Emmys 2022: Who were the big winners of the night?

Media dynasty drama Succession beat out Netflix’s global phenomenon Squid Game to take home the Emmy for best drama at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Monday. In his acceptance speech, Succession creator Jesse Armstrong joked: “Big week for successions, new king in the UK, this for us. Evidently a little bit more voting involved in our winning than Prince Charles.” The hit TV show won three of the 25 awards it was nominated for: outstanding drama series, writing for a drama series and lead actor in a drama series, with Brian Cox winning the award.

Squid Game, however, did not go home empty-handed: Lee Jung-jaw won the award for lead actor in a drama series, while Hwang Dong-hyuk took home the prize for directing for a drama series.

In the limited series category, the satire The White Lotus was the big winner, scooping up five awards from its 20 nominations. Australian actor Murray Bartlett and veteran performer Jennifer Coolidge won the award for best actor and actress, respectively – categories in which they were up against many of their co-stars. “I just want to say, I took a lavender bath tonight right before the show, and it made me swell up inside my dress and I’m having a hard time speaking,” Coolidge joked. The Emmy was the 61-year-old actress’s first major award.

Like Coolidge, Mike White, the creator of The White Lotus, also won his first Emmys after decades in the industry. “On Survivor, the way to stay in the game is you lower your threat level,” White said, in reference to his time on the reality TV show. “And it’s like, now I feel like I’ve raised my threat level. And I just want to stay in the game. Awards are great, I love writing, I love doing what I do – don’t come for me. Don’t vote me off the island, please!” Although The White Lotus was originally meant to be a miniseries, a second season is set to be released in October.

Michael Keaton, who gave the first and perhaps the longest speech of the night, took a more serious tone when he accepted his first Emmy for his performance in Dopesick, a miniseries about the opioid crisis in the US. “We’ve all been through a lot of tough times over the years. There’s been some doubt. I’ve had some doubts,” he said.

In the comedy category, Ted Lasso was crowned as best comedy series for a second year in a row. Jason Sudeikis won the award for best actor, a prize he also picked up in 2021, while MJ Delaney won for directing of a comedy series.