So, the Emmys went pretty much as you would expect — fairly routine winners, emotional speeches, a few shocking moments here and there. Host Jimmy Kimmel was… fine, winning over the crowd with some genuinely funny bits (Matt Damon mocking him for losing in his category) more often than he struck out with lame ones (feeding the audience peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.)
FX’s critically acclaimed “The People v. O.J. Simpson” miniseries dominated the Emmy Awards, winning five trophies including limited series, along with acting wins for Sarah Paulson, Sterling K. Brown and Courtney B. Vance. HBO’s unstoppable “Game of Thrones” also had a great night, picking up the best drama trophy for the second year in a row.
Repeat winners were popular during the show, including “Veep” (comedy); Jeffrey Tambor of “Transparent” (lead actor in a comedy); Julia Louis-Dreyfus of “Veep” (lead actress in a comedy); Regina King of “American Crime” (supporting actress in a limited series); and “The Voice” (reality competition series.)
See what celebrities wore on the Emmy Awards red carpet
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The stars arrive for the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards show.
However, there were also some welcome surprises — Tatiana Maslany picked up the best actress in a drama trophy after years of her impressive clone work on BBC’s “Orphan Black,” while newcomer Rami Malek won actor in a drama for USA’s breakout “Mr. Robot,” beating out some longtime favorites.
Multiple stars brought up the election during the three-hour broadcast. Kimmel got things started with a Donald Trump joke during his monologue: “If it wasn’t for television, would Donald Trump be running for president? No. He would be at home right now, quietly rubbing up against his wife, Malaria, while she pretends to be asleep.”
He also blamed British super producer and “Apprentice” creator Mark Burnett (in the audience as executive producer of “The Voice”) for Trump’s rise as a reality star: “Thank you for coming all the way from England to tear us all apart with your intricate plot — it worked.”
10:55 p.m.: The winner of outstanding drama series is HBO’s “Game of Thrones.” The show has been nominated 23 times this year and this is its second consecutive win in this category.
10:51 p.m.: For the second year in a row, “Veep” wins outstanding comedy series. (Will it become the new “Modern Family,” also known as the comedy that won five years in a row?)
10:43 p.m.: The award for lead actress in a drama series goes to “Orphan Black’s” Tatiana Maslany.
The “Orphan Black” star was a surprise win, beating out Viola Davis and Taraji P. Henson. This was her first win and second nomination.
Unfortunately, Maslany’s name was sort of butchered by presenter Kiefer Sutherland.
Very disappointing that Kiefer Sutherland couldn't pronounce fellow Canadian Tatiana Maslany's name. #Emmys
— Arts Et Al (@ArtsEtAl) September 19, 2016
10:40 p.m.: The winner of outstanding lead actor in a drama series is Rami Malek for “Mr. Robot.” It’s his first Emmy win and his first nomination.
Malek was handed his Emmy and said, “Please tell me you’re seeing this, too.”
“I play a young man who is, I think like so many of us, profoundly alienated, and the unfortunate thing is I’m not sure how many of us would like to hang out with a guy like Elliot,” Malek said. “But I want to honor the Elliots, because there’s a little bit of Elliot within all of us, isn’t there?”
10:35 p.m.: Henry Winkler’s tribute to Garry Marshall began the in memoriam portion of the show. “He created effortlessly,” Winkler said. “He had an idea, he would give it some thought and it would come out of his mind like a genie in a bottle.”
Here were most of the people honored during the tribute: Jackie Collins; Ret Turner; Anton Yelchin; John Saunders; Robert Loggia; Ken Howard; Morley Safer; Doris Roberts; Murray Weissman; Steven Hill; Al Molinaro; Garry Shandling; Kathy Fortine; Muhammad Ali; David Canary; Alan Rickman; Renee Valente; Fred Thompson; Abe Vigoda; Ann Morgan Guilbert; Natalie Cole; Sean Whitesell; Howard West; Noel Neill; Jack Larson; John McLaughlin; David Bowie; Arthur Hiller; Glenn Frey; Dan Haggerty; Wayne Rogers; Patty Duke; Alan Young; George Kennedy; Jon Polito; Hugh O’Brian; Gene Wilder and Prince.
10:25 p.m.: Ben Mendelsohn of (the recently canceled) “Bloodline” wins outstanding supporting actor in a drama series — safe to say no one expected that, maybe including Mendelsohn, because he’s not there. Unlike Kimmel’s threats to absentee Maggie Smith, presenter Taraji P. Henson doesn’t tell Mendelsohn his trophy will be in the lost and found.
10:19 p.m.: Miguel Sapochnik wins the best directing Emmy in the drama category for the “Game of Thrones” episode “Battle of the Bastards.”
10:16 p.m.: Maggie Smith won best supporting actress in a drama series for her role in “Downton Abbey.”
Kimmel spent a good chunk of time during his opening monologue going after Smith for never showing up at the Emmys despite her many wins and nominations. He vowed anyone pronounced winner tonight had to be present in order to actually win the Emmy.
So once Smith’s name was announced, Kimmel walked across the award stage, Emmy in hand: “No, no, no, we’re not mailing this to her. Maggie, if you want this, it’ll be in the lost and found.”
10:08 p.m.: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss win for outstanding writing for a drama series for “Game of Thrones,” specifically for the penultimate episode of Season 6. They thank their producers, actors and the director, along with George R.R. Martin for “writing the books that changed our lives.”
