On September 13, some of the best actors and actresses that have recently graced our small screens came together for the 74th Emmy Awards. Held in the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, American actor and comedian Kenan Thompson hosted the prestigious awards ceremony. 

There were many popular shows such as Succession, Squid Game, Better Call Saul, and more fighting it out but thankfully, there were not any *cough* altercations *cough* that night. For the most part, the night was easy and lighthearted, with a performance of Pieces by John Legend from his latest self-titled album, and focused on celebrating the winners of the night.

Ahead, here’s a quick recap of the highlights you may have missed—plus the complete list of winners and nominees of the Emmy Awards 2022.

AWARD HIGHLIGHTS

Succession wins Best Drama series amidst stiff competition

One of the most highly rated shows in recent television history, the HBO series, Succession was up for a whopping 25 Emmy nominations, with a record of 14 acting nominations. Apart from the coveted Best Drama series, they also won for best writing for a drama series, and Matthew Macfadyen took home the Emmy for best supporting actor in a drama. The series follows the power struggle of a highly dysfunctional family dynasty once their father-cum-CEO (played by Brian Cox) decides to retire.

Lee Jung-jae makes history with Emmy win

Despite this only being his first ever Emmy nomination, South Korean actor Lee Jung-jae took home the award and became the first foreign-launguage actor to win the Best Lead Actor in a drama category. The actor rose to global stardom after the brutal blockbuster quickly became Netflix’s best performing show to date. Prior to this, the actor also received the SAG Award and Critic’s Choice for his performance as Seong Gi-hun, a washed up gambler who joins a sadistic games arena in the hopes of winning a huge cash prize.

Zendaya is the youngest two-time Emmy-winning actress

Zendaya also made history after winning her second Emmy for her lead role in Euphoria, making her the first African-American actress to do so. The starlet and producer first won the award in 2020 for her performance as Rue, a teenager dealing with drug addiction. The HBO show has been receiving massive success since its release for its raw portrayal of troubled high school teens.

Amanda Seyfried nabs her first Emmy

In a career-first, Amanda Seyfried has scored an Emmy for her portrayal of Elizabeth Holmes in the Hulu miniseries. The Dropout follows the real-life ambitions of one Elizabeth Holmes who pioneered a healthcare technology that put millions at risk. The visibly nervous actress stated in her speech that she had the time of her life filming the show, and even adorably thanked her dog, Finn at the end. 

Sheryl Lee Ralph breaks into song during acceptance speech

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No, we don’t think we’ll ever be over Sheryl Lee Ralph’s thank you speech, and neither will the rest of the Internet. In a moment that truly epitomised the magic of live television, Ralph burst into a powerful rendition of Diane Reeves’ Endangered Species like the Broadway superstar she is. This win also marked a milestone in the actress’ career as many fans have been eagerly waiting for her to achieve mainstream recognition (she has been performing since the late 1970s). In the comedy Abbott Elementary, Ralph plays Barbara Howard, a teacher at an underfunded public school. 

Lizzo is now halfway to an EGOT status

In case you weren’t aware—yes, Lizzo does have her own show! Scoring her first ever Emmy, Lizzo managed to beat out other popular competition programmes such as The Amazing Race and RuPaul’s Drag Race. She is now halfway to an EGOT status which refers to when a celebrity wins all four prestigious awards: Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony. Watch Out for the Big Grrrls debuted on Amazon Prime Video in March 2022. In the competition series, 13 women compete to become backup dancers for Lizzo, who also hosts the show. Amidst the fierce competition, the series is underlined by a strong message of self-love and body acceptance. 

Squid Game wins big again with directorial win

Director Hwang Dong-hyuk swept the award for the Best Director in a drama category. Like Lee Jung-jae, this is the first time an Asian director has won in this category, making this a historic occasion for Asian representation all around the world. He is both the director and creator of the smash Netflix series which depicts a cruel dystopian-like survival show where contestants risk their lives in violent children’s games to win millions of dollars. He will return to direct the second installation of the show.

NOMINEES & WINNERS LIST

(Note: The winner of each category is highlighted in bold.)

Governors Award

Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media

Outstanding Drama Series

Better Call Saul

Euphoria

Ozark

Severance

Squid Game

Stranger Things

Succession 

Yellowjackets

Outstanding Comedy Series

Abbott Elementary

Barry

Curb Your Enthusiasm

Hacks

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

Only Murders in the Building

Ted Lasso

What We Do in the Shadows

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series 

Dopesick

The Dropout

Inventing Anna

Pam & Tommy

The White Lotus

Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman, Ozark

Brian Cox, Succession

Lee Jungjae, Squid Game

Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul

Adam Scott, Severance

Jeremy Strong, Succession

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 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 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 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 & Tommy

Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Toni Collette, The Staircase

Julia Garner, Inventing Anna

Lily James, Pam & Tommy

Sarah Paulson, Impeachment: An American Crime Story

Margaret Qualley, Maid

Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout

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 Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie

Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus

Jake Lacy, The White Lotus

Peter Sarsgaard, Dopesick

Michael Stuhlbarg, Dopesick

Seth Rogen, Pam & Tommy

Steve Zahn, The White Lotus

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

1. Smith-Cameron, Succession

Sarah Snook, Succession

Sydney Sweeney, Euphoria

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 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 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 Variety Talk Series

The Daily Show with Trevor Noah

Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver

Late Night with Seth Meyers

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series

A Black Lady Sketch Show

Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Competition Program

The Amazing Race

Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls

Nailed It!

RuPaul’s Drag Race

Top Chef

The Voice

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

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

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

Dan Erickson, “The We We Are,” Severance

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

Jesse Armstrong, “All the Bells Say,” Succession

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

Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson, “Pilot,” Yellowjackets

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

Quinta Brunson, “Pilot,” Abbott Elementary

Duffy Boudreau, “710N,” Barry

Alec Berg, Bill Hader, “starting now,” Barry

Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky, “The One, The Only,” Hacks

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

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

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

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

Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Anthology Series or Movie

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

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

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

Molly Smith Metzler, “Snaps,” Maid

Patrick Somerville, “Unbroken Circle,” Station Eleven

Mike White, The White Lotus

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special

Ali Wong, Ali Wong: Don Wong

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 – Hungary For Democracy

Jerrod Carmichael, Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel 

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

Norm Macdonald, Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series

Jason Bateman, “A Hard Way To Go,” Ozark

Ben Stiller, “The We We Are,” Severance

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

Mark Mylod, “All The Bells Say,” Succession

Cathy Yan, “The Disruption,” Succession

Lorene Scafaria, “Too Much Birthday,” Succession

Karyn Kusama, “Pilot,” Yellowjackets

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series

Hiro Murai, “New Jazz,” Atlanta

Alec Berg and Bill Hader, “710N,” Barry

Lucia Aniello, “There Will Be Blood,” Hacks

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

Cherien Dabis, “The Boy from 6B,” Only Murders in the Building

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

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

Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Anthology Series or Movie

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

Michael Showalter, “Green Juice,” The Dropout

Francesca Gregorini, “Iron Sisters,” The Dropout

John Wells, “Sky Blue,” Maid

Hiro Murai, “Wheel of Fire,” Station Eleven

Mike White, The White Lotus

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