19 Surprising, Bizarre & Moving Moments From 2024 Emmys

Meaghan Darwish
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Biggest Surprises and Moments at the 2024 Emmys
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The 2024 Emmys honored the best and brightest that TV has to offer and delivered some truly wild moments from big wins to silly presentations.

Whether it was the speeches that struck you or the presenters who kept you hooked, there was no shortage of fun moments to suck you into the annual awards event.

Hosted by father-son duo Eugene Levy and Dan Levy, the Emmys had its fair share of unique moments. Below, we’re rounding out some of the biggest of the night. And let us know what buzzy moments pulled you into the broadcast in the comments section.

Monologue Digs

The Levys were mostly tame in their opening monologue, but they did take a moment to call out a few things on people’s minds, such as The Bear‘s classification as a comedy. While they noted they would have told a joke about it, they opted not to since there aren’t many in the FX streaming hit. On the flip side, the Levys also noted the acclaimed FX series Reservation Dogs and its lack of nominations until now in the show’s final season.

Billy Crudup Beats Out Shōgun

In an evening where Shōgun has been favored to win, the fact that Billy Crudup took Emmy gold in the Oustanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series category for The Morning Show was certainly a bit of a surprise. The odds were definitely split as the category only featured nominees from those two shows. In addition to Crudup, Mark Duplass and Jon Hamm were also nominated. As for Shōgun, Tadanobu Asano and Takehiro Hira were nominated.

TV Dads, Moms, Doctors, Coaches, Villains & Cops

The ceremony celebrated TV dads and moms as George Lopez, Damon Wayans, and Jesse Tyler Ferguson teamed up to present one category, and Connie Britton, Susan Kelechi Watson, and Meredith Baxter presented another acknowledging their roles as TV dads and moms for two very fun moments.

Other apt groupings for presenters included Zach Braff, Mekhi Phifer, and Mindy Kaling repping TV doctors, and Brendan Hunt and Jane Lynch standing in for TV coaches. Other trios featured were Jimmy Smits, Don Johnson, and Niecy Nash-Betts who repped TV cops, as well as Gina Torres, Viola Davis, and Christine Baranski who represented TV lawyers. Rounding it out were TV villains, Antony Starr, Giancarlo Esposito, and Kathy Bates.

Kaitlin Olson & Rob McElhenney’s Jockstrap Joke

Things got a little silly during Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney‘s moment to present the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, using a metaphor that ultimately jokingly compared the likes of Carol Burnett and Meryl Streep to the support of a jockstrap.

Liza’s Message to Vote

After beating out Burnett and Streep in her category, The Bear‘s Liza Colón-Zayas took time at the mic to persuade viewers to make their voices heard at the

Jean Smart’s Standing Ovation

After winning for Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Hacks star Jean Smart received a standing ovation from the entire crowd in a moving moment for the night.

Honoring Lost Loved Ones

Both John Oliver and Alex Edelman used their acceptance speeches to remember lost loved ones. For Oliver, he took a more humorous tone acknowledging his pet dog. Meanwhile, Edelman broke down in tears remembering his best friend and collaborator Adam Brace.

SNL Cast Speaks to Lorne

The Saturday Night Live stars, Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, Seth Meyers, and Bowen Yang brought the funny with their presentation segment which called out the sketch comedy creator Lorne Michaels and the fact that he’s lost 85 Emmys.

Multilingual Moments

During a presentation moment, Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna chose to present in Spanish, keeping viewers on their toes in the little shake-up. And the team behind Shōgun also got in on the action, delivering an acceptance speech in Japanese.

Hacks Popularity Joke

When Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello, and Jen Statsky won for writing on Hacks, the showrunners had a debate about popularity onstage during their acceptance speech.

Lamorne Morris Wins for Fargo

While it was anyone’s award to win, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series was predicted to go to Fellow Travelers‘ Jonathan Bailey, so it was a sweet surprise for Fargo‘s Lamorne Morris who ended up being gifted the gold. The actor’s shocked and smiling expression throughout his acceptance speech sweetened the moment even further.

Ebon & Taylor’s in-show Ad and Mic Mishap

There was an odd moment midway through the show when The Bear‘s Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Taylor Zakhar Perez did an in-show add for Johnny Walker and then took to the stage to present where there was a little bit of a mic mishap when the stand didn’t rise to the proper height.

John Leguizamo Commends Commitment to Diversity

In one of the evening’s more moving moments, John Leguizamo acknowledged the lengths Hollywood has taken to expand its diversity which was reflected among the night’s nominees, but he also noted that there’s still much work to be done.

Greg Berlanti’s Speech

TV producer extraordinaire Greg Berlanti was honored with the Governor’s Award. Noting his own contributions, Berlanti got emotional and tearful as he acknowledged the ways TV has changed since he started in the industry as things have become more inclusive. Before exiting the stage he called out his mom who died years ago of cancer, wishing she was there to celebrate the honor. In other words, it was a tear-jerker moment for the night.

Jimmy Kimmel’s Joke About Most-Missed Deceased Star

Following the in-memoriam presentation, Jimmy Kimmel made an awkward remark, joking it was time to pick the most-missed deceased star from the list. Scripted or not, that led to his acknowledgment of Bob Newhart and his love for the TV icon who died recently.

Jodie Thanks Indigenous People of Alaska in Speech

Jodie Foster won for her performance in HBO‘s True Detective: Night Country during which she took time to thank the Indigenous people of Alaska who shared their stories to help bring this latest season of the anthology to life. During her speech, Foster directed her attention to her kids, saying, “Love and work equals art.”

Emmys 2024 Winners: The Complete List
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Emmys 2024 Winners: The Complete List

Anna Sawai’s Historical Win

There were many historical wins for the evening, but Anna Sawai‘s win is a certain standout as she became the first actress of Asian descent to win the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. Her joy was palpable as she gave her speech onstage.

Schitt’s Creek & More Reunions

Schitt’s Creek held a major reunion as Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy joined the Levys onstage for the final award presentation of the night. Their little reunion was just one of many which also included special moments for Happy Days, The West Wing, and the aforementioned SNL grouping.

Hacks Beats The Bear

In a final twist for the evening, Hacks reclaimed its Oustanding Comedy Series crown for its most recent third season, beating out last year’s big winner The Bear, the latter of which was still a big winner for the evening.

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