All the Biggest Highlights From the 2024 Emmys
From impassioned speeches to sweet shout-outs and surprise cameos
Television’s biggest night is over once again, but there are moments from the 2024 ceremony that we will never forget.
On the red carpet, Hollywood royalty including Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, and Dakota Fanning brought the understated elegance, while The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri showed out in a colorful sequin gown and Greta Lee looked angelic in a white fresh-off-the-runway Loewe ensemble before changing into a silky sky blue number.
And onstage, history was made with The Bear’s Liza Colón-Zayas and Anna Sawai’s big wins, as well as by John Leguizamo and Greg Berlanti, who gave impassioned speeches. Some of our favorite stars—including Hacks’ Jean Smart, The Crown’s Elizabeth Debicki, and Jeremy Allen White (also of The Bear)—took home awards, and Olympic athletes took the stage.
Ahead, all the biggest moments you may have missed from the 76th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Liza Colón-Zayas dedicated her first Emmy to all Latinas
The Puerto Rican actor—who portrays Tina on The Bear—became the first-ever Latina to win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
“Thank you for giving me a new life with this show and to all the Latinas who are looking at me—keep believing and vote,” she said in her acceptance speech. “Vote for your rights.”
Billy Crudup praised wife Naomi Watts
The actor accepted his Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Emmy for his performance as Cory Ellison on The Morning Show, and in his speech, pointed the spotlight at wife Naomi Watts. (The two married in 2023.)
He said, “Thank you very much, this is an incredible honor, thank you all. I’m happy to be here with my piece of eye candy there, my wife, who also happens to be an immigrant and gave a searing performance for which she’s nominated, and she starts businesses too, so it’s nice to be by her side.”
Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna presented in Spanish
The beloved Mexican actors took the stage to present an award and decided to do their entire presentation in Spanish. They thanked all the Spanish speakers in the audience, as well as all the Spanish speakers watching the award show from home, earning waves of applause from the star-studded audience.
Elizabeth Debicki praised Princess Diana
The actor won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for portraying the late Princess Diana on The Crown.
And in her speech, the elegantly dressed star said getting to play the “unparalleled” Princess Di “has been my great privilege. It has been a gift. Thank you so much.”
Candice Bergen made a political joke
While presenting an award, the actor recalled when then–Vice President Dan Quayle criticized the storyline of her Murphy Brown character, a new single mother raising a baby alone.
“How far we’ve come,” she said with sarcasm. “Today, a Republican vice presidential candidate would never attack a woman for having kids, so my work here is done,” she added, referring to GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump’s current running mate, Senator J.D. Vance of Ohio, and his extremist, anti-woman values.
“Meow!” Bergen said at the end of her speech, declaring herself a proud, Democratic “cat lady,” a reference to Vance’s viral degrading comments about “childless cat ladies.”
Some Olympians showed up
Fresh off their winning performances at the Paris 2024 Games, gymnast Stephen Nedoroscik (a.k.a. “Pommel Horse Guy”), rugby union player Ilona Maher, and swimming Caeleb Dressel, as well as Paralympian high jumper Ezra Frech, joined actors Jane Lynch and Brendan Hunt onstage to help present the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series.
Anna Sawai becomes the first Japanese actress to win an Emmy
The actor took home the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama for her portrayal of Lady Mariko in FX’s Shōgun, this year’s most nominated series. Looking incredible in a red custom Vera Wang dress, Sawai gave a moving acceptance speech.
“Thank you to my team and thank you to my family. Mom—I love you, you are the reason I’m here,” Sawai said. “You showed me stoicism, and that’s how I was able to portray Mariko. This is to all the women who expect nothing and continue to be an example for everyone.”
John Leguizamo gave a moving speech about representation
The actor got on the Emmys stage and demanded more representation in Hollywood.
“For years, I didn’t complain about the limited roles my people were offered: the spicy sex pot, the Latin lover, the maid, the gang banger. Turns out, not complaining doesn’t change anything,” he said, to cheers from the audience.
Leguizamo brought up some of the many Latinx characters over the years played by non-Latinx actors, from Al Pacino’s role as Cuban gangster Tony Montana in Scarface, to Natalie Wood’s role as Puerto Rican Maria in West Side Story.
“For the past few years, I’ve been complaining. A few months ago, I took out a full-page ad in The New York Times asking Emmys voters to recognize candidates of color. It’s a good thing I decided to before I found out how much a full-page ad in The New York Times costs,” he joked.
He added that although much more work needs to be done, tonight, the room felt better. “What I see here tonight makes me, well, almost happy and certainly less angry, because tonight is among the most diverse list of nominees in Emmy history,” Leguizamo said. “We need more stories from excluded groups: Black, Asian, Jewish, Arab, LGBTQ+, and disabled. And this show tonight is proof that our industry is making progress.”
Jean Smart won big and brought the laughs
The actor took home the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance as Deborah Vance in Hacks.
It was Smart’s sixth Emmy overall, and her funny speech reminded us exactly why we love her. “Thank you. Thank you so, so much. It’s very humbling, it really is. And I appreciate this, because I just don’t get enough attention,” she joked, inciting laughs from the audience. “I'm serious!”
Will Smith made a Will Smith joke
The screenwriter accepted an Emmy for his work on Apple TV+’s Slow Horses, and, as soon as he got onstage, quipped, “Relax, despite my name, I come in peace,” referencing Hitch star Will Smith’s infamous 2022 Oscars slap.
Greg Berlanti dedicated his award to the LGBTQ+ community
The megaproducer received the Television Academy’s 2024 Governors Award tonight. He has served as creator, writer, or executive producer on almost 50 television shows since starting out as a staff writer on Dawson’s Creek—where he pushed a historic storyline that involved airing the first teenage gay kiss on TV.
In his emotional acceptance speech, Berlanti noted how much the world has changed since he was a young child scared to come out as gay and openly be himself. “There weren’t a lot of gay characters on television back then … it’s hard to describe how lonely that was at the time,” he said of growing up in the 1970s.
Berlanti reflected on seeing gay men on television for the first time when the AIDS epidemic began.“Too many were dying, but they were also in the streets, men holding hands with other men, marching and fighting for their lives,” he said. “They gave me hope that I might one day have their courage to come out and share my truth with the world.”
He praised his late mother and his husband, who was in the audience, and dedicated his award to the LGBTQ+ youth out there.
There was a Schitt’s Creek reunion
Annie Murphy joined Emmys cohosts Eugene and Dan Levy and TV mom Catherine O’Hara to presented the final award, Best Comedy Series. The four closed out the award show together, four years after their own comedy series scored a whopping nine Emmys.
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