Overview
Songs, tears, Travis Barker on the drums playing 'In the Air Tonight', host Anthony Anderson advising that his mother would be on "playoff mama" duties to keep the acceptance speeches for the 20-plus awards on time, first presenter Christina Applegate (Dead to Me) getting a standing ovation, a tribute to The Sopranos with an ode to James Gandolfini, Jennifer Coolidge winning another award for The White Lotus: now that's how you start an awards ceremony.
The accolades: the 2023 Emmy Awards, being held on Tuesday, January 16, 2024 Australian and New Zealand time after they were postponed during Hollywood's writers' and actors' strikes. And before half an hour had even ticked over, Anderson had advised that "Miami Vice taught me that all I needed was a tanned white friend and a cool white jacket"; Coolidge had announced that Mike White "definitely dead so I'm going along with it", then thanked all the evil gays; The Last of Us ' Pedro Pascal claimed that his arm was in a sling because Succession's "Kieran Culkin beat the shit out of me"; and the latter's co-star Matthew Macfadyen thanked his two on-screen wives, aka Sarah Snook and Nicholas Braun.
So, in the second huge Hollywood night of nights in as many weeks, the Emmys started better than the Golden Globes. In fact, that's an understatement. And that's even before Tina Fey (Mean Girls) and Amy Poehler (Moxie) took to the Weekend Update desk, the Cheers and Ally McBeal casts reunited, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia's stars pondered why they don't have Emmys, Ru Paul spoke out against hate, DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story's Niecy Nash-Betts thanked herself and Matty Matheson couldn't be more passionate about hospitality with a "restaurants forever!" shout.
All of the throwbacks and nostalgia, and spreading the love far beyond what was nominated, was in honour of a big milestone: the Emmys reaching 75 years. These awards should always feel like a celebration of the entire medium; however, that can be easier said than done — but it's a task that the delayed 2023 ceremony perfected.
The big winners mirrored the Golden Globes, aka Succession among the dramas, The Bear in the comedy field and Beef in the limited series field. So, while there was no been-there-done-that feel to the presentation between the two awards, that came through in the recipients — supremely worthy as they all are. The main trio weren't the only shows to score prizes, but plenty of deserving series went home empty-handed — see: Better Call Saul, Yellowjackets, Barry and Only Murders in the Building, to name a few — even amid the warm hug-style vibes.
What else nabbed a trophy? Who else was in contention? We've got that covered. Here's a rundown of the awards handed out at the main ceremony, plus the nominees competing for them — and you can check out the seven winning shows you should watch ASAP, too.
EMMY NOMINEES AND WINNERS 2023
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
Andor
Better Call Saul
The Crown
House of the Dragon
The Last of Us
Succession — WINNER
The White Lotus
Yellowjackets
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
Abbott Elementary
Barry
The Bear — WINNER
Jury Duty
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
Only Murders in the Building
Ted Lasso
Wednesday
OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
Beef — WINNER
DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Daisy Jones & the Six
Fleishman Is in Trouble
Obi-Wan Kenobi
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jeff Bridges, The Old Man
Brian Cox, Succession
Kieran Culkin, Succession — WINNER
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Pedro Pascal, The Last of Us
Jeremy Strong, Succession
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Sharon Horgan, Bad Sisters
Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets
Elisabeth Moss, The Handmaid's Tale
Bella Ramsey, The Last of Us
Keri Russell, The Diplomat
Sarah Snook, Succession — WINNER
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Bill Hader, Barry
Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building
Jason Segel, Shrinking
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Jeremy Allen White, The Bear — WINNER
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Christina Applegate, Dead to Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary — WINNER
Natasha Lyonne, Poker Face
Jenna Ortega, Wednesday
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
Taron Egerton, Black Bird
Kumail Nanjiani, Welcome to Chippendales
Evan Peters, DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Daniel Radcliffe, Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
Michael Shannon, George & Tammy
Steven Yeun, Beef — WINNER
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
