After being delayed from its original broadcast date of September 2023 due to the Hollywood writer and actor strikes, the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards finally took place in Los Angeles on Monday — and was naturally full of must-see moments.
This year’s ceremony honoured shows that aired between June 1, 2022 and May 31, 2023, with Beef, The Bear and Succession continuing to sweep up awards across the board, with the latter both taking home six awards each.
From a red carpet brimming with stars - Selena, Suki, Sarah, etc - to an evening filled with must-see moments, this is everything you need to know about the 2024 (but really the 2023) Emmy Awards.
Ayo Edebiri made history and 'won' best speech … again
Following on from that Golden Globe speech, in which she thanked assistants everywhere, The Bear star is proving that she is one of young Hollywood’s funniest and most adorable actress.
After scooping up the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, she gave yet another rousing speech. 'I’m so incredibly grateful for this, for so many reasons,' she began, 'but the main one is that this is a show about family and found family and real family and my parents are here tonight. I'm making them sit kinda far away because I'm a bad kid. But I love you guys so much, thank you so much for loving me and letting me feel beautiful and Black and proud of all of that. I just love you so much. Probably not a dream to immigrate to this country and have your child be like "I wanna do improv," but you're real ones'.
Not only did her speech once again mark her as one to watch, but her win also marked a historical moment for the Emmys. Alongside Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson, who took home the award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series, last night marked the first time in Emmys history that two Black women have won both of the coveted comedy awards in the same year. It wasn't the only history-making moment of the night. Beef's Ali Wong also became the first woman of Asian descent to win an Emmy for a lead role after scooping the gong for Best Actress in a Limited Series, one of television's highest honours.
Elton John joined the EGOT club
After winning the award for Best Variety Special (Live) for his Disney+ special, Farewell From Dodger Stadium, John officially - and finally - joined the coveted EGOT club. The Disney+ special chronicles the musician’s final North American show as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour, which began in 2018 and was set to end in 2021 but was postponed by the pandemic.
Matthew Perry was honoured
Matthew Perry, who died aged 54 after being found unresponsive in a hot tub at his Los Angeles home earlier this year, received an emotional tribute during the In Memoriam segment. Singer Charlie Puth and singer-songwriter duo The War and Treaty performed during the tributes, first starting with a rendition of Puth’s 'See You Again' before delivering a cover of the Friends theme song, 'I’ll Be There for You' by The Rembrandts, which lead viewers to share on social media that they had been moved to tears by the segment.
Jennifer Coolidge thanked 'the evil gays'
While accepting her win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series, Coolidge paid tribute to one of the most viral moments of The White Lotus' sophomoric season.
'I wanna thank all the evil gays,' she joked, in reference to her character's rather tragic storyline in the second series.
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco made it official
Selena Gomez and Benny Blanco made their Emmys debut together, after Gomez's series Only Murders In The Building was nominated at the ceremony. The pair looked to be in high spirits as they mutually gushed over Aubrey Plaza before taking their seats.
Naomi May is a freelance writer and editor with an emphasis on popular culture, lifestyle and politics. After graduating with a First Class Honours from City University's prestigious Journalism course, Naomi joined the Evening Standard as its Fashion and Beauty Writer, working across both the newspaper and website. She is now the Acting News Editor at ELLE UK and has written features for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue, Vice and Refinery29, among many others.
