIRE!” Javier Bardem, star of “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story,” wore a keffiyeh and told a reporter on the red carpet that he would “not work” with any entertainment company that “justifies or supports the genocide” — echoing a pledge he’s made with others in the industry.
Television Academy chair sticks up for PBS
Cris Abrego, the chairman of the Television Academy, the organization that oversees the Emmy Awards, drew cheers and applause from the crowd with remarks that focused in part on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the nonprofit organization that recently lost all federal funding and then announced it would shut down.
The CPB distributed funding to PBS and NPR stations nationwide, turning it into what Abrego characterized as “the backbone of American public media.” He mentioned famed PBS series “Sesame Street” and “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” then blasted lawmakers.
“Congress voted to defund” the CPB, Abrego said to loud boos from the crowd, “and silence yet another cultural institution.”
He added: “That’s a reminder just how much our work here matters, especially right now. In a time when division dominates the headlines, storytelling still has the power to unite us.”
Malcolm-Jamal Warner remembered
“The Cosby Show” star Phylicia Rashad opened the annual In Memoriam video package with a tribute to her former co-star, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, the Emmy-nominated actor who died from drowning on July 20. “He remains in our hearts,” Rashad said.
The video — accompanied by a musical performance from Vince Gill and Lainey Wilson — included the names and photos of other luminaries who died in the last year, including Julian McMahon, Teri Garr, Ozzy Osbourne, Anne Burrell, Bill Moyers, George Wendt, Richard Chamberlain, Michelle Trachtenberg, John Amos, David Lynch and Quincy Jones.
“They made us believe in something bigger: the best within us,” Rashad said.
The ticking clock
Bargatze said at the top of the show that he planned to donate $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America — but, in a bid to keep each acceptance speeches inside the time limit, he would subtract $1,000 for every second a winner’s remarks went over the allotted 45 seconds. If the winner stayed under the time limit, though, Bargatze said, he’d put $1,000 per second back on the board.
“It is brutal,” Bargatze said. “What are you going to do, though? I can’t change it. This is the game I made up, and these are the rules.”
The donation tally, tracked in a real-time graphic at the bottom of the TV screen, bounced up and down throughout the night. HBO late-night host John Oliver managed to recoup some of the lost cash with a rapid-fire speech he delivered in the style of an auctioneer. The writing crew behind “The Studio,” likewise, kept it tight.
Still, at the end of the night, the tracker had dipped below $0. That’s when Bargatze said CBS would contribute $100,000 and he’d kick in $250,000 for a total donation of $350,000.