The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards have arrrived! Follow mxdwn Television’s live coverage of tonight’s Emmys ceremony, hosted by Stephen Colbert and taking place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California.
We’ll be updating all night with details about winners, acceptance speeches, and all the fun in between. View the full list of Emmys nominees here. Westworld and Saturday Night Live have managed to rack up the most nominations with 22 each, and Stranger Things tails close behind with 19. Notably, typical big winner Game of Thrones is out of the running this year due to its summer air date.
Follow our live coverage to keep up-to-date on everything to do with this year’s 69th Primetime Emmy Awards.
8:00pm: Host Stephen Colbert opens with a huge musical number involving the Stranger Things Demigorgon and Handmaiden’s Tale styled dancers.
8:17pm: During his open monologue, Stephen Colbert brings out the one and only Sean Spicer for a joke on the Emmys’ crowd size.
8:20pm: John Lithgow wins Best Supporting Actor in Drama Series for his role as Winston Churchill in The Crown.
8:28pm: Gina Rodriguez and Shemar Moore present the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series to Kate McKinnon for her roles on Saturday Night Live. This is her second consecutive win in the category for the show.
“Thank you to Hillary Clinton for your grace and grit,” says McKinnon, who got political towards the end of her speech while accepting the award.
8:30pm: Riz Ahmed and Issa Rae present the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited Series to Laura Dern for her role in Big Little Lies. It’s her first Emmy win out of the six nominations she’s earned through the years.
“I share this with my tribe of four ladies,” the actress gushes over her cast members and their excellent performances alongside her on the show.
8:42pm: Dave Chappelle and Melissa McCarthy present the awards for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series. Donald Glover wins his first Emmy award for his FX show Atlanta.
LA Times‘ Hollywood writer Tre’vell Anderson notes the significance in Glover’s win.
8:45pm: Allison Janney and Anna Faris give the award for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series to Saturday Night Live.
Lorne Michaels recalls the show’s first Emmy win in 1976. “I thought as I was standing there alone, that this was it – this was the high point,” Michaels recalls the challenging, insane, exhausting season that led SNL to win its first Emmy. “Turns out I was wrong.”
8:50pm: Stephen Colbert does hilarious Westworld bit with Jeffrey Wright acting as his character Bernard. Titus from Netflix’s Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt makes an appearance too!
8:55pm: Bruce Miller wins Outstanding Writer for Drama Series for his writing on The Handmaid’s Tale.
8:58pm: James Corden and Seth Meyers present the award for best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series to Alec Baldwin for his performance as Trump on SNL. “At long last, Mr. President, here is your Emmy,” Baldwin jabs at President Trump’s comments during the campaign seson that he should’ve won an Emmy award for his television work.
“What we do is important,” Baldwin goes on to encourage the audience, stressing the role of art in trying times. “Don’t stop doing what you’re doing, the audience is counting on you.”
9:07pm: The award for Outstanding Directing for Limited Series or Movie goes to Jean Marc-Vallee for Big Little Lies. It’s the directors first Emmy win.
9:10pm: Jane Fonda, Lilly Tomlin and Dolly Parton share great chemistry, joke around, and make more cutting jabs at the President while present the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie to Alexander Skarsgard for his role on Big Little Lies.
“Thank you for the ladies on the show for making this boy feel like one of the girls,” he warmly jokes to his co-stars with his acceptance speech.
9:30: Last Night Tonight with John Oliver wins for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, and Ann Dowd wins with a tearful, eloquent speech for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
9:35pm: The Emmys take a moment to celebrate diversity and shed light on how television is working to improve the number of diverse perspectives shown on the small screen.
9:38pm: Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe win for with the “Thanksgiving” episode on Master of None for Writing in a Comedy Series. The two get a big standing ovation for their win.
9:40pm: Lea Michelle and Kumail Nanjiani present the award for Reality Competition Series to The Voice.
