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Schitt’s Creek, Succession and Watchmen were the big winners at the 72nd Emmy Awards held on Sunday 20 September 2020 at a virtual ceremony hosted by comedian and late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.

In what is now being referred to as the Pand-Emmy’s, fan favourite Schitt’s Creek picked up 9 Emmy’s including Outstanding Comedy- breaking the Emmy’s record for most wins in a single season for a comedy – a fitting send-off for its sixth and final season.

After illustrious careers in comedy Catherine O’Hara (Home Alone, Beetlejuice) and Eugene Levy (American Pie, Best In Show) finally bagged their first-ever acting Emmy’s.

O’Hara won for lead actress in a comedy for her portrayal of Moira Rose, in her second nomination for the much-loved series with Eugene Levy taking home the Emmy for lead actor in a comedy series for his portrayal as straight laced family patriarch Johnny Rose.

Catherine O’Hara accepting her award for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

In accepting her award O’Hara called out Schitt’s Creek creators Eugene and Dan Levy, as well as costume designer Debra Hanson and makeup artist Lucky Bromhead. “I’ll forever be grateful to Eugene and Daniel Levy for giving me the opportunity to play a woman of a certai age, my age, who gets to be full her ridiculous self” she continued ” they gathered the most beautiful, fun-loving people in Toronto, cast and crew, and then, by example, led us to be the best we can be for each other.”

Eugene Levy joked that the role which had won him TV’s top acting award for comedy was the most straight role he had ever played. “I guess it’s kind of ironic that the straightest role I ever played lands me an Emmy for a comedy performance. So now I seriously have to question just what I’ve bee doing for the past 50-years.”

Annie Murphy and Dan Levy picked up acting awards for Supporting roles in a comedy series, with Dan Levy also winning awards for Writing and directing in a comedy series. Costume designer Debra Hanson also won an Emmy as did the show for casting.

Dan Levy said “Our show, at its core, is about the transformational effects of love and acceptance, and that is something we need more of now than we’ve ever needed before”.

HBO’s premier show Succession took home the night’s top prize, Outstanding Drama Series, as well as Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Jeremy Strong. The machiavellian show about a media magnate and his family, often said to be inspired by Rupert Murdoch, also won prizes for best writing and best directing in a drama series. The show’s British creator Jesse Armstrong said from London. “This is such a very nice moment. But it’s sad not to be with the cast and crew to share it.”

HBO’s other big show Watchmen, an innovative reimagining of a superhero graphic novel that tackled racism in America, scored the most nominations (26) and wins (11) this year. The show won Outstanding Limited Series, best Actress in a Limited Series for Regina King, Supporting Actor for Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and writing for Damon Lindelof (Lost) and Cord Jefferson (The Good Place).

Regina King accepting her award for Lead Actress in a Limited Series.

As she was presented her Emmy at home King joked “This is freakin’ weird”. In her acceptance speech, she paid tribute to US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died over the weekend, and encouraged viewers to register vote in the forthcoming presidential election.

Zendaya (The Greatest Showman) won Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance in American teen-drama series Euphoria. The actress beat out stiff competition from Jennifer Aniston, Sandra Oh, Laura Linney, Olivia Coleman and Jodie Come to become the youngest person to win the Prime Time Emmy award for Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

Kimmel’s third time hosting the ceremony was a rather low key event as it played to an empty auditorium with card board cut-outs of the nominees and a majority of the nominees phoning in from home. To ensure that winners received their Emmy in real-time each nominee was sent an identical box with the winner’s containing the Emmy which would pop open at the right time. In addition, the cast of Schitt’s Creek who were at a special covid-19 secure venue in Canada were handed their Emmy’s via a person in a hazchem suit.

Here’s a little segment from Friends alum Jennifer Aniston, Courtney Co and Lisa Kudrow.

The in memoriam section honoured stars including Chadwick Boseman, Naya Rivera, Caroll Spinney, Kirk Douglas, Sir Ian Holm, Regus Philbin and Dame Diana Rigg.

