The Top 5 Moments From The 2024 Emmys

'The Bear' gets a surprise defeat from 'Hacks' for outstanding comedy series

Whether you think it’s a comedy or not, The Bear has been making a sweep in comedy nominations for award shows since last year. And based on the awards it had won prior to the Outstanding Comedy Series prize being announced at the 2024 Emmys, it seemed like it would win that one, too — until it didn’t.

Instead, Hacks, a series about the relationship between a young comedy writer and a legendary stand-up comedian, took home the big comedy award.

Still, The Bear did well for itself, earning four wins: Best Directing for a Comedy Series, Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, and Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.

'Shōgun' gets the big wins

Shōgun, a historical fiction set in 17th-century feudal Japan, took the top prizes in the drama series category, including Best Drama, Best Directing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. The show received more Emmys than any other series and, more notably, led to Hiroyuki Sanada making history as the first Japanese actor to win the Emmy for best actor in a drama.

Lamorne Morris wins against some heavy hitters (including Robert Downey Jr.)

Lamorne Morris was up against Robert Downey Jr., Jonathan Bailey, John Hawkes and others for Best Supporting Actor in a limited or anthology series — and won.

He was nominated for his role as state trooper Whitley "Witt" Farr in the fifth season of Fargo. This was Morris’ first-ever Emmy win.

John Leguizamo delivers an important speech about diversity

After making a dig at the term “DEI hire” — a phrase that’s commonly been used by Republicans and conservative figures toward minorities they believe have earned the roles and titles solely for their representation — longtime actor John Leguizamo called out Hollywood’s history of brownface before acknowledging how diverse the industry has become.

“Turns out that not complaining doesn’t change anything. So for the past few years, I’ve been complaining,” he said, noting that earlier this year he paid for a full-page ad in The New York Times “asking Emmy voters to recognize candidates of color.”

For this year’s Emmys, he said that the contenders were “about the most diverse list of nominees” in the award show’s history, and added that “this show tonight has proved our industry is making progress.”

JD Vance gets called out for “childless cat ladies” remark

When JD Vance suggested that the United States was being run by "a bunch of childless cat ladies” back in 2021, surely he didn’t realize how easy of a punching bag it would make him a few years later. Vance’s “childless cat ladies” remark was brought up during the Emmys, most notably by “Miss Congeniality” actor Candice Bergen, who used a part of her time presenting the award for outstanding actress in a comedy series to make a dig at the Republican vice presidential nominee.

“Today a Republican candidate for vice president would never attack a woman for having kids. So as they say, my work here is done. Meow,” she said.