9:50pm: Directing for a Drama Series goes to Reed Morano for her work on The Handmaid’s Tale. She won against some other powerhouse series like Westworld, Stranger Things, and The Crown. The Handmaid‘s Tale has done very well tonight.
9:52pm: British writer Charlie Brooker wins Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie with his celebrated Black Mirror episode “San Junipero”. “This is terrifying. I didn’t think of anything to say. First world problems,” the writer began his speech.
9:54pm: The Emmys give a touching “In Memoriam” with a performance by Hamilton star Christopher Jackson, taking the time to remember all of the stars we lost this year, including Powers Boothe, Adam West, Bill Paxton, Roger Moore, Carrie Fisher, and more.
10:04pm: Adam Scott and Craig Robinson present the award (with a great presentation monologue to boot) for Directing for a Variety Series to Don Roy King for his work on SNL. This is his seventh Emmy win.
10:06pm: Anthony Anderson and Priyanka Chopra hand off the award for Outstanding Variety Talk Series to Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.
10:11pm: Jimmy Kimmel and Stephen Colbert share a drink while ripping into John Oliver, poking fun at the British comedian following his two wins of the night.
10:15pm: Edie Falco and Alec Baldwin present the award for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series to a thrilled Donald Glover. “I am so happy,” he began his speech with a wide smile. Echoing Alec Baldwin’s thoughts on the importance of art today, Glover compliments the work of everybody in the audience, saying, “[Your work is] so necessary, I really appreciate everybody here.”
10:20pm: Surprising no-one, Julia Louis-Dreyfus graciously accepts the award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her hilarious role on HBO’s Veep. Speaking to the show’s upcoming final season, Louis-Dreyfus joked, “We [wrote] have a whole storyline about an impeachment, but we abandoned it because we were worried someone else was going to get to it first.” She went on to call her character on Veep a role of a lifetime and an “utter joy”.
10:22pm: Norman Lear and Carol Burnett receive a warm standing ovation as soon as they hit the stage. The two presented the award for Best Comedy Series to HBO’s Veep.
10:33pm: The award for Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie (a category with some fierce competition) goes to Riz Ahmed for The Night Of. He thanked the late James Gandolfini, who worked as producer on the show, in his speech.
10:37pm: Nicole Kidman wins Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Big Little Lies. The actress spoke about domestic abuse with her speech: “[The show] shone a light on domestic abuse. It is a complicated, insidious disease. It exists far more than we allow ourselves to know…by you acknowledging me with this award, it shines a light on it even more.”
10:41pm: The Emmy for Best Television Movie goes to Black Mirror with the episode “San Junipero”. “‘San Junipero’ was a story about love, and love will defeat hate,” writer Charlie Brooker encouraged the audience and watchers at home with his speech.
10:45pm: Outstanding Limited Series goes to Big Little Lies, another show that has done exceptionally well tonight.
“The power of television has astounded us,” Nicole Kidman said. “It’s been an incredible year for women in television,” Reese Witherspoon added. “More great roles for women, please!” said Kidman as she ended the speech.
10:51pm: Kyra Sedgwick and Dennis Quaid present the award for Lead Actor in a Drama Series t0 Sterling K. Brown for his role on This is Us, the actor’s second Emmy win. “First, last, and always, I’m a fan. For my fellow nominees: I’m a fan. I love you all,” the actor said with a wide smile.
10:57pm: Elizabeth Moss wins Lead Actress in a Drama Series with The Handmaid’s Tale and gives an emotional acceptance speech.
11:00pm: Oprah Winfrey presents the award for Drama Series to The Handmaid’s Tale, the big winner of the night. Author of the source material, Margaret Atwood, joins the cast and crew on stage to accept the award. Bruce Miller concludes his acceptance speech and the Emmy Awards Ceremony with one message for his fellow filmmakers, actors, and writers in the room: “Go home, get to work, we have a lot of things to fight for.”
That wraps up our Primetime Emmy Awards coverage! Thanks for following along with mxdwn Television!