The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards took place on 12 September at the Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles, California, US. Held by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, also known as the Television Academy, the Emmy Awards 2022 marked its return indoors, with full audience, after a largely virtual event in 2020 and partly outdoor setting under a tent in 2021, owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the Primetime Emmy Awards 2022, The White Lotus was the most successful show overall. It bagged awards in all five major categories of the Limited or Anthology Series section it was nominated in. The series also won five awards at the 74th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which was held on 3 and 4 September 2022. As such, it was the most successful of all nominees at the 2022 Emmys circuit with 10 wins.

Mike White, the show’s director and writer, took home the awards in both categories for the limited series. Upon receiving his second award, he quipped, “I was on Survivor, and on Survivor the way to stay in the game is you lower your threat level, and now I feel like I increased my threat level… Don’t come for me, don’t vote me off the island, please.”

The HBO series has been hailed for its commentary on white privilege and class differences.

The White Lotus, which was a favourite in the best limited series category, kept at bay stiff competition in its section from the likes of three acclaimed Hulu shows — The Dropout, Dopesick and Pam & Tommy — as well as Netflix’s Inventing Anna. All four competitors were about real-life people.

Among the nominees across categories in both Primetime Emmy Awards and Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Succession led with a total of 25 nods, including 14 for actors. Ted Lasso and The White Lotus were nominated in 20 categories each.

On the other hand, Lee Jung-jae created history by becoming the first Asian to win an Emmy award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for playing Player 456 in the Netflix smash hit Squid Game. This was Lee’s first career Emmy. The actor has already set similar records by winning in the same categories at the Screen Actors Guild Awards and Critics Choice Awards earlier in 2022.

Show creator Hwang Dong-hyuk won the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. It was his first-ever Emmy and the first for an Asian director.

“I truly hope Squid Game won’t be the last non-English series to be here at the Emmys,” he said in his acceptance speech. “And I hope this won’t be my last Emmys, either!”

Squid Game was on a roll at the Emmy Awards 2022. The show was nominated in 14 categories. It won four awards at the Creative Arts Emmys, including the prize for outstanding guest actress in a drama series for Lee Yoo-mi — a first for a Korean star.

In other major wins at Primetime Emmys, Zendaya took home her second award since her 2020 win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for HBO show Euphoria.

Jason Sudekis won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for Apple TV+ series Ted Lasso, following up on his win in the same category at the 2021 event. Brett Goldstein also won for Ted Lasso in the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series category — his second in a row. The show, a comedy about a highly optimistic football coach and a not-so-great team, was also adjudged the best series in the comedy section.

Meanwhile, HBO’s Succession was the winner of the Outstanding Drama Series, overwhelming seven other nominees, including Squid Game, Stranger Things and Severance.

While Jean Smart won her second consecutive Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Hacks, Julia Garner won her third Emmy in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Ozark.

The Emmy for Outstanding Competition Program went to Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls. While receiving the award, an emotional Lizzo said,  “When I was a little girl, all I wanted to see was me in the media. Someone fat like me. Black like me. Beautiful like me. And if I could go back and tell little Lizzo something, I would be like ‘you gonna see that person, but … it’s got to be you.’”

The show also won the award for Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program for Nneka Onuorah at the 2022 Creative Arts Emmys.

The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media received the Governors Award for “profound, transformational, and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television.” The award was presented by Sarah Paulson and Shonda Rhimes.

Notable firsts at Emmy Awards 2022

Michael Keaton won his first ever Emmy by taking home the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Dopesick. His award was the first of the night.

Sheryl Lee Ralph’s outstanding performance in Abbott Elementary earned the star her first career Emmy. She took home the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

“To anyone who has ever had a dream and thought your dream wasn’t, wouldn’t, couldn’t come true, I am here to tell you this is what believing looks like. This is what striving looks like, and don’t ever, ever give up on you,” she said after receiving her award.

Amanda Seyfried also earned her first career Emmy for The Dropout, the limited series for which she won the Outstanding Lead Actress award. Seyfried played Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes in the series.

Quinta Brunson won her first Emmy for the ABC show Abbott Elementary in the category of Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series. Brunson, who was named in the Time 100 Most Influential People of 2022 list, had already created history by becoming the first African American woman to earn three nominations in comedy categories in the same year at Emmys, winning an award for Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Comedy series as an executive producer of the show.

The red carpet

The Emmy Awards 2022 red carpet was a glittering affair. The nominees and other invitees arrived at the event looking their best for the evening.

Among some of the many notable names who strutted the red carpet were Chrissy Teigen, who posed in a Naeem Khan creation with John Legend. Khan was also the choice for Kaitlyn Dever, who came in a one-shoulder red slit gown.

Zendaya looked stunning in a Valentino and ‘Spider-Man’ Andrew Garfield was his dapper best in a Zegna suit.

