Emmys 2016

“If your show doesn’t have a white Bronco or a dragon in it, go home now.” Jimmy Kimmel was joking in his opening monologue at this year’s Emmy Awards, but it was funny because it was true. Once again, the Emmys were awarded to past recipients, including two record-breakers. “Veep” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus with her sixth for lead actress in a comedy, and her eighth Emmy overall broke the record for most lead actress wins, breaking the three-way tie she held with Candice Bergen and Mary Tyler Moore. And “Game of Thrones” is now the most awarded scripted series in Emmy history with 38 wins. So, Kimmel was right about the dragons, and he was also right about the Bronco. The O.J. Simpson miniseries collected a several awards, including two actors who gave two of the evening’s best acceptance speeches, Sarah Paulson and Sterling K. Brown (whose sweet shout-out to the wife who “rocks chain” was picked up by some of the other winners. Paulson also prompted some of the evening’s most passionate applause.

The nicest surprises at the Emmys were the awards to first-time winners “Orphan Black’s” Tatiana Maslany, “Bloodline’s” Ben Mendelsohn, and “Mr. Robot’s” Rami Malek. Kate McKinnon was awarded the first Emmy for a “Saturday Night Live” performer since Gilda Radner in the original cast (and was congratulated via tweet by Hillary Clinton, who she portrays in satirical sketches on the show). And, as last year, with the nominees, presenters, and award winners, the Emmys provided a sharp and explicit counter to the #oscarssowhite failure of diversity at the Academy Awards. Slate explains one of the reasons — a change to the voting system. Jeffrey Tambor, who won for “Transparent” and presenter Laverne Cox both called for more casting of trans performers.

And it was great to see the enthusiasm for the kids from “Stranger Things.”

The in memoriam segment began with a touching tribute from Henry Winkler to Garry Marshall, and paid graceful tribute to those who died in the past year. Kimmel’s weakest moment of the night was in the joke he made about working hard to make next year’s even better. His mother is adorable, but I think the passing-food-around-at-award-shows bit is played out and then some. Kimmel was just okay as a host, but I loved his getting-to-the-Emmys opening, with rides from “Modern Family’s” Dunphys, the “Veep” Presidential motorcade (driven by Jeb Bush!!), James Corden, the Bronco, and, yes, a dragon.

Major awards listed below:

Drama Series: “Game of Thrones” (HBO)

Comedy Series: “Veep” (HBO)

Mini-Series or Movie: “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story” (FX)

TV Movie: “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (Masterpiece)” (PBS)

Variety Talk Series: “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)

Variety Sketch Series: “Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)

Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”

Actress in a Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”

Actor in a Drama Series: Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot”

Actress in a Drama Series: Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black”

Actor in a Mini-Series or Movie: Courtney B. Vance, “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie: Sarah Paulson, “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Supporting Actor in a Drama: Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline”

Supporting Actress in a Drama: Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey”

Supporting Actor in a Comedy: Louie Anderson, “Baskets”

Supporting Actress in a Comedy: Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”

Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie: Sterling K. Brown, “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie: Regina King, “American Crime”

*Reality Host: RuPaul Charles, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (Logo)

Reality Competition Program: “The Voice” (NBC)

Writing for a Comedy Series: Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, “Master of None” (“Parents”)

Writing for a Drama Series: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, “Game of Thrones” (“Battle of the Bastards”)

Writing for a Mini-Series or Movie: D.V. DeVincentis, “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story” (“Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”)

Writing for a Variety Special: Patton Oswalt, “Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping”

Directing for a Comedy Series: Jill Soloway, “Transparent” (“Man on the Land”)

Directing for a Drama Series: Miguel Sapochnik, “Game of Thrones” (“Battle of the Bastards”)

Directing for a Mini-Series or Movie: Susanne Bier, “The Night Manager”

Directing for a Variety Special: Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski, “Grease: Live”