The Creative Arts Emmys took place earlier this week, with winners announced in categories such as casting, hair, make-up, lighting and sound design.

Emmy Awards 2020: The biggest winners

11 – Watchmen

9 – Schitt’s Creek

7 – Succession

7 – The Mandalorian

6 – RuPaul’s Drag Race

6 – Saturday Night Live

Includes Creative Arts Emmys

List of Winners

Outstanding drama series

Better Call Saul

Killing Eve

The Crown

The Handmaid’s Tale

The Mandalorian

Ozark

Stranger Things

Succession – WINNER

Supporting actress in a drama series

Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown)

Laura Dern (Big Little Lies)

Julia Garner (Ozark) – WINNER

Thandie Newton (Westworld)

Sarah Snook (Succession)

Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve)

Meryl Streep (Big Little Lies)

Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale)

Supporting actor in a drama series

Nicholas Braun (Succession)

Kieran Culkin (Succession)

Billy Crudup (The Morning Show) – WINNER

Mark Duplass (The Morning Show)

Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul)

Matthew Macfayden (Succession)

Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid’s Tale)

Jeffrey Wright (Westworld)

Directing for a drama series

Benjamin Caron (The Crown, “Aberfan”)

Jessica Hobbs (The Crown, “Cri de Coeur”)

Mimi Leder (The Morning Show, “The Interview”)

Lesli Linka Glatter (Homeland, “Prisoners of War”)

Mark Mylod (Succession, “This Is Not for Tears”)

Andrij Parekh (Succession, “Hunting”) – WINNER

Alik Sakharov (Ozark, “Fire Pink”)

Ben Semanoff (Ozark, “Su Casa Es Mi Casa”)

Writing for a drama series

Jesse Armstrong (Succession, “This Is Not for Tears”) – WINNER

Miki Johnson (Ozark, “Fire Pink”)

Peter Morgan (The Crown, “Aberfan”)

Chris Mundy (Ozark, “All In”)

Thomas Schnauz (Better Call Saul, “Bad Choice Road”)

John Shiban (Ozark, “Boss Fight”)

Gordon Smith (Better Call Saul, “Bagman”)

Lead actress in a drama series

Jodie Comer (Killing Eve)

Sandra Oh (Killing Eve)

Zendaya (Euphoria) – WINNER

Jennifer Aniston (Morning Show)

Laura Linney (Ozark)

Olivia Colman (The Crown)

Lead actor in a drama series

Jason Bateman (Ozark)

Sterling K Brown (This Is Us)

Billy Porter (Pose)

Steve Carrell (Morning Show)

Jeremy Strong (Succession) – WINNER

Brian Cox (Succession)

Reality competition program

The Masked Singer

Nailed It!

RuPaul’s Drag Race – WINNER

Top Chef

The Voice

Outstanding limited series

Little Fires Everywhere

Mrs America

Unbelievable

Unorthodox

Watchmen – WINNER

Supporting actor in a limited series or TV movie

Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen) – WINNER

Jovan Adepo (Watchmen)

Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend)

Louis Gossett Jr (Watchmen)

Dylan McDermott (Hollywood)

Jim Parsons (Hollywood)

Directing for a limited series

Steph Green (Watchmen, “Little Fear of Lightning”)

Lenny Abrahamson (Normal People, “Episode 5”)

Nicole Kassell (Watchmen, “It’s Summer and We’re Running Out of Ice”)

Maria Schrader (Unorthodox) – WINNER

Lynn Shelton (Little Fires Everywhere, “Find a Way”)

Stephen Williams (Watchmen, “This Extraordinary Being”)

Writing for a limited series

Tanya Barfield (Mrs America, “Shirley”)

Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon and Ayelet Waldman (Unbelievable, “Episode 1”)

Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson (Watchmen, “This Extraordinary Being”) – WINNER

