Medical drama The Pitt and comedy The Studio took top honors at the Emmy Awards on Sunday, as Hollywood’s biggest television stars gathered in Los Angeles for the annual celebration. HBO’s The Pitt pulled off a surprise win over front-runner Severance for best drama series, while Apple TV+’s The Studio dominated the comedy category. Noah Wyle, star of The Pitt, finally earned his first Emmy after five previous nominations for ER, dedicating his award to healthcare workers worldwide. Seth Rogen, co-creator and star of The Studio, also claimed his first Emmy, adding wins for directing and writing alongside producing partner Evan Goldberg.
The night featured several emotional milestones, including The Late Show with Stephen Colbert winning best talk series for the first time in its decade-long run—just weeks after CBS announced its cancellation. Colbert, in his acceptance speech, thanked the network while joking about his impending unemployment. Netflix’s Adolescence, a dark coming-of-age thriller, won best limited series, while 15-year-old Owen Cooper became the youngest-ever winner of best supporting actor in the category. Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder also scored in comedy acting for Hacks, with Einbinder closing her acceptance speech with the words “Free Palestine,” one of the few political statements of the evening.
Other notable wins included Jeff Hiller, who surprised audiences by taking home best supporting comedy actor for HBO’s Somebody Somewhere. HBO and Netflix tied for dominance with 30 awards each, while Apple TV+ secured 22. First-time host Nate Bargatze kept the show lighthearted by promising to donate $100,000 to charity for every short acceptance speech, but revealed at the ceremony’s end that lengthy remarks had put him “in deficit.” Even so, Bargatze and CBS pledged $350,000 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, closing a night where television’s creative achievements—and a few political moments—shared the spotlight.