‘Succession,’ ‘Ted Lasso’ top Emmys; ‘White Lotus’ wins 5 awards

On an evening of some notable repeat winners, “Succession” and “Ted Lasso” took home top honors again Monday evening at the 74th Emmy Awards — winning for outstanding drama series and comedy series, respectively, while “The White Lotus” pulled in five trophies, including best limited series.

“Succession,” the HBO series about a well-to-do family that owns a global media company, won three honors Monday, adding to its awards-season cache while capturing best drama in its is second straight year of Emmy eligibility, though not in consecutive years.

The show also won the outstanding drama series Emmy in 2020 — but no new episodes aired during last year’s eligibility period. Netflix’s “The Crown” won best drama series last year.

Besides drama series, “Succession” took home trophies for supporting actor in a drama series, Matthew Macfadyen; and outstanding writing for a drama series, Jesse Armstrong.

The evening marked a continuation of “Succession’s” winning streak. The show also won for best television series-drama at the Golden Globe Awards, outstanding performance by an ensemble in a drama series at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and outstanding producer of episodic television-drama at the Producers Guild Awards — those awards’ equivalents of the Emmys’ outstanding drama series, earlier this year.

“Ted Lasso,” the Jason Sudeikis vehicle on Apple TV+ about an American soccer coach in England, won four awards Monday — including wins for the second straight year as best comedy series, and for Sudeikis as lead actor in a comedy series.

In addition, “Ted Lasso” garnered Brett Goldstein the supporting actor in a comedy series Emmy for a second consecutive year, and MJ Delaney won for outstanding directing for a comedy series.

Sudeikis said he was “truly, truly surprised and flattered” by his second straight acting honor, while giving a nod to “our incredible cast” and adding, “It’s a joy to get to work with these guys, you guys are amazing.”

Regarding the show’s second straight win as best comedy series, Sudeikis said, “This show is about good and evil; this show is about the truth and lies; this show is about all that stuff, but it’s mostly about our response to those things. And your response to our show has been overwhelming.”

Besides winning the Emmy for outstanding limited series, “The White Lotus” — HBO’s satirical comedy-drama about the lives of the staff and guests at a tropical resort in Hawaii — won Emmys for Jennifer Coolidge as outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie; Murray Bartlett for supporting actor in a limited series or movie; and a pair for Mike White, one for directing and one for writing. It’s five trophies topped Monday night’s scorecard.

In a couple of historic wins, the award for lead actor in a drama series went to Lee Jung-jae  of “Squid Game,” while the lead actress in a drama series went to Zendaya for “Euphoria.”

For his work in Netflix’s South Korean survival drama “Squid Game,” Lee became the first Asian actor to win a lead actor Emmy in a drama series. He thanked the show’s creators for “making realistic problems we all face come to life,” and also thanked “everyone watching in Korea.”

“Squid Game” had already made Emmy history with its nomination for outstanding drama series — the first non-English-language series to be so nominated — but it was denied making still more history when “Succession” won the drama series top prize.

However, “Squid Game” did garner a second award on Monday — with Hwang Dong-hyuk winning for outstanding directing for a drama series.

Zendaya, meanwhile, made Emmy history — twice — with her second lead actress in a drama victory for “Euphoria,” on which she plays a teen-ager battling addiction. The 26-year-old became the youngest two-time acting winner in Emmy history — she also won for her lead role on “Euphoria” in 2020 — and also became the first Black woman to capture a drama lead actress trophy two times.

“My greatest wish for ‘Euphoria’ is that it could help heal people,” Zendaya said.

Other major winners Monday included Jean Smart for lead actress in a comedy series for “Hacks” — her second straight win; Michael Keaton for lead actor in a limited series or movie for “Dopesick”; Amanda Seyfried for lead actress in a limited series or movie for “The Dropout”; Julia Garner for supporting actress in a drama series for “Ozark”; and Sheryl Lee Ralph for supporting actress in a comedy series for “Abbott Elementary.”

HBO’s “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” captured the prize for variety talk series; NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” for variety sketch series; and “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls,” on Amazon Prime Video, for competition program.

Lizzo choked back tears during her acceptance speech as she spoke of the show’s participants who compete for the opportunity to become dancers for the singer-songwriter-rapper.

“I’m very emotional,” Lizzo said amid extended cheers from the audience. “The stories that they shared, they’re not that unique, the just don’t get the platform telling stories, let’s just tell more stories”

Lizzo went on to say, “When I was a little girl, all I wanted to see was me in the media — someone fat like me, Black like me, beautiful like me. If I could go back and tell little Lizzo something, I’d be like, ‘You’re going to see that person … but it’s going to have to be you.'”

Meanwhile, in accepting the best drama award for “Succession,” British creator Jesse Armstrong got a bit edgy with an apparent dig at England’s newly crowned king, Charles III.

“Big week for successions,” Armstrong said, a few days after the death of Queen Elizabeth II. “New King in the U.K., this for us. Evidently a little bit more voting involved in our winning than Prince Charles.”

“Succession” star Brian Cox — standing on stage nearby with the show’s contingent — interjected, “Keep it, royalist, keep it royalist!”

Armstrong went on to say, “I’m not saying we’re more legitimate in our position than he is — we’ll leave that to other people.”

Armstrong then added, “We are incredibly grateful to have this wonderful honor. This group is extraordinary. It’s a team effort, starting with the writers, the producers that support us, the directors starting with Mark Mylod, the extraordinary cast we are surrounded by, and our amazing crew and HBO. So, many thanks.”

The awards were handed out at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles, with awards in 25 categories in all being handed out.

Longtime “Saturday Night Live” cast member Kenan Thompson hosted the ceremony, which was televised on NBC and simultaneously streamed live on Peacock.

During the event, the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media received the Governors Award in recognition of its efforts to promote gender balance and foster inclusion throughout the entertainment industry.

The institute was founded in 2004 by the Oscar-winning actor Geena Davis. It is the only research-based organization working collaboratively within the entertainment industry to create gender balance, advocate for inclusion and reduce negative stereotyping in family entertainment media.

The Governors Award honors an individual, company or organization that has made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television.

Besides the 25 awards announced Monday, Emmys were awarded in 93 other categories at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards during two ceremonies on Sept. 3 and Sept. 4. An edited presentation those ceremonies will be streamed on Hulu through Sept. 27.

Updated Sept. 12, 2022, 11:29 p.m.

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