The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards saw a record-breaking win by 15-year-old British actor Owen Cooper and a standing ovation for comedian Stephen Colbert.
Adolescence, a Netflix drama about teenage life and the impact of social media, dominated the limited series categories. Cooper won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, becoming the youngest male Emmy acting winner in history.
In his emotional speech, he called the win “surreal” and said, “I think tonight proves if you listen, and you focus and you step out your comfort zone, you can achieve anything in life.”
Adolescence also won Best Limited Series, as well as writing, directing, and acting awards for Stephen Graham and Erin Doherty. Graham, who also co-wrote the series, said: “We never expected our little programme to have such a big impact, but we’re really grateful that it did.” Doherty called the production “the definition of a team effort.”
Meanwhile, Colbert, whose network talk show The Late Show with Stephen Colbert is set to end after CBS announced its cancellation earlier this year, received two standing ovations. The first came as he walked on stage to present the award for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He joked, “While I have your attention, is anyone hiring?” while holding up his old headshot and asking Harrison Ford to pass it on to Steven Spielberg.
Later, when The Late Show won Outstanding Talk Series, its first-ever win in that category, and the first time a network show has taken the prize since the category’s creation in 2015: the audience stood again.
In his acceptance speech, Colbert thanked CBS and the “200 incredible professionals” behind the show, saying, “In 2015, I set out to do a late-night comedy show about love. At a certain point, you can guess when, it became about loss. Ten years later, I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong, be brave.”
Other major winners included The Studio on Apple TV+, a satire led by Seth Rogen, which won Best Comedy Series along with three other awards. The Pitt took Best Drama Series, with Noah Wyle winning Best Actor in a Drama and Katherine LaNasa winning Best Supporting Actress. Acting prizes also went to Tramell Tillman and Britt Lower for Severance.
While mostly light on politics, some political messages appeared. Hannah Einbinder said “Free Palestine” and “F*** ICE” in her acceptance speech for Hacks, while co-star Megan Stalter wore an “Artists4Ceasefire” pin on the red carpet. Javier Bardem also wore the pin, calling for an end to the war in Gaza.
Host Nate Bargatze kept the event moving by tying overlong speeches to charity donations, and the show ended only minutes late. In the end, CBS and Bargatze pledged $250,000 to Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
