LOS ANGELES — Succession, Beef and The Bear are the big winners at the Emmy Awards, which are taking place in Los Angeles.
British actor Matthew Macfadyen was named best supporting actor in a drama series, while Jesse Armstrong won the prize for best writing of a drama series.
In his acceptance speech, Macfadyen said it was “a great honor” and thanked “the entire Succession family”.
Sir Elton John also won his first Emmy Award, making him an EGOT.
That means he has joined an exclusive club of performers who have won an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony award.
Elton Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium won best variety special live, marking the British singer-songwriter’s first Emmy nomination and award.
However, Sir Elton could not pick up the honor after having a knee operation.
A spokesperson accepted the trophy on his behalf, describing the win as “historic” and said Sir Elton had “navigated the soundtrack to our lives [and] he’s done so much great for society”.
Other winners of the night included The White Lotus and Abbott Elementary.
In his acceptance speech: Macfadyen joked: “I must make special mention to my on-screen wife Sarah Snook, and my other on-screen wife Nicholas Braun.”
Braun plays Cousin Greg in Succession, and the two characters’ relationship was a favorite with viewers.
“Acting with you has been one of the most wonderful things in my career, thank you Nick, thank you Sarah,” Macfadyen added.
Armstrong, the British screenwriter who created Succession, also scooped the top prize for best writing in a drama series.
Succession, the critically acclaimed series about a media mogul and the power struggles between his dysfunctional family, concluded last year after four seasons.
In Armstrong’s speech, he referred back to the main plotline, joking: “For some reason, the name of a certain Australia-born media mogul, Rupert Murdoch springs to mind.”
He added: “I come from the UK and the show is about things that are close to the center of American life and politics, and we’ve always been met with generosity and good faith and that’s part of America’s tradition of being very welcoming to outsiders and it’s very nice.”
The Bear won three acting prizes, for its star Jeremy Allen White, and supporting actors Ayo Edebiri and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
Accepting his award, White said: “I am so full of gratitude to be standing in front of you all — I love this show so much, it filled me up, set a fire in me.”
Edebiri’s win marks the third award she has won in 10 days, following similar prizes at the Golden Globe and Critics Choice Awards.
She told the audience she was “so incredibly grateful for so many reasons”.
“This is a show about found family and real family, and my parents are here tonight — thank you so much for loving me and letting me feel beautiful and black and proud of all of that,” she said.
While Succession has dominated the drama categories and The Bear picked up several comedy trophies, the limited series categories were dominated by Netflix’s road rage-inspired series Beef.
Ali Wong and Steven Yeun, the show’s two stars, were named best actress and actor in a limited series respectively.
Accepting the prize for the best limited series, creator Lee Sung Jin said: “I’m really grateful and humbled by everyone who watched the show and reached out about their own personal struggles, it’s very life-affirming, so thank you.”
He concluded his speech by joking: “Everything I do is for my three dogs.”
Quinta Brunson won the prize for best leading comedy actress for her role in school-based series Abbott Elementary.
In an emotional speech, Brunson said she was “so happy to be able to live my dream and act out comedy”.
In her acceptance speech, Coolidge joked that she wanted to “thank all the evil gays” — a reference to her storyline in the second season of The White Lotus.
Niecy Nash-Betts won best supporting actress in a limited series for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
She said: “I accept this award on behalf of every black and brown woman who has gone unheard yet over-policed — like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor.
Cleveland, who Nash-Betts plays in the series, was the woman who alerted the police about the serial killer.
The Emmys ceremony has been delayed by four months due to the Hollywood strikes.
Nominations were announced in July and the ceremony was originally scheduled for September, but the writers’ and actors’ strikes meant very few nominees would have been able to attend.
The ceremony is being hosted by actor and comedian Anthony Anderson. — BBC
