Sunday night marked the 2025 Emmys at Los Angeles’s Peacock Theater, and while there were certainly less-than-high points to the goings-on—the notion of taking money away from the Boys Girls Clubs of America was upsetting—the overall pageantry of the evening was fun to observe (and even more fun to talk about ad nauseam on social media). Below, find the very best moments from the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Nate Bargatze resurrecting his best Saturday Night Live moment in that opening sketch
I suppose it could be argued that Bargatze bringing back the format of his extremely popular “George Washington” sketch was a bit of a hat on a hat, but when it comes to hosting something like the Emmys, it makes sense to stick with what’s been proven to work—and Bargatze as Washington definitely does.
Stephen Colbert boldly referencing his recent career upset
“Is anyone hiring?” Colbert asked (to thunderous applause, it should be mentioned) after he took the Emmys stage to present outstanding lead actor in a comedy on Sunday night. Am I crazy for thinking he looks even better now than he did in his decades-old headshot? (Or that…maybe he should try his hand at hosting the Emmys next year?) What can I say, I love a man who’s been wronged by the Hollywood machine!
Tramell Tillman sweetly shouting out his mom
While I did not love Jason Bateman mispronouncing the Severance star’s name (Google is free!), I did adore Tillman—the first Black man ever to win the Emmy for best supporting actor in a drama series—devoting the entirety of his speech to his mother. Even better: Tillman’s mother was actually by his side as his date. Step it up, other sons of the Television Academy!
Hannah Einbinder hacking the (very stupid) short-speech system
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Though the Hacks star went over the allotted 45-second time limit while accepting her Emmy for supporting actress in a comedy series, her closer was short and sweet: “Go Birds, fuck ICE, and free Palestine.” Well, exactly, queen!
Cristin Milioti making therapy cool
Mental health isn’t always given the attention it deserves in Hollywood, but The Penguin star Cristin Milioti did her part to correct that on Sunday night, when she got onstage to accept her very first Emmy for outstanding actress in a limited series or movie. “I’m sorry, I wrote this on the back of notes I took in therapy the other day,” she told the audience, “so don’t look at the back!” Take note, willfully unbalanced industry weirdos!
Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen’s well-deserved moment in the sun
Am I the only one who teared up when this long-married, almost irritatingly good-looking couple took the stage at the Emmys to receive the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for their decades’ worth of activism? Surely I can’t be (especially when one of my Vogue colleagues volunteered that Danson looks to her “like a sexy pencil”),
Noah Wyle thanking the real medical heroes who inspired The Pitt
Dressed in a tuxedo made by the scrubs company Figs, Mr. Noah Wyle celebrated his first Emmy win after seven nominations on Sunday night, dedicating his award to “anybody who’s going on shift tonight, or who’s coming off shift tonight.” Wyle really said: TV is nice and all, but doctors keep us alive!