Lizzy Caplan, Fleishman Is in Trouble
Jessica Chastain, George & Tammy
Dominique Fishback, Swarm
Kathryn Hahn, Tiny Beautiful Things
Riley Keough, Daisy Jones & the Six
Ali Wong, Beef — WINNER
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
F. Murray Abraham, The White Lotus
Nicholas Braun, Succession
Michael Imperioli, The White Lotus
Theo James, The White Lotus
Matthew Macfadyen, Succession — WINNER
Alan Ruck, Succession
Will Sharpe, The White Lotus
Alexander Skarsgård, Succession
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus — WINNER
Elizabeth Debicki, The Crown
Meghann Fahy, The White Lotus
Sabrina Impacciatore, The White Lotus
Aubrey Plaza, The White Lotus
Rhea Seehorn, Better Call Saul
J. Smith-Cameron, Succession
Simona Tabasco, The White Lotus
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
Anthony Carrigan, Barry
Phil Dunster, Ted Lasso
Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso
James Marsden, Jury Duty
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Bear — WINNER
Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary
Henry Winkler, Barry
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel
Ayo Edebiri, The Bear — WINNER
Janelle James, Abbott Elementary
Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary
Juno Temple, Ted Lasso
Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso
Jessica Williams, Shrinking
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
Murray Bartlett, Welcome to Chippendales
Paul Walter Hauser, Black Bird — WINNER
Richard Jenkins, DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story
Joseph Lee, Beef
Ray Liotta, Black Bird
Young Mazino, Beef
Jesse Plemons, Love & Death
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TELEVISION MOVIE
Annaleigh Ashford, Welcome to Chippendales
Maria Bello, Beef
Claire Danes, Fleishman Is in Trouble
Juliette Lewis, Welcome to Chippendales
Camila Morrone, Daisy Jones & The Six
Niecy Nash-Betts, DAHMER – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story — WINNER
Merritt Wever, Tiny Beautiful Things
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Andor, Benjamin Caron,
Bad Sisters, Dearbhla Walsh
The Last of Us, Peter Hoar
Succession, Andrij Parekh
Succession, Mark Mylod — WINNER
Succession, Lorene Scafaria
The White Lotus, Mike White
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Barry, Bill Hader
The Bear, Christopher Storer — WINNER
The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, Amy Sherman-Palladino
The Ms. Pat Show, Mary Lou Belli
Ted Lasso, Declan Lowney
Wednesday, Tim Burton
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Beef, Lee Sung Jin — WINNER
Beef, Jake Schreier
DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, Carl Franklin
DAHMER — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,Paris Barclay
Fleishman Is in Trouble, Valerie Faris, Jonathan Dayton
Prey, Dan Trachtenberg
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
Andor, Beau Willimon
Bad Sisters, Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, Brett Baer
Better Call Saul, Gordon Smith
Better Call Saul, Peter Gould
The Last of Us, Craig Mazin
Succession, Jesse Armstrong — WINNER
The White Lotus, Mike White
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
Barry, Bill Hader
The Bear, Christopher Storer — WINNER
Jury Duty, Mekki Leeper
Only Murders in the Building, John Hoffman, Matteo Borghese, Rob Turbovsky
The Other Two, Chris Kelly, Sarah Schneider
Ted Lasso, Brendan Hunt, Joe Kelly, Jason Sudeikis
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE
Beef, Lee Sung Jin — WINNER
Fire Island, Joel Kim Booster
Fleishman Is in Trouble, Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Prey, Patrick Aison, Dan Trachtenberg
Swarm, Janine Nabers, Donald Glover
Weird: The Al Yankovic Story, Al Yankovic, Eric Appel
OUTSTANDING SCRIPTED VARIETY SERIES
A Black Lady Sketch Show
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — WINNER
Saturday Night Live
OUTSTANDING REALITY COMPETITION SHOW
The Amazing Race
RuPaul's Drag Race — WINNER
Survivor
Top Chef
The Voice
OUTSTANDING TALK SERIES
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah — WINNER
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
The Problem with Jon Stewart
OUTSTANDING LIVE VARIETY SPECIAL
The Apple Music Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show Starring Rihanna
Chris Rock: Selective Outrage
Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium — WINNER
The Oscars
75th Annual Tony Awards
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver — WINNER
Late Night with Seth Meyers
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Saturday Night Live
The 2023 Emmys were announced on Tuesday, January 16, Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website.
Top image: Chuck Hodes/FX.