10:04 p.m.: The Emmy for outstanding variety sketch series goes to “Key and Peele.”
10:03 p.m.: The Emmy for directing for a variety special goes to Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski, who directed Fox’s “Grease: Live.”
The duo beat Beyoncé and Khalil Joseph, who were nominated for directing the singer’s HBO special “Lemonade.”
“I wouldn’t want to be those guys when Kanye finds out they beat Beyonce,” Kimmel cracked.
Beyoncé won’t be getting her EGOT anytime soon and the Beyhive is not pleased. She lost to “Grease” for outstanding variety special:
Grease Live seriously just beat Beyoncé. Where is Kanye when you need him? #Emmys
— Molly Metz (@Molly_Metz) September 19, 2016
https://twitter.com/Heshades/status/777690805762985985
10:02 p.m.: Laverne Cox said she wanted to echo Jeffrey Tambor’s earlier remarks: “Give trans talent a shot. I would not be here if someone hadn’t given me a chance.”
9:52 p.m.: “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” wins variety talk series. He thanks HBO and his crew and his wife, but then runs out of people. “Please play me off, I’ve never had the chance to do this before,” he says of his first Emmy win. The band happily obliges.
Matt Damon resurrected a “Good Will Hunting” reference, apple and all. Damon strolled on the awards stage, casually eating the fruit, telling Jimmy Kimmel: “I missed the last category. Did you win?”
Nope, he did not. He lost to John Oliver. “It makes a lot of sense but you must really be bummed out,” Damon told Kimmel. “You lost and now you gotta stand out here for the rest of the night in front of everybody, when you probably just wanna go home and curl up and cry.”
Cut to the audience, where Jerry Seinfeld and Chris Rock are cracking up.
After telling the crowd to cheer up Kimmel, “a big loser,” Damon walks off, turns around and says, “Tell your mom I like them apples.”
9:47 p.m.: Patton Oswalt wins the Emmy for outstanding writing for a variety special for his Netflix special “Talking for Clapping.”
Oswalt gave a shoutout to fellow nominees, saying “the only reason I did anything that was good enough to be nominated is because I had peers… that make me work harder at what I do. Thank you, guys.” Oswalt said he shared his first Emmy with two people including his daughter, Alice, “who is waiting at home.” “The other is waiting somewhere else, I hope,” he added in an obvious reference to his late wife, Michelle McNamara, who died suddenly in April.
9:43 p.m.: Aziz Ansari finally got to give his acceptance speech. Sort of. He took to the stage to present outstanding writing for a variety special, but first he said “that was a little weird, earlier. I just wanted to thank my parents who are here. They inspired that episode, and they acted in the show too,” Ansari said. “My dad is very upset about his snub but he’ll be okay.”
9:39 p.m.: The winner for outstanding limited series is “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”
The limited series received 22 nominations this year and picked up some high profile awards, including prizes for Courtney B. Vance, Sterling Brown and Sarah Paulson.
9:36 p.m.: The winner of outstanding television movie is “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (Masterpiece).”
9:31 p.m.: The big night continues for “The People v. O.J. Simpson”: Courtney B. Vance wins lead actor in a limited series or a movie for playing Simpson’s attorney Johnnie Cochran. Vance gives a shout out to his wife, Angela Bassett, and the audience loves it.
Afterward, Kimmel steps on stage: “I have to believe Johnnie Cochran is somewhere smiling up at us tonight,” he said.
9:29 p.m.: Before they present lead actor in a limited series, best friends and three-time Golden Globe hosts Tina Fey and Amy Poehler thank the academy for their historic win last week at the Creative Arts Awards: They’re the first women to share an Emmy. However, neither of them made it — Fey had her daughter’s birthday party, and Poehler “didn’t go because I thought you turkeys were trying to trick me again.”
9:26 p.m.: Sarah Paulson, not surprisingly, wins the Emmy for lead actress in a limited series or movie for her role as Marcia Clark in the FX miniseries “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”
This is the first Emmy for Paulson, who was also nominated this year for her supporting role in Ryan Murphy’s other anthology series, “American Horror Story.” Paulson used her acceptance speech to apologize to the former prosecutor, who she brought as her date to the ceremony.
“The responsibility of playing a real person is an enormous one,” Paulson said. “You want to get it right — not for you, but for them. The more I learned about the real Marcia Clark, not the two-dimensional cardboard cutout I saw in the news, but the complicated, whip smart,giant-hearted mother of two who woke up every day, put both feet on the floor and dedicated herself to righting an unconscionable wrong — the loss of two innocents, Ron Goldman and Nicole Brown — the more I had to recognize that I, along with the rest of the world, had been superficial and careless in my judgment. And I am glad to be able to stand here today and tell you I’m sorry.”
Apparently the Television Academy’s official Twitter feed made quite the embarrassing mistake. Per numerous reports, a tweet (which has since been deleted) of a Terrence Howard photo misidentified the actor as Cuba Gooding Jr.:
When the @TelevisionAcad calls you Cuba Gooding Jr. even though you're actually Terrence Howard pic.twitter.com/usCZqqp2fe
— Spencer Althouse (@SpencerAlthouse) September 18, 2016
9:20 p.m.: Sterling K. Brown just won his first Emmy (outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or movie) and it was for his role in “The People v. O.J Simpson: American Crime Story.”
9:18 p.m.: Well hey, there’s John Mayer in the Emmys band — producers cut to him right after Tom Hiddleston is on stage, making us think someone is throwing shade at a certain pop star.
