'Handmaid's Tale,' 'Veep' win Emmys

Awards go to Glover, Louis-Dreyfus

Donald Glover poses in the press room with his awards for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series and for outstanding directing for a comedy series for Atlanta at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
Donald Glover poses in the press room with his awards for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series and for outstanding directing for a comedy series for Atlanta at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

LOS ANGELES -- The dystopian series The Handmaid's Tale was crowned best TV drama on Sunday at the Emmy Awards, and the show on streaming service Hulu also won best drama writing and directing while earning Elisabeth Moss a best actress statuette and Ann Dowd a best drama supporting actress award. Veep and Saturday Night Live also were big winners.

Donald Glover won the best comedy actor for Atlanta, which he created, while Julia Louis-Dreyfus was honored for a sixth time for her role as a self-absorbed politician in the comedy Veep, named best comedy for the third time.

"I want to thank Trump for making black people No. 1 on the most oppressed list. He's the reason I'm probably up here," Glover said, acknowledging the entertainment industry's and the Emmys' tilt toward political discourse under President Donald Trump.

Combined with Emmys that Louis-Dreyfus has won for Seinfeld and New Adventures of Old Christine, her latest trophy tied her with Cloris Leachman as the most-winning Emmy performer ever.

Sterling K. Brown won his second back-to-back Emmy for his role in the series This Is Us and in his speech honored Andre Braugher, who was the last black man to be nominated in the same category, for Gideon's Crossing in 2001.

"It does feel different but for different reasons. I'm the first African-American in 16 years nominated. That kind of blows my mind," he said.

Moss won her first Emmy and thanked her mother in a speech that was peppered with expletives. "You are brave and strong and smart," she said.

Saturday Night Live triumphed early for a season of skewering Trump, while the ceremony and host Stephen Colbert did likewise.

"I remember the first time we won this award," creator Lorne Michaels said in accepting the show's trophy for best variety sketch series. "It was after the first season in 1976. I remember thinking ... this was the high point," and there would never be "another season as crazy, as unpredictable, as frightening, as exhausting or as exhilarating. Turns out I was wrong."

The trophies for best supporting comedy acting went to Kate McKinnon, who played Hillary Clinton on Saturday Night Live, and Alec Baldwin for his Trump portrayal on the NBC show.

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McKinnon thanked Clinton for her "grace and grit." Baldwin spoke directly to Trump, who has complained in the past that he was cheated out of a trophy for hosting Celebrity Apprentice: "I suppose I should say, 'At long last, Mr. President, here is your Emmy.'"

Melissa McCarthy was honored at last weekend's creative arts Emmys as best guest actress for her Saturday Night Live work, including portraying Sean Spicer. The former White House press secretary made a surprise Emmys appearance, wheeling in his own podium.

"This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period. Both in person and around the world," Spicer shouted with authority, echoing his claim that Trump's inauguration crowd was the biggest ever and evoking McCarthy's manic portrayal of him.

Colbert's song-and-dance opening -- with help from Chance the Rapper -- included the song "Everything Is Better on TV," which repeatedly slammed Trump, mentioning his ties to Russia and including the lyric "even treason is better on TV."

John Lithgow, who received the best supporting drama actor for his role as British leader Winston Churchill in The Crown, took a more diplomatic approach to political commentary.

"Most of all I have to thank Winston Churchill. In these crazy times, his life, even as an old man, reminds us what courage and leadership in government really looks like," Lithgow said.

Big Little Lies won the limited series award, with Nicole Kidman taking the lead actress award and supporting honors going to her castmates Alexander Skarsgard and Laura Dern.

"More great roles for women, please," said Kidman as she and her fellow executive producer and co-star Reese Witherspoon accepted the miniseries' award.

Riz Ahmed from The Night Of was honored as best limited series actor. Black Mirror: San Junipero was named best TV movie.

Lena Waithe became the first black woman to win an Emmy for comedy series writing, for Master of None, sharing the award with series co-creator Aziz Ansari, who is of Indian heritage.

The Voice won the reality competition category. Last Week Tonight with John Oliver won the award for variety talk series.

Information for this article was contributed by Sandy Cohen and Lindsey Bahr of The Associated Press.

A Section on 09/18/2017

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