The Bear, Succession and Beef were the big winners of the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards, which finally arrived four months after they were postponed due to the SAG-AFTRA strike. TV’s biggest stars congregated at Los Angeles’ Peacock Theater, and on the red carpet red was also the color of the gowns, with Katherine Heigl, Suki Waterhouse and Camilla Marrone all rocking the passionate color, while Ayo Edebiri was gorgeous in a leather look, and Selena Gomez wowed in Oscar del Renta.
The Bear was the first big winner of the night, with Jeremy Allen White, Ayo Edebiri, Ebon Moss-Bacrach taking home all three of their acting nominations in the comedy categories,as well as Outstanding comedy series.
In the limited series category it was a sweep by Netflix drama Beef, picking up Outstanding limited or anthology series, and best actor and actress in a limited or anthology series for Steven Yeun and Ali Wong.
But the big winner of the night was Succession; across all categories, HBO Max’s Succession held this year’s top spot with 27 Emmy nominations and although it failed to pick up any at last week’s Creative Arts ceremony it picked up three acting awards on Monday, for Matthew MacFadyen, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin, and Outstanding Drama series, as well as two below-the-line awards.
Below are the best moments of the night, and the full winners list…
The Bear’s big kiss
Kourtney and Travis’ red carpet PDA was well and truly upstaged duringthe live show, when — as the cast and crew of The Bear walked on the stage to accept the award — supporting cast member Matty Matheson began by thanking “restaurants everywhere” before Ebon interrupted him with a very long kiss to cheers from the audience.
An emotional Friends tribute
Despite rumors of the Friends cast reuniting to pay a heartbreaking tribute to Matthew Perry at the 2024 Emmy Awards, the show instead gave their own moment to the late comedian, who died in October 2023.
As the In Memorium played, War and Treaty were joined by Charlie Puth to sing ‘See You Again,’ before transitioning into ‘I’ll Be There For You,’ as the segment ended with a picture of Matthew.
Ayo Edebiri and Quinta Brunson make history
Abbott Elementary’s Quinta received the second award for Best Actress in a Comedy, and Ayo won Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy, making them the first Black actresses to win the comedy acting categories in the same year.
Ayo later told press that it was “very special” and humbling “on today of all days,” to learn that they had broken history; the 2024 Emmys took place on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
It was also the first time in 42 years a Black actress had won Best Actress in a Comedy.
Elton John becomes an EGOT
Elton John has won his first Emmy award – making him the 19th EGOT winner of all time.
EGOT is an acronym for the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards, and is the designation given to people who have won all four of the major American art awards, also known as the Entertainment Grand Slam. The British singer, who was no in attendance as he recently underwent a knee operation, won the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Live) for Elton John: Farewell from Dodger Stadium, a live stream of his final North American show ever.
Niecy Nash-Betts’ acceptance speech
Perhaps no-one had a bigger applause for an acceptance speech than Niecy Nash-Betts who, after thanking God, showrunner Ryan Murphy, the voters, her wife Jessica Betts – and herself: “You know who I want to thank? Me. I want to thank me for believing in me and doing what they said I could not do.”
She then went on to accept the award on behalf of Black women who “has gone unheard yet overpoliced”.
Christina Applegate’s standing ovation
Christina came out on stage in as glorious red velvet suit and to a standing ovation, leaving her in tears before she quipped: “You are totally shaming me with disability with standing up,” and as the applause continued, she further joked that her body was “not by Ozempic.”
