Australian actress Sarah Snook holds the Emmy statue after Succession won the award for Outstanding Drama Series during the 74th Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California, on 12 September 2022. Photo: AFP
Australian actress Sarah Snook holds the Emmy statue after Succession won the award for Outstanding Drama Series.
Top honours at the Emmy awards in Hollywood have been taken by Succession, the story of a dysfunctional wealthy family jockeying for power, and feel-good comedy Ted Lasso.
Both shows were repeat winners. Succession was named best drama series, an award it had won in 2020 before the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted its production schedule.
Ted Lasso won best comedy series for the second straight year, and stars Jason Sudeikis and Brett Goldstein were second-time winners of best comedy actor and supporting actor.
One newcomer among the major honourees was Lee Jung-jae, who was named best actor in a drama for his role on South Korean drama Squid Game. The dystopian thriller about cash-strapped contestants risking their lives for wealth became a global sensation after its release a year ago. He is the first Asian star to win the Emmy award for best male actor in a drama.
The White Lotus, about wealthy vacationers and the workers who cater to them, landed the trophy for best limited series.
Hosted by Saturday Night Live comedian Kenan Thompson, it is the first full-scale Emmys since the pandemic. Last year's ceremony was staged outdoors and had limited in-person attendance.
Michael Keaton landed an Emmy award for playing a small-town doctor who becomes addicted to painkillers in Dopesick.
Keaton starred in the Hulu limited series that turned a spotlight on America's opioid epidemic. The actor thanked people in his life who had supported him over the years despite the fact "I made a fool of myself over and over again."
Amanda Seyfried was named best lead actress in a limited series or anthology for her role as Elizabeth Holmes in The Dropout, which is based on the real-life story of the disgraced biotech entrepreneur.
Murray Bartlett, who played a hotel manager at a ritzy resort in HBO's The White Lotus, was named best supporting actor in a limited series.
Singer Lizzo won her first Emmy for her hit show Watch Out For The Big Grrrls.
The star won in a category dominated in recent years by RuPaul's Drag Race.
Lizzo was tearful as she collected her award, saying: "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."
The show offers plus-size dancers the chance to compete to join the About Damn Time singer on tour.
- Reuters / BBC