Seth Rogen, Britt Lower and Hannah Einbinder all won the first Emmys of their careers, as Millennials dominated the 77th annual awards early.
Rogen took the first Emmy of his two-decade career, winning the lead actor in a comedy prize for his role as purist studio chief Matt Remick in his Apple TV+ show The Studio, which he co-created. It was the hyphenate’s first-ever Emmy after nine nominations.
“I so could not wrap my head around this happening …I’ve never won anything in my life,” he said accepting the prize. Before this year, Rogen’s last notable prize came for “Best Gut-Wrenching Performance” at the MTV Movie Awards a decade ago. Rogen would later win along with co-creator Evan Goldberg for comedy directing as The Studio built momentum.
Another newcomer got her flowers as Lower won her first Emmy on her first try, winning lead actress in a drama for her enigmatic role on Severance. The 40-year-old bested the ultimate veteran in Matlock’s Kathy Bates, at 77 the oldest-ever nominee in the category (and one of the few shots for a major scripted prize for a broadcast network). Lower gave an earnest speech thanking fans, teachers and family members, ending with a fittingly cryptic “Thank you to Helly R. for choosing me,” referring to her character.
And Einbinder won supporting actress in a comedy after coming up short on three previous nominations for her role as upstart comedian Ava Daniels in HBO’s Hacks. She said she had been leaning in to the go-home-empty narrative but “this is cool too. This is also punk rock.” She concluded her speech with “Go Birds, Fuck ICE and Free Palestine,” referring, in the first case, to her beloved Philadelphia Eagles.
A veteran did get her due as Einbinder’s co-star Jean Smart won lead actress in a comedy, her seventh Emmy of a long and illustrious career.
“You honor me so much,” said Smart, as the Deborah Vance actress paid homage to her HBO show’s cast and crew. “Let’s be good to each other; let’s just be good to each other.” Smart has won the award all four seasons the mentor-protege comedy has been on the air.
And she was not the only veteran face. In welcome if slightly puzzling nostalgia play, Reba McIntyre led a rendition of Andrew Gold’s “Thank You For Being a Friend” from The Golden Girls in a re-created South Florida kitchen, sans cheesecake.
Two late bloomers also came up winners as veteran actress Katherine LaNasa won her first-ever Emmy, a supporting actress in a drama prize for her role as a tartly wise head nurse on The Pitt, delighting longtime fans of the actress and anyone who ever wondered if Jerry Seinfeld watched Melrose Place.
And Somebody, Somewhere co-star Jeff Hiller Love took home the prize for supporting actor in a comedy for his role as a good-hearted, occasionally sardonic fish-out-of-water in Bridget Everett’s Kansas-set HBO dramedy Somebody, Somewhere.
“For the past 25 years I’ve been like ‘world, I want to be an actor’ and the world was like ‘maybe computers?’” Hiller joked as he accepted his first-ever Emmy.
An SNL-style cold open kicked off the Emmys with host Nate Bargatze playing a scientist inventing television and explaining to his assistants what the future of television will look like. (“What is streaming sir?” A new way for companies to lose money.”) The sketch also made the requisite joke about The Bear not being a comedy and noted that there will one day be “a world where the finest artists create stories of staggering beauty that millions of people will watch — on their phone while sitting on the toilet.”
Stephen Colbert introduced the first award of the night, for lead actor in a comedy, telling the audience “While I have your attention, is anyone hiring? Because I’ve got 200 very well-qualified candidates available tonight.” The recently canceled Late Show With Stephen Colbert is seeking its first-ever top Emmy for late night show, just eight months before it embarks on its last opening monologue.
Bargatze tried to incentivize shorter speeches by saying he’ll deduct from and add to a $100,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of America based on whether acceptance speeches went under or above 45 seconds. There was no penalty, though, for Jennifer Coolidge’s extended riff presenting lead actress in a comedy.
The night generally took on a tone of gratitude. “I don’t know what to say. This is so nice. I appreciate you all,” Rogen said upon winning the acting award.
More to come.