The Winners Of The 68th Annual Primetime Emmys

Tonight saw the Television academy handing out the major awards for the 68th annual Primetime Emmys, and while there were several winners that were fully expected, there were also a few surprises to be had along the way.

Starting with what most of knew was going to happen, Game of Thrones ruled the evening, winning Outstanding Writing and Directing for a Drama Series, in addition to the biggest award of the night, Outstanding Drama Series. This marks the show’s second consecutive win in all three of these categories. These additional wins also brought the HBO’s fantasy series’ total up to 12 for the year, tying the record they set just last year.

Surprisingly though, the show didn’t win either of the Supporting Acting awards it was expected to take this evening. It was a terrible shame to see Lena Headey passed over once again for her outstanding performance as Cersei Lannister, a performance that she was also robbed for last year, but we can only hope that they’ll set it right in the show’s remaining two seasons. It was also rather shocking to see both Kit Harington AND Peter Dinklage passed over for Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, with the Television Academy making the left field choice of Ben Mendehlson from Bloodlines instead. Perhaps they just weren’t ready to have the show break the record once again?

Almost all of the Limited Series categories went exactly as expected, with American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson dominating this section of the awards. The excellent miniseries racked up wins in Lead Actor, Lead Actress, Writing and Outstanding Limited Series. The only slight surprise here was its loss in the Directing category, which went to The Night Manager instead (and this was despite American Crime Story having three nominations in the category).

Over in the Comedy section, things went pretty much as anticipated, with Jeffrey Tambor and Julia Louis-Dreyfus once again taking Lead Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series. Veep also repeated its win for Outstanding Comedy Series, though surprisingly it didn’t manage to win either Writing or Directing.

Overall, it ended up being a very good show. The night may have belonged to Game of Thrones and American Crime Story, but they were very well-deserved wins. There may have been one or two categories to complain about, but with the way things went, the complaints seem somewhat minor.

Please see below for a complete listing of tonight’s winners:

Outstanding Drama Series: Game of Thrones
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series: Miguel Sapochnik, “Battle of the Bastards,” Game of Thrones
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, “Battle of the Bastards,” Game of Thrones
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series: Rami Malek, Mr. Robot
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series: Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Ben Mendehlson, Bloodlines
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey

Outstanding Comedy Series: Veep
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series: Jill Soloway, “Man on the Land,” Transparent
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series: Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, “Parents,” Master of None
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Louie Anderson, Baskets
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live

Outstanding Limited Series: American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson
Outstanding Television Movie: Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
Outstanding Direction for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special:  Susanne Bier, The Night Manager
Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special: D. V. DeVincentis, “Marcia, Marcia, Marcia,” American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie: Courtney B. Vance, American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie: Sarah Paulson, American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie: Sterling K. Brown, American Crime Story: The People v. O.J. Simpson
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie: Regina King, American Crime

Outstanding Variety Talk Series: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Outstanding Variety Sketch Series: Key and Peele
Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special: Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski, Grease: Live
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special: Patton Oswalt, Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clappers

Outstanding Reality Competition Program: The Voice