History was made at the 2017 Emmy Awards on Sunday night. Established veterans broke records, newcomers set new ones, and diversity was championed. Here are the history-making winners from the 2017 Emmy Awards:
Hulu/The Handmaid’s Tale
Elisabeth Moss says gender inequality is still very real in Hollywood (Watch) #Emmys pic.twitter.com/sahOC5VEWd
— Variety (@Variety) September 18, 2017
Hulu became the first streaming network to win the outstanding drama category for The Handmaid’s Tale. The series — set in a dystopian future where a totalitarian government forces the few remaining fertile women to breed against their will — captured votes and interest with its timely commentary on policies being pushed through the current administration. It’s been picked up for a second season, and now is a good time to catch up on the first 10 episodes. Star Elisabeth Moss, who won best actress, addressed gender inequality in Hollywood after her win.
Riz Ahmed
#TheNightOf star Riz Ahmed: "I don't think any one award changes the systemic problem of inclusion" #Emmys pic.twitter.com/OKzli6t14O
— Variety (@Variety) September 18, 2017
The Brit was the first person of Asian descent to win an acting Emmy. Ahmed, whose family is Pakistani, won an Emmy for Outstanding Acting In A Limited Series for The Night Of. Star Wars fans will also recognize him as part of the diverse Rogue One cast. In his backstage speech, Ahmed said, “I don’t think one person’s win of an award … changes something that is a systemic issue of inclusion.”
Donald Glover
Donald Glover became the first black person to ever win the Outstanding Directing In A Comedy Series award for Atlanta (he also won best actor). Glover thanked Hiro Murai, a Japanese American director who he met working on his Childish Gambino music videos, for teaching him the art.
Lena Waithe
Awesome message from Lena Waithe during her #Emmys acceptance speech. #Emmys2017 #EmmyAwards pic.twitter.com/Ln1sKck8Xt
— Joshua Sánchez (@jnsanchez) September 18, 2017
Waithe became the first black woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series, alongside Indian American Aziz Ansari (who repeated in the same category for Master of None). Waithe, who is also gay, gave a touching acceptance speech, saying, “The things that make us different, those are our superpowers.”
Julia Louis Dreyfus
In one of the least surprising results, Dreyfus won her sixth consecutive Emmy for best actress in a comedy category playing Selina Meyer on Veep. With her win, Dreyfus has the most Emmys by a single performer for one role — and there’s still one more season to go. “This is and continues to be the role of a lifetime and an adventure of utter utter joy,” she said in her acceptance speech.
Here are some other notable winners:
Sterling K. Brown
Sterling K. Brown just finished his best actor speech backstage after getting cut off during CBS' live telecast (Watch) #Emmys pic.twitter.com/eTkgEeZgmj
— Variety (@Variety) September 18, 2017
Brown became the first black actor to win the best actor in a drama award since Andre Braugher 19 years ago, a statistic he mentioned in his acceptance speech. Only four black men have won Emmy awards in the category: Brown, Braugher, Bill Cosby and James Earl Jones. Due to time constraints, the This Is Us star was unceremoniously played off the stage, but finished his incredible speech backstage.
Reed Marano
Marano became the first woman to win the drama directing Emmy in 22 years. Interestingly, Morano’s background is primarily in cinematography. She only had a couple of directing credits before her award-winning turn behind the camera for The Handmaid’s Tale.