The 75th Emmy Awards were filled with plenty of memorable moments, from historic wins to emotional tributes and a long, sultry onstage kiss. Some of them included Ali Wong and Quinta Brunson wins’ serving as Emmy milestones, Elton John joining the very elusive EGOT club, and Matty Matheson getting a kiss on the mouth from The Bear co-star Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Below, The Hollywood Reporter highlights some of the night’s unforgettable moments.
Elton John Joins EGOT Club
Elton John is the latest member of the EGOT club, scoring his first Emmy for best variety special (live). The 2023 Emmy Awards win for the musician’s Farewell From Dodger Stadium special, which he secured during Monday night’s telecast, joins his Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards. The Disney+ special chronicles the musician’s final North American show as part of his Farewell Yellow Brick Road Tour. The tour began in 2018 and was set to end in 2021 but was postponed, like many tours, by the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more here. — Beatrice Verhoeven
Ali Wong Makes Emmy History With Her Win
Ali Wong has made history. The comedian continued Beef’s awards sweep with one of television’s highest honors, winning the Emmy for best actress in a limited series. The win makes Wong the first woman of Asian descent ever to win an Emmy for a lead role. Sandra Oh has been nominated three times in the drama series category, and the haul of nominations for 1981’s Japan-set limited series Shōgun included one for leading lady Yôko Shimada. Read more here. — Rebecca Sun
… And Quinta Brunson Does, Too
At the 2023 Emmy Awards, a night especially dedicated to celebrating the history of television, Quinta Brunson’s early win evoked a milestone set more than 40 years ago. After earning the statuette for comedy series writing last year, the Abbott Elementary star won for best actress in a comedy series. The first and heretofore only Black winner in the category was Isabel Sanford, winning for her role in Norman Lear’s classic The Jeffersons in 1981. Brunson’s win also puts her in the company of Tina Fey and Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Emmy-winning actresses who created and wrote for their own shows. She is the first Black woman to do so; Issa Rae was three times in the running for the feat, but Insecure ended before she could secure a win. Read more here. — Rebecca Sun
Matthew Perry and Norman Lear Among TV Icons Remembered During Ceremony
Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers took the stage at the 2023 Emmys to pay tribute to their former colleague Norman Lear, in addition to other notable television figures who passed away since the previous ceremony. Charlie Puth and The War and Treaty — comprised of Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter — performed the former’s hit 2015 song “See You Again” for the In Memoriam segment. They finished the segment with a rendition of the Friends theme song that coincided with Matthew Perry being featured as the final name in the video tribute. Read more here. — Ryan Gajewski
‘The Bear’ Star Matty Matheson Gets a Win and a Kiss
Following The Bear‘s win for best comedy series at the 2023 Emmys on Monday night, star Ebon Moss-Bachrach planted a long, sultry kiss on Matty Matheson’s mouth while he was accepting the award. “I just want to thank restaurants as a whole, hospitality as a whole,” Matheson said. “I just love restaurants so much. The good, the bad, it’s rough. We’re all broken inside and every single day we’ve got to show up and cook and make people feel good by eating something and sitting at a table, and it’s really beautiful, and all of us here get to make a show together. We get to make people feel good or filled with anxiety… But this is really amazing. The beautiful cast and crew. There’s so many people that make this show happen every single day, and it’s really beautiful. It’s hard work. It’s early hours, we don’t see the sun for three months. Shooting on a soundstage is really cool. I’ve never been on one before. I’ve never acted before.” Read more here. — Beatrice Verhoeven
Pedro Pascal (Jokingly) Blames Kieran Culkin for Shoulder Injury
Pedro Pascal took a moment at the 2023 Emmy Awards to jokingly explain how he injured his arm. Since the awards season kicked off earlier this month, The Last of Us actor has noticeably been walking the red carpets in an arm sling that matches his looks, leading fans on social media to wonder what happened. Before announcing the nominees for supporting actor in a drama series at the awards show Monday night, Pascal quipped that he would “like to take just a second and make this about me.” Read more here. — Carly Thomas
Find the complete list of 2023 Emmy Award winners here.