9:16 p.m.: Susanne Bier of “The Night Manager” wins her first Emmy for directing a limited series, movie or dramatic special. The trophy is (coincidentally?!) given to her by presenter Tom Hiddleston, who starred in the AMC series.
9:10 p.m.: Regina King wins outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie for the second year in a row. King won for her role in the ABC anthology series “American Crime.”
“I am so proud of this show, so proud to be a part of this show — to have the opportunity to tell stories that provoke necessary conversations,” King said, calling “American Crime” creator John Ridley “a genius.”
9:07 p.m.: The winner for outstanding writing in a limited series, movie or dramatic special goes to D. V. DeVincentis for the “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia” episode of the FX series, “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story.”
9:12 p.m.: Leslie Jones walks on stage with the Ernst & Young accountants, who keep the Emmy results locked down. Jones, whose Twitter account and website were recently hacked by people who stole her personal information and nude photos, makes a valid point: “”Y’all protecting something that nobody’s trying to steal.”
“Since you’re good at keeping things safe, I got a job for you: MY TWITTER ACCOUNT,” she said, as the audience cheered. “Put that in the vault, please!” Jones adds that nobody cares about the Emmy results, but “meanwhile I’m butt naked on CNN.”
“I just wanted to feel beautiful, y’all,” she added. “Can a sister feel beautiful?!”
9:01 p.m.: Jimmy Kimmel hands out peanut butter sandwiches to the hungry stars in the crowd, many of whom, as he jokes, haven’t eaten since Labor Day. (He enlists the adorable “Stranger Things” kids to hand them out.) If anyone has a peanut allergy? Too bad — they could only afford one EpiPen.
8:55 p.m.: No surprise here. “The Voice” wins the Emmy for outstanding reality competition program for the second year in a row.
Executive producer Mark Burnett accepted the award for “The Voice.” Burnett also created “The Apprentice,” the show that brought Donald Trump to prime time. Earlier in the show, Kimmel blamed the veteran producer for Trump’s presidential run. “Thanks to Mark Burnett, we don’t have to watch reality shows anymore. We’re living in one,” Kimmel said, adding that if Donald Trump gets elected, and he builds that wall, the first person we’re throwing over is Mark Burnett.”
8:51 p.m.: The winner for lead actor in a comedy series is Jeffrey Tambor for “Transparent.”
For the second year in a row, Tambor picked up the award for playing the transgender character Maura Pfefferman on the Amazon series. “May I be very clear about something? There’s no best actor,” he said. He thanked show creator Jill Soloway (who also just picked up an award) for changing his life, his career and his “everything.” He also thanked Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who he met last night and “who took my hand and said, call me Jeff Bezos.” (Bezos also owns The Washington Post, but we call him Mr. Bezos around here.)
When the play-off music started, Tambor wasn’t having it. “Shush, as my father would say,” he told the unseen music player. And it worked! Then he gave a heartfelt plea to producers and network owners to give transgender talent a chance.
“I would not be unhappy were I the last cisgender male to play a transgender character on television,” he said.
8:50 p.m.: Aziz Ansari was sitting on his mother’s lap during the announcement for best lead actor in a comedy series (he didn’t win).
https://twitter.com/ZaraTV/status/777671831796879362
8:49 p.m.: Following a voiceover introducing “four-time Emmy winner Dr. Bill Cosby,” Kimmel came to the stage and deadpanned: “Don’t worry, he’s not really here. I just wanted to see what you guys would do.”
8:45 p.m.: Garry Shandling received his own in memoriam at the Emmys — the late comedian got his own tribute. Shandling hosted the show three times and was nominated for 19 awards. The tribute included clips from “The Larry Sanders Show,” “It’s Garry Shandling’s Show,” stand-up specials and “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee.”
8:40 p.m.: The Emmy for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series goes to Julia Louis-Dreyfus for “Veep,” her fifth consecutive win in the category.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus thanked her father, who died on Friday, as she accepted her Emmy. She was clearly emotional on the awards stage, but managed to make some barbs about the state of politics, saying she wanted to “personally apologize for the current political climate.
“I think ‘Veep’ has torn down the wall between comedy and politics. Our show started out as satire, and now it feels like a sobering documentary,” she said.
The actress also promised to rebuild the wall between comedy and politics “and make Mexico pay for it.”
8:38 p.m.: One of Jimmy Kimmel’s zingers after Jill Soloway won a directing Emmy? “‘Transparent’ was born a drama, but it identifies as a comedy.”
8:36 p.m.: Peter Scolari, who won an Emmy for guest actor in a comedy series, presenting best director in a comedy series.
The Emmy for best directing in a comedy series goes to Jill Soloway for “Transparent.” This is her second Emmy for directing an episode of the Amazon series.
Soloway won the directing Emmy for “Man on the Land,” the ninth episode of “Transparent’s” second season. In the episode, Maura Pfefferman (Jeffrey Tambor) attends a festival with her daughters, but learns that she and other trans women are not welcome because the festival has a policy that states only “women born women” can attend.
“This TV show allows me to take my dreams about unlikeable Jewish people, queer folk, trans folk and make them heroes,” Soloway said. “Thank you to the transgender community for your lived lives. We need to stop violence against trans women and topple the patriarchy.”
8:26 p.m.: The Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series goes to Kate McKinnon from “Saturday Night Live.”
