The 78th Emmy Awards ceremony took place in Los Angeles on a Monday night that was marked by several historic records. Sally Field became the oldest actress ever to win an Emmy, at 79, for her work in the Netflix television movie "Extremely Intelligent Beasts," in the category of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series, Anthology Series, or Movie. Matthew Rhys made history by becoming the first to win two Outstanding Lead Actor statuettes in the same night, triumphing as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for "Widow's Bay" and as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for "The Monster Within Me."
"Widow's Bay," which premiered in April on Apple TV+, was the big winner of the night in the comedy category, taking home the awards for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actress for Kate O'Flynn, Outstanding Supporting Actor for Stephen Root, Outstanding Writing for Katie Dippold, and Outstanding Directing for Hiro Murai. The winning streak was only interrupted by Jean Smart, who won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the final season of "Hacks." Katie Dippold thanked Apple for allowing her to make such a "crazy" series, revealing she had started writing it twenty years ago.
In drama, "The Pitt" was again named Outstanding Drama Series for its second season, and Noah Wyle walked away with the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor for the second consecutive year. Allison Janney caused the surprise of the night by beating four actresses from "The Pitt" in the Outstanding Supporting Actress race, with her role as president in "The Diplomat," while Tom Pelphrey won Outstanding Supporting Actor for the series "Task." Apple TV+ had another successful night with "Pluribus," which earned Rhea Seehorn the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress and Vince Gilligan the one for Outstanding Writing.
In the miniseries category, HBO's "DTF St. Louis" stood out by winning Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor for David Harbour, Outstanding Supporting Actress for Linda Cardellini, Outstanding Directing, and Outstanding Writing for Steven Conrad. The ceremony also included a musical tribute by Reba McEntire to Dolly Parton, the presentation of the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to Michael J. Fox, and the farewell of "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert," which won Outstanding Variety Sketch Series before being cancelled by CBS after 11 years. Mariska Hargitay hosted the event, becoming the first woman to do so in the last 15 years.
