David Farnor | On 19, Sep 2016

Transparent came up trumps once again in the acting stakes at last night’s Emmys.

The 2016 Emmy Awards crowned Jeffrey Tambor Best Actor for the second year in a row for his sensitive portrayal of Maura in Amazon’s transgender drama. But while Amazon’s flagship award winner also bagged a prize for Directing for a Comedy Series – thanks to Jill Soloway’s on standout Season 2 episode Man on the Land – this year’s Emmys were dominated by FX and HBO.

"Please give transgender talent a chance. Give them auditions." – Jeffrey Tambor #PREACH #Emmys pic.twitter.com/FX6eCIAblQ

— Mic (@mic) September 19, 2016

There were some streaming successes, with Ben Mendelsohn bagging Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for Bloodline and Master of None’s Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang winning Best Writing for a Comedy Series. Netflix’s exclusive acquisition of Orphan Black in the UK also means it can bask in the glow in Tatiana Maslany’s win for Best Actress in a Drama Series.

But it was largely business as usual, with Game of Thrones and Veep once again taking up the big Best Drama and Best Comedy prizes. Veep earned Julia Louis-Dreyfus the gong for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for the fifth year in a row, making her the only person to win the prize five consecutive times for the same role. Thrones, meanwhile, took home Best Writing (Drama) and Best Directing (Drama) for the heart-stopping episode Battle of the Bastards. Combined with last week’s Creative Emmy awards, HBO is undoubtedly still leading the TV pack, with 22 Emmys overall this year – including a breakthrough victory for John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight.

There was a new contender, though, in the form of FX, which stormed the acting categories with The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story. The always-brilliant Sarah Paulson, Courtney B. Vance and Sterling K. Brown all took home prizes for their performances in the mini-series, with Paulson bringing her prosecutor Marcia Clark, whom she portrayed in the drama, as her plus-one. While Thrones led the pack with 12 wins, FX was right behind HBO with 18 awards overall, with The People v. O.J. Simpson also getting the award for Best Mini-Series or Movie. With nominations for The Americans for the first time too, as well as nods for Fargo, FX is making its mark more than ever.

Netflix, on the other hand, has won the industry’s attention, with a record 54 nominations for this year’s Emmys, but hasn’t managed to turn that into Primetime wins – tellingly, Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright (stars of one the streaming service’s flagship dramas, House of Cards) are still yet to bag an Emmy.

#MrRobot star Rami Malek on immigrant families like his own: "I want everyone to be given a chance like me" #Emmys pic.twitter.com/v4fKuRKRMy

— Variety (@Variety) September 19, 2016

Compare that to the sudden success of Rami Malek, who converted his first nomination for Mr. Robot into a surprise win for his turn as unbalanced hacker Elliot. His visibly delighted acceptance of the award will go down as one of the highlights of this year’s TV awards.

Mr. Robot's @ItsRamiMalek picking up his Emmy! #Emmys pic.twitter.com/YkqB2FmZJG

— Albert Lawrence (@ABC7Albert) September 19, 2016

The real winners of the evening, though, were the kids from Stranger Things. Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten Matarazzo, and Caleb McLaughlin rivalled Rami Malek for best Emmy debut, by opening the whole evening with a rendition of Uptown Funk.

Omg, the #Emmys2016 pre show was the kids from Stranger Things singing "Uptown Funk" pic.twitter.com/15c2yaqFDj

— Mike Hogan (@mike_hogan) September 18, 2016

Next year, Game of Thrones will not be eligible for the Emmys, as HBO delays the series from its usual spring slot. That means you can expect a rush from everyone else, especially Netflix, to steal the spotlight. Frankly, though, we’ll just take the Stranger Things musical everyone now wants.

Here’s a list of last night’s big Emmy winners. For a rundown of the Creative Emmys winners, click here.

 

Drama Series

Game of Thrones

Comedy Series

Veep (HBO)

Mini-Series or Movie

The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (FX)

TV Movie

Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (Masterpiece) (PBS)

Variety Talk Series

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)

Variety Sketch Series

Key & Peele (Comedy Central)

Actor in a Comedy Series

Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent

Actress in a Comedy Series

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep

Actor in a Drama Series

Rami Malek, Mr. Robot

Actress in a Drama Series

Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black

Actor in a Mini-Series or Movie

Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie

Sarah Paulson, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Supporting Actor in a Drama

Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline

Supporting Actress in a Drama

Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Supporting Actor in a Comedy

Louie Anderson, Baskets

Supporting Actress in a Comedy

Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie

Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story

Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie

Regina King, American Crime

Reality Competition Program

The Voice (NBC)

Writing for a Comedy Series

Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, Master of None (Parents)

Writing for a Drama Series

David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, Game of Thrones (Battle of the Bastards)

Writing for a Mini-Series or Movie

D.V. DeVincentis, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (Marcia, Marcia, Marcia)

Writing for a Variety Special

Patton Oswalt, Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping

Directing for a Comedy Series

Jill Soloway, Transparent (Man on the Land)

Directing for a Drama Series

Miguel Sapochnik, Game of Thrones (Battle of the Bastards)

Directing for a Mini-Series or Movie

Susanne Bier, The Night Manager

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