It’s a big year for McKinnon, who pretty much ran away with the whole movie when she starred in “Ghostbusters” this summer. This is McKinnon’s first win after four nominations. “I’m really crying, I’m not making it up,” she said as she took the stage. She thanked Ellen DeGeneres, Hillary Clinton and her father, who she said made her start watching SNL when she was 12.
Congratulations on your Emmy, Kate! Big fan of yours, too. pic.twitter.com/w00QO1GwyH
— Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) September 19, 2016
This is how Kate McKinnon reacted the moment she found out she won an Emmy:
Congratulations to Kate McKinnon for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series #Emmys #EmmysNation pic.twitter.com/GGyFFW7cpR
— Television Academy (@TelevisionAcad) September 19, 2016
8:23 p.m.: The Emmy for outstanding writing for a comedy series goes to Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang for the “Parents” episode of “Master of None,” the second episode in the Netflix series.
Ansari seemed to get cut off — by the music and cameras — before he could give an acceptance speech of any sort for winning an Emmy for outstanding writing for a comedy series. Ansari went back to the mic to say “wow,” and that the show producers are going to get in a lot of trouble before he ran back to his seat.
The win came for an episode from the Netflix series “Master of None” about what it’s like to be the child of immigrants in the United States. As part of his acceptance speech, co-winner Alan Yang had this to say: “There’s 17 million Asian Americans in this country and there’s 17 million Italian Americans. They have ‘Godfather,’ ‘Goodfellas’” and other movies. “We have Long Duk Dong. So we’ve got a long way to go, but we can get there. I believe in us.”
He then directed comments to Asian parents, asking some to give their kids “cameras instead of violins, [and] we’d all be good.”
8:20 p.m.: Kimmel banters with “Empire” star Taraji P. Henson. “At this point, you can probably drop the ‘P,’” he tells her as she cracks up in the audience. “Are there other Taraji Hensons you’re being confused with?”
8:13 p.m.: Louie Anderson wins the Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series.
Anderson plays the mother of Zach Galifianakis’s character in the FX comedy “Baskets.”
“Mom, we did it! I have not always been a very good man, but I play one hell of a woman,” Anderson said while accepting his first Primetime Emmy award. “This is for my mom from whom I stole every nuance, shameful look, cruel look, loving look, passive-aggressive line. I really thank her.”
Jimmy Kimmel riffed on Anderson’s role while opening the show, saying, “I never imagined my favorite TV mom would be Louie Anderson”
8:11 p.m.: Kimmel makes fun of Maggie Smith never showing up to accept her Emmy — sure enough, she’s not in the audience this year, even though she’s nominated for “Downton Abbey.” “She’s treating us like the People’s Choice Awards,” Kimmel complains, adding that she has the same reaction to her Emmys as everyone else has to getting those 20 percent off Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons.
8:10 p.m.: “If it wasn’t for television, would Donald Trump be running for president?” Kimmel asks, then points the blame to one man: Mark Burnett, creator of “The Apprentice.” “Thanks to Mark Burnett, we don’t have to watch reality shows anymore, because we’re living in one.”
8:09 p.m.: Kimmel on Emmy diversity: “The only thing we value more than diversity is congratulating ourselves on how much we value diversity. The Emmys are so diverse this year, the Oscars are telling people we’re one of their closest friends.”
8:08 p.m.: Kimmel starts off his monologue with a “Game of Thrones” and “People v. O.J. Simpson” reference, both expecting to sweep: “If your show doesn’t have a dragon or a white bronco in it, go home now.”
Kimmel points out that Sarah Paulson, who played Marcia Clark in “People v. O.J.,” brought the real-life Marcia Clark as her plus-one: “Everyone in LA knows, if you want to win, sit next to Marcia Clark,” he says, to lots of “ooohs” from the crowd.
“This must be very strange for you — are you rooting for O.J. to win this time?” Kimmel asks Clark.
8:07 p.m.: Uh oh — Kimmel gets in the car next with “Carpool Karaoke” host James Corden. Kimmel is appropriately weirded out as “Jitterbug” comes on the radio. Corden, of course, rocks out, and Kimmel eventually gets into it.
Corden kicks him out because his voice isn’t up to par, leaving Kimmel to catch a ride with… Julia Louis-Dreyfus and her presidential motorcade from “Veep.” She finds out he isn’t hosting the Oscars and refuses to let him in.
The driver: Jeb Bush, who makes $12 an hour driving Uber. He offers some words of wisdom: “If you run a positive campaign. The voters will ultimately make the right choice,” Bush said, before quipping “Jimmy, that was a joke.” Then he kicks him out of the car.
8:03 p.m.: It’s opening-video time: Kimmel kicks the show off with an O.J. Simpson/white Bronco parody, speeding down the road as he tries to get to the Emmys, only to get picked up by the “Modern Family” gang. Then they crash and he has to find a new ride.
7:59 p.m.: It may be a television award show, but a lot of celebrities are pretty pumped about Beyoncé, including Laverne Cox who will be presenting the award for outstanding variety series.
“Beyoncé is actually nominated in that category so there is a slight chance if Beyoncé wins, I’ll give her her first Emmy,” Cox said.
But is she geeked out to see anyone else tonight? “I’ve actually just been thinking about Beyoncé.” Who isn’t, really?