For the Emmy red carpet evening, Ariana DeBose, who is renowned for taking home every major movie award in the supporting actress category for her performance in West Side Story (2021), picked a Prabal Gurung design.

Sheryl Lee Ralph was all smiles in a Brandon Blackwood dress, and Julia Garner looked confident in Gucci. Meanwhile, Armani Privé was the choice of the night for both Reese Witherspoon and Amanda Seyfried. There was also Kaley Cuoco in a Dolce & Gabbana.

Squid Game star HoYeon Jung, who has herself been setting records on the awards circuit in 2022, arrived in Louis Vuitton. Her co-star from the show, Lee Jung-jae, was in his dashing best in a studded tuxedo.

Host Kenan Thompson wore a purple velvet jacket and trousers for the night’s ceremony.

Among others on the red carpet who made heads turn were Diego Luna, Elle Fanning, Will Poulter, Sandra Oh, Christina Ricci, Alexandra Daddario, Quinta Brunson, Sydney Sweeney, Shonda Rhimes, Robin Thede, RuPaul and Michelle Visage.

More about the show and the numbers

The three-hour gala was hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson. Himself an Emmy winner, Thompson made his debut as an emcee of the 2022 Emmy Awards.

Even though the event is usually held on a Sunday, it was moved to Monday because broadcaster NBC had to air Sunday Night Football.

Nominees were seated around dinner tables instead of the usual theatre-like setting of previous Emmys.

Among some of the notable presenters were Amy Poehler, Angela Bassett, Ariana DeBose, Bowen Yang, Gael García Bernal, Ismael Cruz Córdova, Kelly Clarkson, Mindy Kaling, Regina Hall, Rosario Dawson, RuPaul Charles, Selena Gomez, Seth Meyers, Shonda Rhimes, Will Arnett, and Squid Game’s HoYeon Jung and Lee Jung-jae.

John Legend performed “Pieces,” a track from his new album Legend, for the In Memoriam segment of the show, which honoured stars who passed away recently, including Bob Saget, James Caan, Ray Liotta and Sidney Poiter.

Meanwhile, for the first time the Television Academy did not acknowledge the names of the network or streaming platforms whose shows were nominated for the Emmy awards. Yet, from the vantage point of the networks and streamers, HBO and HBO Max garnered a combined 140 nominations (108 for HBO, 32 for HBO Max), while Netflix followed with 105.

The Emmy Awards 2022 was produced by Done+Dusted (D+D) and Hudlin Entertainment, with Byron Phillips, Ian Stewart, Jane Mun and Reginald Hudlin serving as executive producers. Hamish Hamilton of D+D was the director.

Emmy Awards 2022: List of winners

OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES

Better Call Saul (AMC)

Euphoria (HBO)

Ozark (Netflix)

Severance (Apple TV+)

Squid Game (Netflix)

Stranger Things (Netflix)

Succession (HBO)

Yellowjackets (Showtime)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Jodie Comer, Killing Eve

Laura Linney, Ozark

Melanie Lynskey, Yellowjackets

Sandra Oh, Killing Eve

Reese Witherspoon, The Morning Show

Zendaya, Euphoria

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Jason Bateman, Ozark

Brian Cox, Succession

Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Adam Scott, Severance

Jeremy Strong, Succession

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Patricia Arquette, Severance

Julia Garner, Ozark

Jung Ho-yeon, Squid Game

Christina Ricci, Yellowjackets

Rhea Seehorn, Better Call Saul

J. Smith-Cameron, Succession

Sarah Snook, Succession

Sydney Sweeney, Euphoria

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Nicholas Braun, Succession

Billy Crudup, The Morning Show

Kieran Culkin, Succession

Park Hae-soo, Squid Game

Matthew Macfadyen, Succession

John Turturro, Severance

Christopher Walken, Severance

Oh Yeong-su, Squid Game

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

Jason Bateman, Ozark (“A Hard Way to Go”)

Hwang Dong-hyuk, Squid Game (“Red Light, Green Light”)

Karyn Kusama, Yellowjackets (“Pilot”)

Mark Mylod, Succession (“All the Bells Say”)

Lorene Scafaria, Succession (“Too Much Birthday”)

Cathy Yan, Succession (“The Disruption”)

Ben Stiller, Severance (“The We We Are”)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

Jesse Armstrong, Succession (“All the Bells Say”)

Dan Erickson, Severance (“The We We Are”)

Hwang Dong-hyuk, Squid Game (“One Lucky Day”)

Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle, and Bart Nickerson, Yellowjackets (“F Sharp”)

Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson, Yellowjackets (“Pilot”)

Chris Mundy, Ozark (“A Hard Way to Go”)

Thomas Schnauz, Better Call Saul (“Plan and Execution”)

OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES

Abbott Elementary (ABC)

Barry (HBO)

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

Hacks (HBO)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video)

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)

