TMonday night’s 2022 Emmy Awards saw a mix of underdog wins and established shows take home some of the biggest awards.
Combined with the previously held Creative Arts Emmys, The white lotus won the most awards with 10 gold statuettes. Euphoria and Squid game each took six, and perhaps the biggest award — best drama series — went to Inheritance, an industry favorite. (Overall, a very good night for HBO, who won According to Diversitytwice as many awards as last year.) On the comedy side, Ted Lasso came out on top with Best Comedy Series, Actor and Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series.
Hwang Dong-Hyuk won an Emmy for Best Directing for a Drama Series for Netflix Squid game– a show that had been trying to get the green light for 10 years. Lee Jung-Jae also won for his work on Squid game: Best Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of Seong Gi-hun, winning Better call SolThis is Bob Odenkirk. Lee is reportedly the first Asian actor to ever win this award.
The evening’s standout moments came when two strong actresses won their first Emmys after decades in the industry: Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary) with a win for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy and Jennifer Coolidge (The White lotus) for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
The evening was filled with too many comedy bits that failed to come and too many speeches needlessly cut short to have time for them. But there were some truly surprising, joyful moments. Here’s what you missed if you missed the show.
Read more: You’ve heard of Oscar Bait. 2022 is the year of Emmy Bait
Best representation of steps
Kenan Thompson on stage at the 74th Emmy Awards in
Patrick T. FALLON—AFP via Getty Images
In his initial performance, host Kenan Thompson gave a whole song and dance — literally. “What sound fills us with more joy and anticipation than the familiar opening refrain of legally authorized television theme songs?” SNL asked the star before leading a group of dancers in remixes of the theme songs from friends, The Brady Group, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Strange thingsand Game of Thrones. We’ve never seen Kenan Thompson dance in a platinum blonde wig like Daenerys Targaryen.
Best Welcome Speech-Slash-Song
Sheryl Lee Ralph accepts the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for ‘Abbott Elementary’
Chris Haston—NBC via Getty Images
On Monday night, Cheryl Lee Ralph got up second black woman to win an Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and boy, does she celebrate. After being helped out of her seat (and out of her shock) by the cast of her show, Abbott ElementaryRalph made his way to the stage, eyes and hair jewelry shining. After a moment of silence, she began to sing, “I’m an endangered species,” she girded herself from Endangered Species by Dianne Reeves. “But I’m not singing a victim song. I’m a woman, I’m an artist, and I know where my voice belongs.”
She followed the song with a passionate speech about believing in your dreams, and it hit. “To anyone who has ever, ever had a dream and thought that your dream won’t, won’t, can’t come true, I’m here to tell you that’s what it looks like to believe,” Ralph said. “This is what aspiration looks like. And never, ever give up on yourself.”
The most predictable (but deserved) wins
Julia Garner wins third Emmy for role in ‘Ozark’
Myung J. Chun—Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
There are two things we know for sure: The Emmys will be rolling every fall, and Emmy voters will be rooting for their loyal favorites. This year it looked like that Last Week Tonight with John Oliver winning an outstanding variety talk streak for the seventh (yes, seventh) year in a row, SNL winning outstanding sketch variety series for the sixth year in a row, Julia Garner picks up her third supporting drama actress Emmy in three years for Ozarkand Brett Goldstein won Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for Ted Lasso again. There aren’t any bad choices here, but there aren’t any particularly exciting ones either.
Starters who were nominated but might not have been there: the men of Only murders in the buildingthe brilliant Dismissalthe much discussed Yellow jackets.
Read more: The snubs, surprises and historic nods of the 2022 Emmy nominations
The strangest production solutions
This year, for the first time, the Television Academy gave nominees the opportunity to send their thanks forward in time— a whole 350 characters of them. Not all nominees took part in the Academy, but for those who did, their thanks scrolled across the bottom of the screen, news ticker-style. Although it allowed some of them to say more interesting things than a list of names, this in relation to complaints as an omission to mention the nominees’ previous wins and the table service occurring during the show made for a production that might less than smooth.
Others weren’t too pleased to see the late Norm McDonald, who was nominated posthumously, left out of the In Memoriam segment.
The best refusal to play offstage
Queen of comedy and heroic actress Jennifer Coolidge won her first Emmy on Monday night for her role as Tanya McQuaid in The white lotus. And not only did she win, she used her precious speech time to explain that her decision to take a lavender bath before the ceremony had the unfortunate effect of making her swelling in her dress and therefore have difficulty speaking. (Her perfect first six words: “Hey, hello, wow, thank you, god!”) How dare the Academy try to play her offstage! Coolidge, true to form, had the perfect answer: dance along with the music.
Best unlocked stage of EGOT
Lizzo accepts Emmy for ‘Lizzo’s Watch Out For the Big Grrrls’
Myung J. Chun—Los Angeles Times via Getty Images
Singer, rapper and songwriter Face also picked up her first Emmy – for outstanding competition program for her show Lizzo’s Watch out for the Big Grrrls– on Monday, bringing her one step closer to the EGOT, which the internet was quick to point out. The “About Damn Time” singer has also won three Grammys, meaning she is now halfway to a remarkable haul of four awards. Absorbed in a magnificent sea of red tulle, she broke down in tears as she gave her speech about wanting to see herself represented when she was a child: “You’re gonna see this guy, but bitch, it’s gonna have to be you!” she joked.
Famous fans enjoyed her glow:
The best (and safest) clothing
Two-time Emmy winner Bill Hader showed up to Monday night’s awards ceremony in a sleek black tuxedo, paired with the accessory of the night: a black KN95 mask. Hader was noticeably one of the only guests in attendance to wear a mask, something Twitter users were quick to point out and praise — especially considering the comedian was sitting next to 76-year-old Henry Winkler.
The best use of the Emmys campaign budget
This was pointed out by host Kenan Thompson Abbott Elementary took all their marketing money from the Emmys and used it for buy supplies for public school teachers. In an an interview with NPR Fresh air last spring, creator Quinta Brunson said the show’s production team and network decided to direct their marketing dollars toward teacher supplies. “It’s about being able to make the kind of decisions that really excite me,” she said at the time. “things that can really materially help people.”
More must-see stories from TIME