Sally Rooney and Alice Birch (Normal People, “Episode 3”)

Anna Winger (Unorthodox, “Part 1”)

Actor in a limited series

Jeremy Irons (Watchmen)

Hugh Jackman (Bad Education)

Jeremy Pope (Hollywood)

Paul Mescal (Normal People)

Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True) – WINNER

Actress in a limited series

Kerry Washington (Little Fires Everywhere)

Octavia Spencer (Self Made)

Cate Blanchett (Mrs America)

Regina King (Watchmen) – WINNER

Shira Haas (Unorthodox)

Variety talk series

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Full Frontal with Samantha Bee

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver – WINNER

Outstanding comedy series

Curb Your Enthusiasm

The Good Place

Schitt’s Creek – WINNER

Dead To Me

Insecure

The Kominsky Method

The Marvelous Mrs Maisel

What We Do In The Shadows

Supporting actress in a comedy series

Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)

Betty Gilpin (Glow)

D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place)

Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)

Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)

Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek) – WINNER

Yvonne Orji (Insecure)

Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live)

Supporting actor in a comedy series

Mahershala Ali (Ramy)

Alan Arkin (The Kominsky Method)

Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)

Sterling K Brown (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)

William Jackson Harper (The Good Place)

Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek) – WINNER

Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)

Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live)

Directing for a comedy series

James Burrows (Will & Grace, “We Love Lucy”)

Andrew Cividino and Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek, “Happy Ending”) – WINNER

Gail Mancuso (Modern Family, “Finale Part 2”)

Daniel Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, “Marvelous Radio”)

Matt Shakman (The Great, “The Great”)

Amy Sherman-Palladino (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, “It’s Comedy or Cabbage”)

Ramy Youssef (Ramy, “Miakhalifa.mov”)

Writing for a comedy series

Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek, Happy Ending) – WINNER

Sam Johnson and Chris Marcil (What We Do in the Shadows, “Collaboration”)

Tony McNamara (The Great, “The Great”)

Stefani Robinson (What We Do in the Shadows, “On the Run”)

Michael Schur (The Good Place, “Whenever You’re Ready”)

Paul Simms, (What We Do in the Shadows, “Ghosts”)

David West Read (Schitt’s Creek, “The Presidential Suite”)

Lead actor in a comedy series

Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)

Don Cheadle (Black Monday)

Ted Danson (The Good Place)

Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method)

Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek) – WINNER

Ramy Youssef (Ramy)

Lead actress in a comedy

Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)

Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)

Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me)

Tracee Ellis-Ross (black-ish)

Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek) – WINNER

Issa Rae (Insecure)

Guest actor in a comedy series

Eddie Murphy (Saturday Night Live) – WINNER

Luke Kirby (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)

Fred Willard (Modern Family)

Dev Patel (Modern Love)

Adam Driver (Saturday Night Live)

Brad Pitt (Saturday Night Live)

Guest actress in a comedy series

Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live) – WINNER

Angela Bassett (A Black Lady Sketch Show)

Maya Rudolph (The Good Place)

Wanda Sykes (The Marvelous Mrs Maisel)

Bette Midler (The Politician)

Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Saturday Night Live)

Guest actor in a drama series

Ron Cephas Jones (This Is Us) – WINNER

Andrew Scott (Black Mirror)

Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian)

Martin Short (The Morning Show)

Jason Bateman (The Outsider)

James Cromwell (Succession)

Guest actress in a drama series

Cherry Jones (Succession) – WINNER

Alexis Bledel (The Handmaid’s Tale)

Cicely Tyson (How To Get Away With Murder)

Laverne Cox (Orange Is The New Black)

Harriet Walter (Succession)

Phylicia Rashad (This Is Us)

Outstanding documentary or nonfiction series

The Last Dance – WINNER

American Masters

Hillary

McMillion$

Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem, and Madness

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Main photo: Eugene Levy received his best comedy actor award from a presenter in a hazmat suit

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