‘Widow’s Bay’ dominates Emmys as ‘The Pitt’ repeats drama win

LOS ANGELES: TV’s horror comedy Widow’s Bay emerged as the biggest winner at this year’s Emmy Awards, collecting a record 14 trophies, including the prize for outstanding comedy series, while medical drama The Pitt secured the top drama award for a second consecutive year.

Widow’s Bay, centred on a cursed New England town, edged out the final season of HBO Max’s Hacks to take the comedy crown on Monday night.

Hacks star Jean Smart claimed her fifth Emmy for playing veteran stand-up comedian Deborah Vance, adding another milestone to her decorated career.

Smart became the first actor to win the best comedy actress award for every season of a series’ run. She thanked the creators of Hacks while accepting the honour, saying: “What a ride this has been!”

The achievement places Smart ahead of most performers in the category. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who won the comedy actress Emmy six times during the seven-season run of Veep, is the closest comparable record-holder.

Matthew Rhys also made Emmy history by becoming the first performer to win two lead acting awards at the same ceremony. He was recognised for his performances in Widow’s Bay and The Beast in Me.

The awards capped a competitive television season, with established favourites facing off against newer shows across the major comedy and drama categories.

Tensions in tinsel town

The Emmys offered a rare night of celebration as Hollywood grapples with production cutbacks, anxiety over artificial intelligence and the proposed Paramount Skydance PSKY.O purchase of HBO owner Warner Bros. Discovery WBD.O, a deal that has divided the industry and faces legal challenges.

Winners largely avoided potentially divisive topics in their acceptance speeches and stuck to thanking their families and co-stars.

The Pitt actor Noah Wyle said it felt “overwhelming” to land his second straight Emmy for playing Dr. “Robby” Robinavitch on the HBO Max medical drama set in a Pittsburgh trauma center.

Describing himself as a “Hollywood kid,” Wyle told the Emmy audience, “This is the only club I’ve ever wanted to join. Thank you for accepting me.”

Rhys claimed awards for best comedy actor for Widow’s Bay and for best actor in a limited series for the Netflix NFLX.O psychological thriller The Beast in Me.

The Welsh actor said he felt “slightly giddy and a little bit dizzy” to receive the honors.

“At the moment, I genuinely can’t believe what’s just happened,” he told reporters backstage.

“I’m from a small country, and I’m glad we get moments to put our flag on the map and say we punch higher than our weight sometimes in Wales,” Rhys added.

In other awards, Widow’s Bay star Stephen Root upset favorite Harrison Ford of Shrinking for best supporting actor in a comedy. Widow’s Bay also claimed awards on Monday for supporting actress, directing and writing. Combined with technical and other awards handed out earlier this month, the show earned 14 Emmys, a record for a comedy in a single season.

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which was canceled by CBS and aired its final episode this year, won best variety series.

HBO Max murder mystery DTF St. Louis won best limited series.

Best drama actress went to Rhea Seehorn, who plays a misanthropic woman at war with an unfailingly kind alien hive mind on Pluribus, another win on a big night for Apple TV. Seehorn addressed her fellow nominees, including The Diplomat star Keri Russell and Zendaya of Euphoria, with a quote from the feminist activist Gloria Steinem, who died this month aged 92.

“We are linked, not ranked. I feel that way about all you women,” Seehorn said.

Emmy winners are chosen by the more than 27,000 writers, directors, performers, producers and craftspeople in the Television Academy.

Fox honoured for his humanitarian efforts

The academy honored Michael J. Fox during the ceremony for his advocacy for Parkinson’s disease research and treatment.

Speaking from a wheelchair, Fox said support from Hollywood had allowed him to keep acting after his own diagnosis with Parkinson’s. “It’s because you stood up for me,” he told the crowd.

Mariska Hargitay, star of NBC’s drama Law & Order: Special Victims ​Unit, hosted the ceremony, breaking with a tradition of having a comedian serve as emcee. It was broadcast live on NBC and streamed on Peacock CMCSA.O.

“It’s a lot of pressure, but it is so reassuring to see so many familiar faces out there, and I’m not just talking about how many of you I’ve arrested on SVU,” Hargitay told the crowd.

In one pre-recorded sketch, Hargitay’s SVU character, Olivia Benson, tried to piece together clues to determine if singer Taylor Swift, an Emmy nominee this year for a concert film, would attend the ceremony.

Swift made a surprise cameo in the bit as a rookie detective who pointed out that the singer’s categories had been considered in a separate ceremony a week earlier. Benson correctly deduced that Swift would be in Kansas City watching her husband, Travis Kelce, play on Monday Night Football.