The first two nights of the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards handed out 102 statuettes, with Apple TV, HBO Max and Netflix leading the field.
The first two nights of the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards turned into a clean read on where the craft race stands this year: Apple TV, HBO Max and Netflix walked away with the biggest totals as the Television Academy handed out 102 statuettes at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.
The weekend ceremonies, still known to many in the business as the Creative Arts Emmys, now sit in front of the televised Primetime Emmys on Sept. 14 on NBC and Peacock. The Academy will edit the first two nights into a single broadcast that airs Sept. 12 on FXX.
Apple TV and HBO Max stack up early
Apple TV led all platforms through the first two nights with 19 wins, powered by a broad spread across drama, comedy and special categories. HBO Max followed with 16, while Netflix finished with 13. NBC collected seven, Peacock six, CBS five, Disney+ four and Prime Video four. MGM+/Prime Video also appeared with five wins in the platform tally as listed by the Academy’s weekend results.
On the show side, Apple’s Widow’s Bay came out on top with eight wins. HBO Max’s DTF St. Louis and the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny each landed six. The Traitors and Spider-Noir finished with five apiece. The Muppet Show, The Pitt, Pluribus, Beef, Love on the Spectrum, Margot’s Got Money Problems, Palm Royale, Bridgerton, Fallout, Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal, My Mom Jayne and Ocean With David Attenborough also posted multiple wins.
The shows that dominated the weekend
Widow’s Bay was the night’s broadest winner, taking guest acting for Betty Gilpin, along with casting, sound mixing, production design, cinematography, music supervision, music composition and sound editing. DTF St. Louis swept the directing and writing races for creator Steven Conrad and won both limited series supporting actor categories, with David Harbour beating co-star Jason Bateman and Linda Cardellini winning supporting actress.
Prime Video’s Spider-Noir picked up wins in stunt coordination, title design, special visual effects, cinematography and sound editing. Apple TV’s Palm Royale won for production design, choreography, costumes and makeup. Netflix’s Remarkably Bright Creatures took outstanding movie.
South Park won its fifth Emmy for best animated show, its first since 2013. Hulu’s Paradise earned Shailene Woodley her first Emmy in guest actor, and the series picked up its first win since launching last year. The Pitt brought an ovation for veteran actor Ernest Harden Jr., who won guest actor. Eric Bauza accepted the voice-over Emmy on behalf of Julie Andrews for Bridgerton while speaking in a Donald Duck voice.
Standout wins across comedy, variety and documentary
Saturday’s winners included the Apple Music Super Bowl LX Halftime Show Starring Bad Bunny, The Traitors and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, all of which scored multiple wins. The Muppet Show also had a strong night, including a win for variety special.
In the solo categories, Jimmy Kimmel won best game show host, Octavia Spencer took narration for Lost Women of Alaska, and Mariska Hargitay won for documentary and directing for My Mom Jayne. Hargitay is also set to host the Primetime Emmys.
Noah Wyle opened Night 2 with a pointed message for the room, saying recognition matters for directors, stage managers, grips, set designers and the rest of the crew whose work rarely gets the same spotlight as the stars. That was the tone of the weekend: a craft-heavy awards run that put the industry’s below-the-line backbone front and center before the main telecast takes over next week.
