SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
The TV show "Widow's Bay" was the big winner at this year's Emmy Awards. The horror comedy picked up 14 trophies. It was also a good night for the hospital drama "The Pitt." In case you missed the broadcast, NPR's Mandalit del Barco was in the audience and has this recap.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Welsh actor Matthew Rhys made history as the first person to win two lead actor Emmys in the same ceremony, the first for his role as a real estate mogul suspected of killing his wife in the thriller "The Beast In Me." Rhys picked up his second Emmy for playing the mayor in "Widow's Bay." A haunted New England island, it's filled with eccentric characters like his assistant, played by Kate O'Flynn, and a grizzled fisherman, played by Stephen Root. They both won Emmys. When Rhys picked up his award, he joked about the show's creator.
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MATTHEW RHYS: This is purely because of the depraved and twisted mind of Katie Dippold.
(CHEERING)
RHYS: And her genius really does live in the recesses of her disturbed brain.
DEL BARCO: Dippold won the Emmy for writing "Widow's Bay," and when her spooky series won for best comedy, she gave a shout out to the show's villain.
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KATIE DIPPOLD: We'd also like to thank the evil entity on the island that trusted us with its story.
DEL BARCO: The medical series "The Pitt" won six Emmys, including for best drama. Noah Wyle, who directs and produces and stars as ER doctor Robby Robinavitch won as best lead actor in a drama.
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NOAH WYLE: I grew up in LA. I'm a Hollywood kid. I was raised on a television, and movie theaters were my place of worship. This is all I've ever wanted to do, and this is the only club I've ever wanted to join. Thank you for accepting me.
DEL BARCO: Comedian John Mulaney had introduced Wyle's category with a fun send-up about the bros on TV.
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JOHN MULANEY: This award is for the guys, just men being men - finally, something for the fellas.
DEL BARCO: Among the women who won Emmys last night, Rhea Seehorn from the post-apocalyptic series "Pluribus" and Jean Smart from the comedy "Hacks." She made history as the first woman to win best actress for every season of the show's run. Mariska Hargitay hosted the ceremony, singing and dancing and spoofing her own show, "Law & Order: SVU," which she's led for 27 seasons.
There were some touching moments in the ceremony. Actress Jamie Lee Curtis gave a tearful eulogy to actor Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, both killed last December. The late comic actor Catherine O'Hara, who died in January, was remembered by her on-screen kids, Dan Levy and Annie Murphy from the TV show "Schitt's Creek" and Macaulay Culkin from "Home Alone."
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MACAULAY CULKIN: She was my mom. She was our mama. And by extension, she's all of our mama. By the way, call your mother tonight - for real.
DEL BARCO: The late singer Dolly Parton was honored in song by Reba McEntire and honored with words from Sally Field, who co-starred with her in the 1989 film "Steel Magnolias." Field also accepted the outstanding lead actress award for the movie "Remarkably Bright Creatures." She also gave one of the most topical speeches of the evening.
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SALLY FIELD: We're the arts. We matter. Our voices matter. Our diversity, our unique storytelling matters. We can't let those voices be silenced or compromised or merged.
DEL BARCO: Field has been one of the voices in Hollywood warning about the proposed merger between Paramount and Warner Bros. And four months after his late-night show went off the air, host Stephen Colbert won the Emmy for best outstanding variety series.
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STEPHEN COLBERT: We hope you enjoyed the show. We'll catch y'all on the flip.
DEL BARCO: Actually Colbert will be back on TV tonight as a guest on "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" - his first late-night appearance since CBS canceled his show. Mandalit del Barco, NPR News, Los Angeles. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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