LOS ANGELES (AP) 鈥 Barack Obama won his third career Emmy and Kendrick Lamar won his second, while the 50th season of 鈥淪aturday Night Live鈥 was the biggest winner with 11 on the second night of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
Lamar and Tony Russell won for the music direction of He won his first Emmy in 2022 as a performer at the Super Bowl halftime headlined by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg.
Obama won a star-studded documentary narrator category that also included Tom Hanks, Idris Elba and David Attenborough. He won the same award in 2022 and 2023.
Neither Lamar nor Obama was at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles to accept his Emmy. Neither were expected to be, at a show that despite several high-profile winners including Jimmy Kimmel, Conan O’Brien and Alan Cumming is primarily devoted to behind-the-scenes crew members a week before TV’s stars take the same stage for the bigger Emmys ceremony.
Presenter Jordan Klepper laughed along with the crowd as he said, 鈥淎pparently, Barack Obama couldn鈥檛 be here tonight鈥 after announcing the winner.
the pinnacle of a season-long celebration for the NBC sketch institution, won seven Emmys, including awards for its directing, writing, hairstyling and editing. A pop-up immersive experience tied to the special won an Emmy for emerging media and regular episodes of the show won three more.
HBO’s won four awards including best documentary, posthumously giving its star and subject , who died in 2023, his first primetime Emmy.
O’Brien an Emmy for his travel series, 鈥淐onan O鈥橞rien Must Go,鈥 taking his career total to six. And while he didn’t get one personally for the show, Netflix’s 鈥淐onan O鈥橞rien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize For American Humor鈥 beat out football halftime shows from Lamar and Beyonc茅 to win best variety special.
for the costumes on her Christmas Day 鈥淏eyonc茅 Bowl鈥 on Netflix.
Kimmel, who has hosted both the Oscars and the Emmys multiple times, was here to accept his fourth primetime Emmy, for best host of a game show for his work on 鈥淲ho Wants to Be a Millionaire.鈥
He thanked the show鈥檚 late original host Regis Philbin for making 鈥淢illionaire鈥 a cultural phenomenon.
鈥淩egis was the best at this,鈥 Kimmel said backstage. 鈥淚t is exciting to have this and to know that he has this same Emmy in his family鈥檚 collection somewhere.鈥
鈥淛eopardy鈥 won best game show, while Cumming won best host of a reality show for 鈥淭he Traitors.鈥
The two-night Creative Arts Emmys hands out nearly 100 awards in hyper-specific categories that can bring oddities. Like the and winning Emmys, as each did Sunday.
The CBS Grammys telecast won for its choreography, while ABC’s Oscars telecast 鈥 also hosted by O’Brien 鈥 won for its production design.
was honored with the Television Academy’s Governors Award even as it winds down its nearly 60-year work after the U.S. government withdrew funding from the institution that has helped pay for 1,500 local radio and TV stations
The award goes to a person or entity 鈥渕ade a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television.鈥
鈥淓ven an act of Congress can not erase an indelible legacy,鈥 Henry Louis Gates Jr., host of 鈥淔inding Your Roots鈥 on PBS, said during the presentation.
鈥淨ueer Eye鈥 won best structured reality show, while 鈥淟ove on the Spectrum鈥 won best unstructured reality show.
The Creative Arts show runs quickly and efficiently 鈥 47 awards are handed out on Sunday aloe in about 2 1/2 hours 鈥 but the atmosphere is loose. Swearing is allowed because of the lack of TV, as Kimmel showed when he told nominee Will Ferrell to shut up during his speech.
鈥淭his is the Emmys for the people that the people who run the Emmys don鈥檛 think should be seen on network TV,鈥 presenter Sarah Silverman said when she opened the show as a presenter.
The two nights are edited down into one show that will air on TV on FXX on Saturday. The following day, the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Nate Bargatze, will air live on CBS.
While Sunday honored variety, documentary and reality TV, scripted series had the stage on Saturday.
including best guest actor in a comedy for Bryan Cranston, making it the front-runner to end up with the biggest total after next Sunday’s main show.
鈥淪everance鈥 was tops among dramas with six awards, including best guest actress in a drama for Merritt Wever.
in the limited series categories, and Julie Andrews won her third Emmy at age 89 for her voice-over work on 鈥淏ridgerton,鈥
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This story has been corrected to show that Barack Obama has won three Emmys, not two, and that Conan O’Brien won one Emmy Sunday, not two.
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