2017 Primetime Emmy Awards: ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ ‘Veep,’ ‘Big Little Lies’ among the top winners

September 17, 2017

by Carla Hay

“The Handmaid’s Tale,” “Veep,” “Big Little Lies,” “Atlanta,” “Saturday Night Live,” “Black Mirror: San Junipero” and “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” were among the shows that won multiple awards in major categories at the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles September 17, 2017.  “The Handmaid’s Tale” won five awards, including Outstanding Drama Series.  “Big Little Lies” won five awards, including Outstanding Limited Series or Movie. “Saturday Night Live” won four prizes, including Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.  “Atlanta” won two prizes, including Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for show creator/star Donald Glover. “Veep” received two Emmys, including Outstanding Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Julia Louis-Dreyfus. It was her sixth consecutive win of this award, making her the record for the most wins by an actor or actress for the same TV show. Meanwhile, “Black Mirror: San Junipero” won two Emmys, including Outstanding Television Movie.

“Westworld” and “Saturday Night Live” went into the ceremony with the most nominations (22 each), but “Westworld” was ultimately snubbed and did not win in the major categories. However, “Westworld” was one of the top winners  (taking five awards) at the 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which were presented on September 9 and September 10.

CBS had the live U.S. telecast of the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards, which was hosted by Stephen Colbert who spent much of his on-stage time making jokes about President Donald Trump.  Eligible shows were those that had first-run prime-time or late-night (8 p.m. to 3 a.m. Eastern Time) airings on U.S. television or U.S. streaming services from June 1, 2016 to May 31, 2017.

Highlights of the show included former White House press secretary Sean Spicer making a surprise appearance on stage to poke fun at his widely mocked claim that Trump’s inauguration was the most-attended presidential inauguration in U.S. history. Colbert later addressed Spice as Melissa McCarthy, who won an Emmy for the first time she her parody of Spicer on “Saturday Night Live.” Other highlights included the reunion of “9 to 5” stars Lily Tomlin, Dolly Parton and Jane Fonda, as well as TV comedy legends Norman Lear and Carol Burnett presenting an award together.

The following are the winners and nominees for the 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards:

*=winner

Drama Series
“Better Call Saul” (AMC)
“The Crown” (Netflix)
“The Handmaid’s Tale” (Hulu)*
“House of Cards” (Netflix)
“Stranger Things” (Netflix)
“This Is Us” (NBC)
“Westworld” (HBO)

Comedy Series
“Atlanta” (FX)
“Black-ish” (ABC)
“Master of None” (Netflix)
“Modern Family” (ABC)
“Silicon Valley” (HBO)
“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt” (Netflix)
“Veep” (HBO)*

Drama Actress
Viola Davis (“How to Get Away with Murder”)
Claire Foy (“The Crown”)
Elisabeth Moss (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)*
Keri Russell (“The Americans”)
Evan Rachel Wood (“Westworld”)
Robin Wright (“House of Cards”)

Drama Actor
Sterling K. Brown (“This Is Us”)*
Anthony Hopkins (“Westworld”)
Bob Odenkirk (“Better Call Saul”)
Matthew Rhys (“The Americans”)
Liev Schreiber (“Ray Donovan”)
Kevin Spacey (“House of Cards”)
Milo Ventimiglia (“This Is Us”)

Comedy Actor
Anthony Anderson (“Black-ish”)
Aziz Ansari (“Master of None”)
Zach Galifianakis (“Baskets”)
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)*
William H. Macy (“Shameless”)
Jeffrey Tambor (“Transparent”)

Comedy Actress
Pamela Adlon (“Better Things”)
Tracee Ellis-Ross (“black-ish”)
Jane Fonda (“Grace and Frankie”)
Allison Janney (“Mom”)
Ellie Kemper (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep”)*
Lily Tomlin (“Grace and Frankie”)

Limited Series
“Big Little Lies” (HBO)*
“Fargo” (FX)
“Feud: Bette and Joan” (FX)
“The Night Of” (HBO)
“Genius” (National Geographic)

Limited Series Actor
Riz Ahmed (“The Night Of”)*
Benedict Cumberbatch (“Sherlock: The Lying Detective”)
Robert De Niro (“The Wizard of Lies”)
Ewan McGregor (“Fargo”)
Geoffrey Rush (“Genius”)
John Turturro (“The Night Of”)

Limited Series Actress
Carrie Coon (“Fargo”)
Felicity Huffman (“American Crime”)
Nicole Kidman (“Big Little Lies”)*
Jessica Lange (“Feud”)
Susan Sarandon (“Feud”)
Reese Witherspoon (“Big Little Lies”)

Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Jonathan Banks (“Better Call Saul”)
David Harbour (“Stranger Things”)
Ron Cephas Jones (“This Is Us”)
Michael Kelly (“House of Cards”)
John Lithgow (“The Crown”)*
Mandy Patinkin (“Homeland”)
Jeffrey Wright (“Westworld”)

Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Uzo Aduba (“Orange Is the New Black”)
Millie Bobby Brown (“Stranger Things”)
Ann Dowd (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)*
Chrissy Metz (“This Is Us”)
Thandie Newton (“Westworld”)
Samira Wiley (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)

Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Louie Anderson (“Baskets”)
Alec Baldwin (“Saturday Night Live”)*
Tituss Burgess (“Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt”)
Ty Burrell (“Modern Family”)
Tony Hale (“Veep”)
Matt Walsh (“Veep”)

Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Vanessa Bayer (“Saturday Night Live”)
Anna Chlumsky (“Veep”)
Kathryn Hahn (“Transparent”)
Leslie Jones (“Saturday Night Live”)
Judith Light (“Transparent”)
Kate McKinnon (“Saturday Night Live”)*

Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Bill Camp (“The Night Of”)
Alfred Molina (“Feud: Bette and Joan”)
Alexander Skarsgård (“Big Little Lies”)*
Stanley Tucci (“Feud: Bette and Joan”)
David Thewlis (“Fargo”)
Michael K. Williams (“The Night Of”)

Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Judy Davis (“Feud: Bette and Joan”)
Laura Dern (“Big Little Lies”)*
Jackie Hoffman (“Feud: Bette and Joan”)
Regina King (“American Crime”)
Michelle Pfeiffer (The Wizard of Lies”)
Shailene Woodley (“Big Little Lies”)

Variety Talk Series
“Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” (TBS)
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!” (ABC)
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)*
“Late Late Show With James Corden” (CBS)
“Real Time With Bill Maher” (HBO)
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” (CBS)

“The Amazing Race” (CBS)
“American Ninja Warrior” (NBC)
“Project Runway” (Lifetime)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
“Top Chef” (Bravo)
“The Voice” (NBC)*

Television Movie
“Black Mirror: San Junipero”*
“Dolly Parton’s Christmas Of Many Colors: Circle Of Love”
“The Immortal Life Of Henrietta Lacks”
“Sherlock: The Lying Detective (Masterpiece)”
“The Wizard Of Lies”

Variety Sketch Series
“Billy On The Street” (truTV)
“Documentary Now!” (IFC)
“Drunk History” (Comedy Central)
“Portlandia” (IFC)
“Saturday Night Live” (NBC)*
“Tracey Ullman’s Show” (HBO)

Directing for a Comedy Series
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)*
Jamie Babbit (“Silicon Valley”)
Morgan Sackett (“Veep”)
David Mandel (“Veep”)
Dale Stern (“Veep”)

Directing for a Drama Series
Vince Gilligan (“Better Call Saul”)
Stephen Daldry (“The Crown”)
Reed Morano (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)*
Kate Dennis (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)
Lesli Linka Glatter (“Homeland”)
The Duffer Brothers (“Stranger Things”)
Jonathan Nolan (“Westworld”)

Directing for a Variety Series
Derek Waters & Jeremy Konner (“Drunk History”)
Andy Fisher (Jimmy Kimmel Live”)
Paul Pennolino (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”)
Jim Hoskinson (“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”)
Don Roy King (“Saturday Night Live”)*

Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
Ron Howard (“Genius”)
James Marsh (“The Night Of”)
Jean-Marc Vallée (“Big Little Lies”)*
Ryan Murphy (“Feud: Bette and Joan”)
Steve Zaillian (“The Night Of”)

Writing for a Comedy Series
Aziz Ansari & Lena Waithe (“Master of None”)*
Alec Berg (“Silicon Valley”)
Donald Glover (“Atlanta”)
Stephen Glover (“Atlanta”)
Billy Kimball (“Veep”)
David Mandel (“Veep”)

Writing for a Drama Series
The Duffer Brothers (“Stranger Things”)
Lisa Joy & Jonathan Nolan (“Westworld”)
Peter Morgan (“The Crown”)
Bruce Miller (“The Handmaid’s Tale”)*
Gordon Smith (“Better Call Saul”)
Joe Weisberg & Joel Fields (“The Americans”)

Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Drama
David E. Kelley (“Big Little Lies”)
Charlie Brooker (“Black Mirror: San Junipero”)*
Noah Hawley (“Fargo”)
Ryan Murphy (“Feud: Bette and Joan”)
Jaffe Cohen, Michael, Michael Zam & Ryan Murphy (“Feud: Bette and Joan”)
Richard Price & Steven Zaillian (“The Night Of”)

Writing for a Variety Series 
Jo Miller, Samantha Bee, Ashley Nicole Black, Pat Cassels, Eric Drysdae, Mathan Erhardt, Travon Free, Joe Grossman, Miles Kahn, Melinda Taub & Jason Reich (“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee”)
Kevin Avery, Tim Carvell, Josh Gondelman, Dan Gurewitch, Geoff Haggerty, Jeff Maurer, John Oliver, Scott Sherman, Will Tracy, Jill Twiss & Juli Weiner (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”)*
Jermaine Affonso, Alex Baze, Bryan Donaldson, Sal Gentile, Matt Goldich, Dina Gusovky, Jenny Hagel, Allison Hord, Mike Karnell, John Lutz, Seth Meyers, Ian Morgan, Seth Reiss, Amber Ruffin, Mike Scollins, Mike Shoemaker & Ben Warheit (“Late Night with Seth Meyers”)
Barry Julien, Jay Katsir, Opus Moreschi, Stephen Colbert, Tom Purcell, Matt Lappin, Michael Brumm, Nate Charny, Aaron Cohen, Cullen Crawford, Paul Dinello, Ariel Dumas, Glenn Eichler, Django Gold, Gabe Gronli, Daniel Kibblesmith, Michael Pielocik, Kate Sidley, Jen Spyra, Brian Stack & John Thibodeaux (“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert”)
Chris Kelly, Sarah Schneider, Kent Sublette, Bryan Tucker, Pete Schultz, James Anderson, Kristen Bartlett, Jeremy Beiler, Zach Bornstein, Joanna Bradley, Megan Callahan, Michael Che, Anna Drezen, Fran Gillespie, Sudi Green, Steve Higgins, Colin Jost, Erik Kenward, Rob Klein, Nick Kocher, Dave McCary, Brian McElhaney, Dennis McNicholas, Drew Michael, Lorne Michaels, Josh Patten, Katie Rich, Streeter Seidell, Will Stephen & Julio Torres (“Saturday Night Live”)