7:55 p.m.: Marcia Clark is at the Emmys with Sarah Paulson, who is nominated for playing the famed prosecutor in FX’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” Clark is an avowed fan of Paulson’s performance in the critically acclaimed miniseries, which zeroed in on the sexism Clark faced from her colleagues and the public during the O.J. Simpson trial. Paulson, who has been previously nominated for her role in “Game Change” and several installments of “American Horror Story,” is widely considered a standout in the FX miniseries. It will be a pretty big surprise if Paulson doesn’t take home an Emmy tonight.
"Hey Marcia, it's you from the future. That haircut was 100% a mistake, but the sexism isn't quite as bad!" pic.twitter.com/WZosWk1JW3
— Lauren Duca (@laurenduca) September 18, 2016
7:52 p.m.: Minnie Driver revealed her favorite movie that she’s made: “Grosse Pointe Blank.” (Chris Harrison is a huge fan, too.) Bringing things full circle, Driver said that one of the writers for that movie, D.V. DeVincentis, is also up for an award tonight: He co-wrote “The People vs. O.J. Simpson.” Driver also gave a shout-out to all the families watching with children with special needs. In her new show “Speechless,” Driver plays the mother of a son with cerebral palsy.
7:49 p.m.: Who is Amy Schumer wearing on the red carpet? She responded: Vivienne Westwood, Tom Ford “and an OB tampooooon”!
Amy Schumer is getting weird on the red carpet #Emmys pic.twitter.com/P8MfG0ZYf4
— Mashable GIF (@mashablegif) September 18, 2016
7:45 p.m.: Rami Malek of “Mr. Robot” is not pleased. While on the E! red carpet, the hosts played an old promo for “Night at the Museum: Secret of the Tomb,” where he plays an Egyptian pharaoh watching the Kardashians on television. “You do not treat a Kardashian like that. Her vengeance will be swift and terrible.”
“I called the director after this, and I said, ‘I don’t know what you’re thinking but you cannot air this ever,’” Malek said. The full-circle moment happening right before his first Emmys “is very upsetting,” he said with a laugh.
7:43 p.m.: Anthony Anderson, nominated in the outstanding lead actor category for his role in the ABC comedy “Blackish,” said he knew the show would be a hit before he even saw a script.
Anderson recalled brainstorming ideas with show creator Kenya Barris. “We just talked about our families. I didn’t need to read a line. It’s our life.” But Anderson said he really knew they had something special when he witnessed people around the country give standing ovations after seeing the pilot episode. Some of them told him, “When I see your family on screen, I see my family on screen.” The Season 3 premiere, which airs this Wednesday, finds the Johnson family heading to Disney World. “It’s a great season we’ve got in store for everybody,” Anderson said.
7:40 p.m.: A year after Viola Davis made an impassioned acceptance speech about inequality, she was asked how things are looking these days.
“Hollywood is doing good,” she said, “and women of color are doing even better.” She’s impressed that people are finally starting to ask for what they want — and getting it. Does she feel any pressure to top last year’s speech if she wins again for “How to Get Away With Murder”?
“Listen, I’m 51,” she said. “I’m just happy to be here.”
7:39 p.m.: James Corden reveals his next target for his carpool karaoke series: Beyoncé! Hey, she’ll be at the Emmys (thanks to the many nominations for “Lemonade”), and he really wants to win over Queen Bey. If only we could eavesdrop on that conversation.
7:36 p.m.: Well, this was interesting: “The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison interviewed “Unreal’s” Constance Zimmer. His only qualm with this show is how terrible the host of the fictional dating show comes across. “But you’re not like that,” Zimmer assured him. She’s quick on her feet. He also said that he was surprised he’d never been invited on for a cameo — hint, hint — so we’ll see what happens next season. (Though it’s only fair for him to invite her on his show, too.)
7:35 p.m.: “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” Ellie Kemper revealed that keeping that smile plastered on her face is hard work while she’s filming. Her face gets tired, so in between takes she goes to her dressing room and gets very serious.
“You also want to let the wrinkles rest; otherwise they get embedded,” she said.
She was also asked about the best advice that show creator Tina Fey ever gave her, and Kemper said Fey really leads by example: “She has a family and works and is kind.” Revolutionary.
7:33 p.m.: On the red carpet, Terrence Howard’s wife, Mira Pak, said the actor “quite often” channels his “Empire” character, Lucious Lyon, at home. Okay then. Howard, whose co-star Taraji P. Henson is again nominated for her role as Cookie Lyon, also talked about Mariah Carey’s upcoming cameo on the show, which returns for its third season this Wednesday on Fox. “She was amazing,” Howard said, adding that the singer teamed up with his on-screen son Jamal (Jussie Smollett) for a duet “that touches the heart and feels like the first time you’ve ever seen Mariah Carey.” “It’s that Mariah Carey,” he said.
7:29 p.m.: Anthony Anderson revealed his pre-show beauty routine: It’s all about the gel mask. He woke up at 3:50 this morning — nerves — and didn’t want to have bags under his eyes. It looks like it worked.
7:24 p.m.: E! has a new red carpet question this year: What’s your secret talent? “I can finish an entire bottle of wine by myself,” Tituss Burgess brags. That’s better than Bryan Cranston’s talent, which apparently is loading the dishwasher in a very impressive fashion.
7:20 p.m.: Just how does Thomas Middleditch of HBO’s “Silicon Valley” get that look? A flat iron, of course!
While gazing around the red-carpet crowd, he says, “Is anyone used to this? Is this anyone’s speed?”
