Sir Elton John completed an award clean sweep on Monday night, adding an Emmy to his Grammy, Oscar and Tony gongs on a sterling night for British entertainers at the prestigious US television awards.
Succession took the evening’s top awards for best drama, leading actor and leading actress – while Britons Matthew Macfadyen and writer Jesse Armstrong won best supporting actor and outstanding writer for a drama series respectively.
Armstrong said: “This is a show about family, but it also about when partisan news coverage gets intertwined with divisive right wing politics, and after four season of satire, as I understand it that is a problem we have now fixed.
“We are so honoured, we have loved making this show.”
The hit US drama, about siblings warring over their father’s billion-dollar media empire, took home six awards in total.
Kieran Culkin had fatherhood on his mind as he accepted the award for best lead actor in a drama series, using his speech to announce he would like more children with his wife, Jazz Charton.
“You said maybe if I win, I love you so much,” he said.
Culkin’s co-star Sarah Snook also used the moment to celebrate parenthood.
“The biggest thank you, I think though, is to someone who won’t understand anything that I’m saying at the moment, but I carried her with me in this last season and really it was her who carried me,” said the Australian actress, who was pregnant with her daughter during the show’s filming.
She joked: “It’s very easy to act when you’re pregnant because you’ve got hormones raging.”
The show’s creator and director, British screenwriter Jesse Armstrong, won best writing for a drama series and thanked the “creative community in the US”.
“I come from the UK and the show is about things that are close to the centre of American life and politics and we’ve always been met with generosity and good faith and that’s part of America’s tradition of being very welcoming to outsiders and it’s very nice,” he said.
“And, for some reason, the name of Australian-born media mogul Rupert Murdoch comes to mind. I can’t speak for him but I am very grateful for the generosity I’ve been shown working in this country – it was a great sadness to end this show but it was a great pleasure.”
Kitchen drama The Bear cooked up a storm with four big wins including best comedy. Jeremy Allen White won the Emmy for lead actor in a comedy series, while co-stars Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Ayo Edebiri won best supporting actor and actress in a comedy respectively.
Moss-Bachrach shared a comical on-stage kiss with chef Matty Matheson who exclaimed: “I just love restaurants”.
The Bear’s Christopher Storer won two Emmys for best directing and best writing on a comedy series, but could not make it to the ceremony.
Elton John misses ceremony for a knee op
Elton Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium won best variety special live at the awards ceremony in Los Angeles – but the British pop icon could not pick up the honour after having a knee operation.
Producer Ben Winston, who picked up the award on his behalf, said: “I am not Elton John, sadly he had a knee op. He’s absolutely fine but wanted to send his love and thanks to the Television Academy for this incredible award.
“We knew this show would be historic, because it was going to be Elton’s last ever show in North America on tour. We knew it would be historic because it was Disney’s first live global stream.
“We didn’t know it would be historic because it was going to win a man – who has created the soundtrack to our lives he’s done so much great for society who is all of our hero’s. We didn’t know it would win him an EGOT.”
The award is added to Sir Elton’s five Grammy wins, two Academy Award wins for Can You Feel The Love Tonight from The Lion King and (I’m Gonna) Love Me Again from Rocketman, alongside his Tony award for best original score for musical Aida.
Beef and White Lotus funny-women get serious for a moment
Netflix comedy-drama Beef also took home a host of gongs with stars Steven Yeun and Ali Wong winning outstanding lead actor and actress in a limited series respectively.
Wong said: “I wouldn’t be standing here without my amazing parents, my mother and my father who I so wish were alive to share this moment with me. My hilarious father who loved me unconditionally and taught me the value of failure.”
Creator and director Lee Sung Jin made three speeches, also picking up best writing and directing of a limited series.
He said: “There is a lot of the suicidal ideation in the show, it was based on stuff I and some of the folks up here have struggled with over the years, so I’m really grateful and humbled by anyone who watched the show and reached out about their own personal struggles, it’s very life-affirming.
“I feel like we live in a world designed to keep us separate, even here some of us go home with trophies, other people don’t, and I think for some of us when we live in a world like this you begin to think there is no way anyone can understand you, or like you, or much less no potential at being loved.
“And so the greatest joy working on Beef has truly been working with the folks up here who I love so unconditionally.”
Elsewhere, The White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge won best supporting actress in a drama series, using her speech to thank “all the evil gays” – a reference to the plot of the hit show.
“I had a little dream in my little town and it did happen after all, so don’t give up on your dream,” she added.
An emotional Niecy Nash-Betts won best supporting actress in a limited series for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story.
“Finally, I accept this award on behalf of every black and brown woman who has gone unheard yet over policed – like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor,” she said.
“As an artist, my job is to speak truth to power and baby I’m going to do it until the day I die – Mumma I won!”
The Emmy for best supporting actor in a limited series went to Paul Walter Hauser for Black Bird, the actor rapping his acceptance speech as he dedicated the award to his wife who “makes my heart strong and knees weak”.
The ceremony also saw Charlie Puth perform the theme tune to Friends as the Emmy Awards remembered those who have died in the industry, including star Matthew Perry.
Murder, She Wrote star Dame Angela Lansbury, Euphoria’s Angus Cloud and Len Goodman from Strictly Come Dancing were also remembered, alongside Pee Wee Herman star Paul Reubens.
