When Hacks star Hannah Einbinder won her first Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy, she turned it into a political moment.
It was her fourth nomination and first win for her portrayal as Ava Daniels on the TV program about a comedian in her 70s played by Jean Smart who clashes with the network running her late-night show.
"I was just really committed to the personal narrative that I had that it was actually cooler to continue to lose," Einbinder, who appeared flustered, told the audience.
"This is cool too! This is also punk rock."
Einbinder thanked the creators of Hacks "for changing my life in every conceivable way", as well as her co-star Smart, who won her fourth Emmy in the role at the ceremony.
But she received rousing applause for what she said next.
"I just want to say, finally, go birds, f*** ICE and free Palestine."
Einbinder was one of almost 4,000 industry figures who signed an open letter declaring they would not work with Israeli institutions and film companies "implicated in genocide and apartheid against the Palestinian people".
Paramount, the parent company of CBS which broadcasts the Emmys in the United States. has condemned the boycott.
ICE is the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which has been conducting sweeping immigration raids across the country.
Chants of 'Stephen, Stephen, Stephen' as Late Show wins Emmy
There was a standing ovation, applause, cheers, and chants of "Stephen, Stephen, Stephen," when The Late Show with Stephen Colbert won an Emmy for Outstanding Variety Talk Series.
It was Colbert's second standing ovation of the night after he briefly took to the stage at the start of the show.
Colbert was excited when accepting the award, saying he hopes the "late-night tradition" continues long after the show, which has been cancelled, wraps up in May 2026.
The 61-year-old said he was inspired when he took from David Letterman 10 years ago to do a late-night comedy show that was about love.
"In September of 2015, [director] Spike Jonze stopped by my office and said, 'Hey, what do you want this show to be about?'
"And I said, 'Spike, I don't know how you could do it, but I kind of would like to do a late-night comedy show that was about love.'
"I don't know if I ever figured that out," Colbert said.
"But at a certain point, and you can guess when that point was, I realised we were doing a late-night comedy show about loss.
"And that's related to love because sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it.
"And 10 years later, in September of 2025, my friends, I have never loved my country so desperately.
"God bless America. Stay strong, be brave.
"And if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor."
The Late Show also won a Creative Artists Emmy Award for outstanding directing for a variety series.
'I was nothing three years ago'
Owen Cooper, who plays Jamie Miller in the Netflix series Adolescence, won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
That makes him the youngest male Emmy winner in history in any acting category at just 15-year-old.
Cooper, however, isn't the youngest of all-time.
That honour goes to actress Roxana Zal who won an Emmy in 1984 as a 14-year-old.
Adolescence is about a teenage boy arrested for the murder of a female classmate.
Cooper's precocious speech included lines like this:
"When I started these drama classes a couple years back, I didn't expect to even be in the United States, let alone here," Cooper said.
"But I think tonight proves that if you listen and you focus and you step out of your comfort zone you can achieve anything."
Cooper was also at pains to point out that "I was nothing three years ago".
Just for the record, three years ago, he was 12.
Adolescence took home six awards.
The Studio also wins big
The Studio was also a big winner, winning four awards.
Seth Rogan won Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and the show won Best Comedy Series, Best Directing, and Best Writing.
Rogan kept most of his speeches brief in line with directions given by the show's host Nate Bargatze.
He announced at the start of the show that the dollar amount donated to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America depended on the brevity of the acceptance speeches.
Somebody, Somewhere was listening
No-one expected Somebody, Somewhere's Jeff Hiller to even be nominated for an Emmy.
In fact, his inclusion in the 2025 line up for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy was such a surprise that the Academy didn't even have a photo of him to include in the announcement.
Somebody Somewhere follows the small town lives of 40-something best friends Sam (Bridgett Everett) and Joel (Hiller).
Hillier has been a character actor for more than 20 years. Simply being nominated for his work as sweet, supportive Joel, who reckons with his sexuality and his religion throughout the series, was reward enough for Hiller and for fans of the show.
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy was an incredibly competitive category this year. It included previous winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach and cinema legend Harrison Ford in his first Emmy nomination.
That made it even more of a surprise when Hiller's name was called out as the winner.
"For the past 25 years I've been like 'world I want to be an actor' and the world has been like, 'maybe computers'," Hiller said during his acceptance speech.
Running for three critically adored seasons, Somebody Somewhere has been praised for its quiet, heartwarming storytelling about communities rarely seen on modern television — including a sublime supporting performance from trans actor and drag king, Murray Hill.
During his speech, Hiller thanked Everett and the other writers for "writing a show about love and connecting during this time when compassion is seen as a weakness"
Flowers for Cristin Milioti
The award for most excited winner goes to The Penguin's Cristin Milioti, who ended her acceptance speech for Best Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series by screaming "I love acting so much!!".
Milioti, who is mostly known for comedic work in shows like How I Met Your Mother, blew audiences away with her turn as crime heir Sofia Falcone in the Batman spin off.
Milioti plays Falcone as a tragic figure pushed to the brink and happy to work out her anger with "razor wire, handguns and a wide-eyed smile".
The actor won a Critic's Choice award earlier in the year for her performance but missed out on the Golden Globe.
"It's very hard to make sense of being alive right now in the world so I'm deeply grateful for the bright spots … this show is one of them," Milioti said in her acceptance speech.
Jennifer Coolidge, always good value
The White Lotus was a major loser of the night.
It was one of the most-talked about shows, along with The Bear and The Last of Us, to underperform.
Out of its 23 nominations, the only Emmy its won this year is for its Original Main Title Theme Music.
The Emmys still got its White Lotus moment with alumni Jennifer Coolidge presenting the award for lead actress in a comedy series — which went to Jean Smart.
"I won last year," Coolidge said.
"Maybe it was like two years ago."
Coolidge has won two Emmys for her portrayal as Tanya McQuoid in The White Lotus, first nabbing the award in 2022.
"I can tell you from experience in winning, it's not all it's cracked up to be, it's really not," Coolidge said.
She joked that she was dropped from a group chat with her fellow nominees.
"We were all supposed to go on a trip to Ibiza, and I found out that I wasn't included," Coolidge said.
"And the only reason I knew that was because Elizabeth Debicki and I have the same Ozempic dealer, and you know, at least hers is working.
"Now, that I think about it, winning the Emmy, I think, you know what? I think it might have been the worst thing that ever happened to me.
"And the nominees…," she said to laughter from the audience.
Everybody Loves Raymond star Brad Garrett's jokes on stage, alongside Ray Romano, suggests he tends to agree that winning an Emmy isn't all its cracked up to be.