7:16 p.m.: Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump just got his first reference during red-carpet coverage:
First Trump ref on #ERedCarpet #Emmys show. Bryan Cranston says "I'd like to be considered" to play Trump in a biopic. "It'd be huuuuuge"
— Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) September 18, 2016
7:14 p.m.: If you’ve lost sleep over what occupation Heidi Klum puts on forms, here’s your answer: Model. She wears a lot of hats, but she likes to keep it simple, she said on the red carpet.
7:12 p.m.: Breaking: Sophie Turner is a blonde now. Cue the “Game of Thrones” theories about how next season it’s going to be revealed that she’s really a Targaryen.
Sophie Turner, de Game of Thrones. #Emmys pic.twitter.com/9EwhjCZuq6
— Cinemito (@cinemito) September 18, 2016
7:11 p.m.: Regina King, nominated for outstanding supporting actress for her role in “American Crime Story,” said she loved the anthology series’ attention to social issues. King won her first Emmy last year for her role on “American Crime’s” first season, in which she starred as a Muslim woman dedicated to vindicating her troubled brother after he was accused of murder. Last season saw her play the mother of a student incriminated in a high school social-media scandal. King, wearing a red Elizabeth Kennedy dress, also talked about her turn as a director — the actress has directed for ABC’s “Scandal,” TNT’s “Animal Kingdom” and an episode of the forthcoming Fox show “Pitch.”
7:07 p.m.: So many former “Must-See TV” NBC stars on the red carpet: Jerry Seinfeld, Maura Tierney of “ER,” and now Matt LeBlanc. If you’re wondering what possessed him to come back to network TV (on CBS’s “Man With a Plan” this fall), he tells Jason Kennedy that he missed a live-audience comedy like “Friends.”
7:06 p.m.: Constance Zimmer is nominated for “Unreal,” the darkly comic series about a reality television show not unlike “The Bachelor.” Giuliana Rancic asked Zimmer what kind of contestant she would have been if she’d gone the reality-TV route, and she said she’d probably be the flirt or the goofball — someone willing to do pratfalls for the camera, leading everyone else to say, “oh, she’s so drunk.”
7:04 p.m.: Jerry Seinfeld said he is back at the Emmys for the first time in 19 years, and it’s for his web series. “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” is nominated for best variety series.
While “Seinfeld” dominated television in the 1990s, the comedian never won for an Emmy for his lead actor role. Does he ever reminiscence by watching those old episodes?
“Do you ever pull out your high school yearbook — ‘Hey, let me relive those four years. That was great’ — never,” Seinfeld said on the red carpet. “Once you do something, you do it. I do love the show, but when you’re really, really in something, you have to let it go.”
6:58 p.m.: The verdict is in: The “Stranger Things” are the cutest people on the red carpet.
Luckiest kids on the carpet tonight: the cast of 'Stranger Things' #Emmys pic.twitter.com/KT9sBhsSBo
— People (@people) September 18, 2016
6:53 p.m.: As usual, traffic heading into the Emmys appears to be a disaster. “The Affair” star Maura Tierney said the congestion was so bad, that she just got out of the car and walked. And “Empire” star Taraji P. Henson took to Twitter to vent:
https://twitter.com/TherealTaraji/status/777641152128299012
6:37 p.m.: It took us 37 minutes to realize it, but there’s no Ryan Seacrest on the red carpet tonight; Rancic and Kennedy have red-carpet duty on E!. No word on where Seacrest might be, though he skipped out a couple years ago as well.
6:30 p.m.: “Modern Family” star Ariel Winter tells Kennedy that she planned to enroll at UCLA — but thanks to the production schedule and some “heavy storylines” on the show this season, she had to defer enrollment. (What’s going to happen to Alex?!)
6:27 p.m.: Another surprisingly thoughtful line of questioning from Rancic. She asked Tony Hale if, since he stars on “Veep,” he gets a lot of questions about politics during this wacky election year. The answer: Yes, which is unfortunate, since he doesn’t know much on the subject. Hale got to share a goofy photo of himself in a bathtub eating cupcakes before things got serious again when he explained the background behind the pin he was wearing, which was for the anti-slavery nonprofit International Justice Mission.
“Thank you for using your platform and your voice,” Rancic said. What are we even watching right now?
6:20 p.m.: The E! red-carpet interviews started on a remarkably serious note. Rancic interviewed America Ferrera, who completed her first triathlon yesterday. Rancic wanted to know what thoughts were going through Ferrera’s head as she was running, swimming and biking, and the “Superstore” star talked about how she was just grateful for her strong body. It was a surprisingly deep conversation for E!. When Rancic asked at the very end what designer made Ferrera’s dress, it almost seemed like an afterthought. Is this a sign of things to come tonight?