What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary

Kaley Cuoco, The Flight Attendant

Elle Fanning, The Great

Issa Rae, Insecure

Jean Smart, Hacks

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Donald Glover, Atlanta

Bill Hader, Barry

Nicholas Hoult, The Great

Steve Martin, Only Murders in the Building

Martin Short, Only Murders in the Building

Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Hannah Einbinder, Hacks

Janelle James, Abbott Elementary

Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Sarah Niles, Ted Lasso

Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary

Juno Temple, Ted Lasso

Hannah Waddingham, Ted Lasso

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Anthony Carrigan, Barry

Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso

Toheeb Jimoh, Ted Lasso

Nick Mohammed, Ted Lasso

Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Tyler James Williams, Abbott Elementary

Henry Winkler, Barry

Bowen Yang, Saturday Night Live

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky, Hacks (“The One, the Only”)

Quinta Brunson, Abbott Elementary (“Pilot”)

Duffy Boudreau, Barry (“710N”)

Bill Hader and Alec Berg, Barry (“starting now”)

Steve Martin and John Hoffman, Only Murders in the Building (“True Crime”)

Jane Becker, Ted Lasso (“No Weddings and a Funeral”)

Sarah Naftalis, What We Do in the Shadows (“The Casino”)

Stefani Robinson, What We Do in the Shadows (“The Wellness Center”)

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES

Lucia Aniello, Hacks (“There Will Be Blood”)

Jamie Babbit, Only Murders in the Building (“True Crime”)

Cherien Dabis, Only Murders in the Building (“The Boy From 6B”)

MJ Delaney, Ted Lasso (“No Weddings and a Funeral”)

Mary Lou Belli, The Ms. Pat Show (“Baby Daddy Groundhog Day”)

Bill Hader, Barry (“710N”)

Hiro Murai, Atlanta (“New Jazz”)

OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES

Dopesick (Hulu)

The Dropout (Hulu)

Inventing Anna (Netflix)

Pam and Tommy (Hulu)

The White Lotus (HBO)

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE

Toni Collette, The Staircase

Julia Garner, Inventing Anna

Lily James, Pam and Tommy

Sarah Paulson, Impeachment: American Crime Story

Margaret Qualley, Maid

Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout

OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE

Colin Firth, The Staircase

Andrew Garfield, Under the Banner of Heaven

Oscar Isaac, Scenes From a Marriage

Michael Keaton, Dopesick

Himesh Patel, Station Eleven

Sebastian Stan, Pam and Tommy

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE

Connie Britton, The White Lotus

Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus

Alexandra Daddario, The White Lotus

Kaitlyn Dever, Dopesick

Natasha Rothwell, The White Lotus

Sydney Sweeney, The White Lotus

Mare Winningham, Dopesick

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES OR MOVIE

Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus

Jake Lacy, The White Lotus

Will Poulter, Dopesick

Seth Rogen, Pam & Tommy

Peter Sarsgaard, Dopesick

Michael Stuhlbarg, Dopesick

Steve Zahn, The White Lotus

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A LIMITED SERIES

Elizabeth Meriwether, The Dropout (“I’m in a Hurry”)

Patrick Somerville, Station Eleven (“Unbroken Circle”)

Danny Strong, Dopesick (“The People vs. Purdue Pharma”)

Sarah Burgess, Impeachment: American Crime Story (“Man Handled”)

Molly Smith Metzler, Maid (“Snaps”)

Mike White, The White Lotus

OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED SERIES

Francesca Gregorini, The Dropout (“Iron Sisters”)

Hiro Murai, Station Eleven (“Wheel of Fire”)

Michael Showalter, The Dropout (“Green Juice”)

Danny Strong, Dopesick (“The People vs. Purdue Pharma”)

John Wells, Maid (“Sky Blue”)

Mike White, The White Lotus

OUTSTANDING COMPETITION PROGRAM

The Amazing Race (CBS)

Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (Amazon Prime Video)

Nailed It!(Netflix)

RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)

Top Chef (Bravo)

The Voice (NBC)

OUTSTANDING VARIETY TALK SERIES

The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)

Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO)

Late Night With Seth Meyers (NBC)

The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS)

OUTSTANDING VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO/HBO Max)

Saturday Night Live (NBC)

OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A VARIETY SPECIAL

Ali Wong, Ali Wong: Don Wong (Netflix)

Ian Berger, Devin Delliquanti, Jennifer Flanz, Jordan Klepper, Zhubin Parang, and Scott Sherman, The Daily Show with Trevor Noah Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Globe (Comedy Central)

Jerrod Carmichael, Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel (HBO/HBO Max)

Nicole Byer, Nicole Byer: BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo) (Netflix)

Norm Macdonald, Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special (Netflix)

(Main image: Frederic J. Brown / AFP; Featured image: Television Academy/@TelevisionAcad/Twitter)

This story first appeared on Lifestyle Asia India