6 takeaways from the return of the Emmys

Updated January 16, 2024 at 7:09 AM ET

The 75th Emmy Awards offered up nothing in the way of real surprise; practically every prize went to the frontrunner. Perhaps the closest the night came to a moment worth an eyebrow-raise was the In Memoriam segment that included a mournful rendition of the Friends theme song. Obviously, a very well-meaning attempt to recognize Matthew Perry, but that is not a song that translates into tears. The delay of this ceremony from September to now also meant that a lot of these frontrunners are fresh off Golden Globe and Critics' Choice awards, making their wins seem even a little more obvious.

Still, like every Emmys night, there were some notable developments.

1. It was a big night for Succession, The Bear and Beef

Three big shows dominated the major categories given out Monday night: Succession in drama, The Bear in comedy, and Beef in limited series. All three won the big prize in their category as best series. All three won both directing and writing awards. All three won multiple acting awards — two for Beef (its two leads), three for The Bear (its three principals), and three for Succession (three members of its gazillion-person cast). Only four wins out of the 21 handed out in these three categories went to any other shows: Jennifer Coolidge for The White Lotus, Paul Walter Hauser for Black Bird, Quinta Brunson for Abbott Elementary and Niecy Nash-Betts for Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. It seemed like maybe Ted Lasso might be in the race for its (likely) final season, or The Last Of Us might make a strong showing for its adaptation of a stunning video game. But it was not to be. This was a night for the favorites to fully dominate.

2. An acclaimed show ends with no more Emmys

Coolidge's win for her supporting work in The White Lotus wasn't unexpected, given that she won last year, but along with the rest of the night, it did come as a real blow to Better Call Saul fans, myself included. Many people who hoped against hope that Rhea Seehorn would win the trophy in her last shot for the work she did as Kim Wexler. In fact, Saul — a show a lot of its admirers think is better than Breaking Bad, from which it was spun off — won no Emmys at all. It ends an acclaimed six-season run with 53 nominations and no awards. Perhaps that's only fitting for a show that's about a bottom-feeder and repeat loser like Jimmy McGill, but those who know, know. Especially about Rhea Seehorn.

3. Anthony Anderson's mom replaced the music

In place of the orchestra playing people off to trim runaway speeches, they decided this year to have host Anthony Anderson's mother stand up in the audience and start yelling at them. The moment she did it to Jennifer Coolidge, it was more than clear that this was going to be terribly awkward. The producers didn't continue with it, fortunately. It's not clear whether they ever intended to. Perhaps they didn't, or perhaps they instantly realized it was not going to land the way they hoped. Seriously, just play the music.

4. Black women get rewarded for their work

It's often been the case that awards shows include a good number of Black actors as presenters, or as hosts like Anderson, but then don't actually reward their work. Not so with these Emmys. Three of the first four women to take the stage as winners — Ayo Edebiri, Quinta Brunson and Niecy Nash-Betts — are Black, and the ceremony's look back at 75 years of Emmys included beloved icons like Arsenio Hall and Marla Gibbs as well as influential shows like Good Times and Martin. Anderson called it "like MLK Day and Juneteenth rolled into one."

5. Elton John achieves EGOT status

Most coverage of the Emmys goes to a handful of major categories, but there's always plenty going on up and down the list. One story of note: With a win for his special Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium, Elton John reached a made-up status that it's hard not to admire anyway — the EGOT.

6. A night filled with reunions and familiar faces

At the 75th Emmys, it made sense to do a lot of remembering of the TV of the past. Some of this worked really well, like getting to see old sets (or rough approximations of old sets) or reunions, like the one between Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers. Some of it was a little effortful, like Anderson doing a skit with Dylan McDermott about American Horror Story. But on a generous curve of how "and now, we salute television!" stuff usually goes, it gets a solid B-plus.

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