Outstanding Drama Series
“Downton Abbey” (PBS)
“Game of Thrones” (HBO)
“Mr. Robot” (USA)
“House of Cards” (Netflix)
“Homeland” (Showtime)
“The Americans” (FX)
“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
Outstanding Comedy Series
“Modern Family” (ABC)
“Veep” (HBO)
“Silicon Valley” (HBO)
“Transparent” (Amazon)
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix)
“Black-ish” (ABC)
“Master of None” (Netflix)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Claire Danes, “Homeland” (Showtime)
Viola Davis, “How to Get Away with Murder” (ABC)
Taraji P. Henson, “Empire” (Fox)
Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black” (BBC America)
Robin Wright, “House of Cards” (Netflix)
Keri Russell, “The Americans” (FX)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot” (USA)
Kevin Spacey, “House of Cards” (Netflix)
Bob Odenkirk, “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
Kyle Chandler, “Bloodline” (Netflix)
Liev Schreiber, “Ray Donovan” (Showtime)
Matthew Rhys, “The Americans” (FX)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep” (HBO)
Amy Schumer “Inside Amy Schumer” (Comedy Central)
Lily Tomlin “Grace and Frankie” (Netflix)
Ellie Kemper, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix)
Tracee Ellis Ross, “Black-ish” (ABC)
Laurie Metcalf, “Getting On” (HBO)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
William H. Macy, “Shameless” (Showtime)
Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent” (Amazon)
Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish” (ABC)
Will Forte, “Last Man on Earth” (Fox)
Aziz Ansari, “Master of None” (Netflix)
Thomas Middleditch, “Silicon Valley” (HBO)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Maura Tierney, “The Affair” (Showtime)
Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey” (PBS)
Lena Headey, “Game Of Thrones” (HBO)
Emilia Clarke, “Game Of Thrones” (HBO)
Maisie Williams, “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Constance Zimmer, “UnREAL” (Lifetime)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Jonathan Banks, “Better Call Saul” (AMC)
Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline” (Netflix)
Jim Carter, “Downton Abbey” (PBS)
Peter Dinklage, “Game Of Thrones” (HBO)
Kit Harington, “Game Of Thrones” (HBO)
Michael Kelly “House Of Cards” (Netflix)
Jon Voight, “Ray Donovan” (Showtime)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine” Fox
Keegan-Michael Key, “Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)
Ty Burrell, “Modern Family” (ABC)
Tituss Burgess, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix)
Tony Hale, “Veep” (HBO)
Louie Anderson, “Baskets” (FX)
Matt Walsh, “Veep” (HBO)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Niecy Nash, “Getting On” (HBO)
Allison Janney, “Mom” (CBS)
Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Gaby Hoffmann “Transparent” (Amazon)
Judith Light, “Transparent” (Amazon)
Anna Chlumsky, “Veep” (HBO)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie
Sarah Paulson, “The People v. O.J. Simpson” (FX)
Kerry Washington, “Confirmation” (HBO)
Audra McDonald, “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill” (HBO)
Lili Taylor, “American Crime” (ABC)
Felicity Huffman, “American Crime” (ABC)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie
Courtney B. Vance, “The People v. O.J. Simpson” (FX)
Tom Hiddleston, “The Night Manager” (AMC)
Idris Elba, “Luther” (BBC America)
Bryan Cranston, “All the Way” (HBO)
Benedict Cumberbatch, “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride” (PBS)
Cuba Gooding Jr., “The People v. O.J. Simpson” (FX)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Movie
Sarah Paulson, “American Horror Story: Hotel” (FX)
Kathy Bates, “American Horror Story: Hotel” (FX)
Jean Smart, “Fargo” (FX)
Olivia Colman, “The Night Manager” (AMC)
Regina King, “American Crime” (ABC)
Melissa Leo, “All the Way” (HBO)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie
Jesse Plemons, “Fargo” (FX)
Bokeem Woodbine, “Fargo” (FX)
John Travolta, “The People v. O.J. Simpson” (FX)
Sterling K. Brown, “The People v. O.J. Simpson” (FX)
David Schwimmer, “The People v. O.J. Simpson” (FX)
Hugh Laurie, “The Night Manager” (AMC)
Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series
Rob Delaney, Sharon Horgan, “Catastrophe,” Episode 1 (Amazon)
Aziz Ansari, Alan Yang, “Master Of None,” Parents (Netflix)
Dan O’Keefe, “Silicon Valley,” Founder Friendly (HBO)
Alec Berg, “Silicon Valley,” The Uptick (HBO)
David Mandel, “Veep,” Morning After (HBO)
Alex Gregory, Peter Huyck, “Veep,” Mother (HBO)
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Aziz Ansari, “Master of None”
Alec Berg, “Silicon Valley”
Mike Judge “Silicon Valley”
Jill Soloway, “Transparent”
David Mandel, “Veep”
Chris Addison, “Veep”
Dale Stern, “Veep”
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“Dancing With the Stars” (ABC)
“Project Runway” (Lifetime)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
“The Voice” (NBC)
“American Ninja Warrior” (NBC)
Outstanding TV Movie
“Luther” (BBC America)
“All the Way” (HBO)
“Confirmation” (HBO)
“Sherlock: The Abominable Bride” (PBS)
“A Very Murray Christmas” (Netflix)
Outstanding Limited Series
“The People v. O.J. Simpson” (FX)
“Fargo” (FX)
“The Night Manager” (AMC)
“Roots” (History)
“American Crime” (ABC)
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)
“Late Late Show With James Corden” (CBS)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” (ABC)
“The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon” (NBC)
“Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” (Crackle)
“Real Time With Bill Maher” (HBO)
Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series
Joel Fields, Joe Weisberg, “The Americans,” Persona Non Grata (FX)
Julian Fellowes, “Downton Abbey,” Episode 8 (PBS)
David Benioff, D.B. Weiss, “Game Of Thrones,” Battle Of The Bastards (HBO)
Robert King, Michelle King, “The Good Wife,” End (CBS)
Sam Esmai, “Mr. Robot,” eps1.0_hellofriend.mov (Pilot) (USA)
Marti Noxon, Sarah Gertrude Shapiro, “UnREAL,” Return (Lifetime)
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Michael Engler, “Downton Abbey”
Miguel Sapochnik, “Game of Thrones”
Jack Bender, “Game of Thrones”
Lesli Linka Glatter, “Homeland”
Steven Soderbergh, “The Knick”
David Hollander, “Ray Donovan”
Outstanding Writing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special
Bob DeLaurentis, “Fargo,” Loplop (FX)
Noah Hawley, “Fargo,” Palindrome (FX)
David Farr, “The Night Manager” (AMC)
Scott Alexander, Larry Karaszewski, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” From The Ashes Of Tragedy (FX)
D.V. DeVincentis, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” Marcia, Marcia, Marcia (FX)
Joe Robert Cole, “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” The Race Card (FX)
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special
Jay Roach,”All the Way”
Noah Hawley, “Fargo”
Susanne Bier, “The Night Manager”
Ryan Murphy, “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story”
Anthony Hemingway, “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story”
John Singleton, “The People v. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story”
Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special
“Amy Schumer: Live At The Apollo” (HBO)
“John Mulaney: The Comeback Kid” (Netflix)
“Patton Oswalt: Talking For Clapping” (Netflix)
“Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted” (HBO)
“Triumph’s Election Special 2016” (Hulu)
Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special
Beth McCarthy-Miller, “Adele Live in New York City”
Chris Rock ,”Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo”
Louis J. Horvitz, “58th Grammy Awards”
Thomas Kail, Alex Rudzinski, “Grease: Live”
Glenn Weiss, “The Kennedy Center Honors”
Kahlil Joseph, Beyoncé Knowles Carter, “Lemonade”
Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
“Drunk History” (Comedy Central)
“Inside Amy Schumer” (Comedy Central)
“Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)
“Portlandia” (IFC)
“Documentary Now!” (IFC)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series
Michael J. Fox, “The Good Wife” (CBS)
Max Von Sydow, “Game of Thrones” (HBO)
Reg E. Cathey, “House of Cards” (Netflix)
Mahershala Ali, “House of Cards” (Netflix)
Paul Sparks, “House of Cards” (Netflix)
Hank Azaria, “Ray Donovan” (Showtime)
Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series
Larry David, “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Tracy Morgan, “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Bradley Whitford, “Transparent” (Amazon)
Bob Newhart, “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
Martin Mull, “Veep” (HBO)
Peter Scolari, “Girls” (HBO)
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
Ellen Burstyn, “House of Cards” (Netflix)
Carrie Preston, “The Good Wife” (CBS)
Laurie Metcalfe, “Horace and Pete”
Allison Janney, “Masters of Sex” (Showtime)
Margo Martindale, “The Americans” (FX)
Molly Parker, “House of Cards” (Netflix)
Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Christine Baranski, “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
Laurie Metcalf, “The Big Bang Theory” (CBS)
Melissa McCarthy, “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Amy Schumer, “Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
Melora Hardin, “Transparent” (Amazon)
Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program
Ryan Seacrest, “American Idol” (NBC)
Tom Bergeron “Dancing With the Stars” (ABC)
Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn “Project Runway” (Lifetime)
Jane Lynch “Hollywood Game Night” (NBC)
RuPaul Charles, “RuPauls Drag Race” (Logo)
Steve Harvey, “Little Big Shots starring Steve Harvey” (NBC)
Outstanding Variety Special
“Adele Live In New York City” (NBC)
“Amy Schumer: Live At The Apollo” (HBO)
“The Kennedy Center Honors” (CBS)
“The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Prime Time Special” (CBS)
Outstanding Structured Reality Program
“Antiques Roadshow” (PBS)
“Lip Sync Battle” (Spike TV)
“MythBusters” (Discovery Channel)
“Shark Tank” (ABC)
“Undercover Boss” (CBS)
“Diners, Drive-Ins And Dives” (Food Network)
Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program
Born This Way (A&E)
Deadliest Catch (Discovery Channel)
Gaycation With Ellen Page (Viceland)
Project Greenlight (HBO)
United Shades Of America (CNN)
Outstanding Special Class Program
“The 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards” (NBC)
“Grease: Live” (FOX)
“The Oscars” (ABC)
“Super Bowl 50 Halftime Show” (CBS)
“69th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)
Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special
“Becoming Mike Nichols” (HBO)
“Everything Is Copy – Nora Ephron: Scripted & Unscripted” (HBO)
“Listen To Me Marlon” (Showtime)
“Mapplethorpe: Look At The Pictures” (HBO)
“What Happened, Miss Simone?” (Netflix)
Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series
“American Masters” (PBS)
“Chef’s Table” (Netflix)
“Making A Murderer” (Netflix)
“The Seventies” (CNN)
“Woman With Gloria Steinem” (Viceland)
Outstanding Informational Series Or Special
“Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” (CNN)
“Inside The Actors Studio” (Bravo)
“Star Talk With Neil deGrasse Tyson” (National Geographic Channel)
“The Story Of God With Morgan Freeman” (National Geographic Channel)
“Vice” (HBO)
Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking
“The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (Independent Lens)” (PBS)
“Cartel Land” (A&E)
“The Hunting Ground” (CNN)
“Jim: The James Foley Story” (HBO)
“Racing Extinction” (Discovery Channel)
“Winter On Fire: Ukraine’s Fight For Freedom” (Netflix)
Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series
“Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” (TBS)
“Inside Amy Schumer” (Comedy Central)
“Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)
“Portlandia” (IFC)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)
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