“It’s hot, huh?” Justine Lupe told TV producers on the Emmys red carpet — where the heat was nearly as headline-worthy as the stars, with the sweltering air hanging heavy inside the tent on Sunday.
“Are you OK?” she asked the crew, who were all in suits. “I’m, like, barely OK, and I’m naked. So, I can’t imagine how you guys are doing,” she joked, wearing a barely there nude embellished halter-neck gown from Carolina Herrera by Wes Gordon.
Lupe was among the early arrivals, alongside the likes of Walton Goggins, Sarah Bock, Sam Nivola and Dewayne Perkins; most guests began trickling in an hour before showtime, creating a whirlwind of star appearances: Cate Blanchett, Kathy Bates, Harrison Ford, Michelle Williams, Colman Domingo, Colin Farrell, Selena Gomez with Benny Blanco, Scarlett Johansson with Colin Jost, to name a few. But it was Lisa — Blackpink’s pop sensation and “The White Lotus” breakout — who stole the spotlight, in pink Lever Couture and sparkling Christian Louboutin pumps.
“Love you, Lisa,” a voice cried out from the packed carpet, the crowd pressed nearly shoulder to shoulder into the Peacock Theater.
Inside, the show opened with a standing ovation for Stephen Colbert, following news of CBS’ abrupt cancellation of “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” — a controversial move, particularly after Paramount’s settlement with the Trump administration. The audience roared, chanting “Stephen! Stephen! Stephen!”
Colbert, wrapping his run on a high after his show earned its first Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series and Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series, took the stage to present the night’s opening award. Best Actor in a Comedy Series went to Seth Rogen for his role in “The Studio,” the satirical Apple TV series he cowrote, coproduced and codirected.
“I’ve never won anything in my life,” Rogen chuckled in his familiar laugh. It marked his first Emmy, and by the end of the night, “The Studio” had racked up 13 in total, including best comedy series.
Best Actress in a Comedy Series, meanwhile, went to a seasoned pro: Jean Smart, earning her seventh Emmy. It’s her fourth consecutive win in the category for her role as Deborah Vance in HBO Max’s “Hacks.” “Thank you so much. You honor me so much,” she said.
Her costar Hannah Einbinder won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy, delivering the night’s most political moment: “F–k ICE and free Palestine,” Einbinder ended her speech.
“I thought it was important to talk about Palestine, because it’s an issue that’s very dear to my heart,” she told reporters backstage. “I have friends in Gaza who are working as frontline workers, as doctors right now, in the north of Gaza to provide care for pregnant women and for school children to create schools in refugee camps. And it’s an issue that’s very close to my heart for many reasons. I feel like it is my obligation as a Jewish person to distinguish Jews from the state of Israel, because our religion and our culture is such an important and long-standing institution that is really separate to this ethnonationalist state.”
Einbinder is among the Hollywood names who have signed a pledge by Film Workers for Palestine. “Boycotting is an effective tool to create pressures on the powers that be to meet the moment,” she continued. “The Film Workers for Palestine boycott does not boycott individuals. It only boycotts institutions that are directly complicit in the genocide.”
Javier Bardem, who has also signed the pledge, used his platform all night to speak out on the issue, wearing a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf around his neck as he called for an end to “the genocide in Gaza.”
As the ceremony went on, Jeff Hiller took home Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy for his role on HBO Max’s “Somebody Somewhere.” In the Limited or Anthology Series or Movie category, Cristin Milioti earned Outstanding Lead Actress for HBO Max’s “The Penguin,” while Netflix’s psychological crime drama “Adolescence” took the other three awards: Stephen Graham for Outstanding Lead Actor; Erin Doherty for Outstanding Supporting Actress, and 15-year-old English actor Owen Cooper for Outstanding Supporting Actor, becoming the youngest in history to do so.
How does it feel?
“So good,” he told WWD, eyebrows raised and full of glee, his excitement palpable at the after-party gala, where winners have their trophies engraved. He’d been snapping a series of selfies while squeezing through the crowd, being pulled in every direction.
By 10 p.m., the stars had headed to their respective network after parties. Once again, HBO Max hosted the most intimate affair at members club San Vicente Bungalows, with flowing drinks and bites, a caviar station, tiki bar and buzzing dance floor. The platform, tied with Netflix as the year’s top winner with 30 Emmys, celebrated multiple hits — and everyone came out to party: “The Penguin” with nine wins (Milioti swapping her red corseted Danielle Frankel gown for a black minidress and oversize leather jacket); “Hacks” with three wins, including a cake for Smart’s 74th birthday, which had been the day before; “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” with two, and “The White Lotus” with one.
But the moment belonged to newcomer “The Pitt,” the hit medical drama that took home the coveted Outstanding Drama award, along with its stars Noah Wyle and Katherine LaNasa. (Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Supporting Actor in drama went to Britt Lower and Tramell Tillman of Apple TV+’s “Severance,” respectively, with Tillman as the first Black man to take the category.)
Wyle, previously nominated five times for supporting actor in a drama for “ER,” finally secured his first Emmy. He walked into the party with a trophy in each hand, grinning, before joining his cast.
LaNasa — earning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as a seasoned ER nurse — stood out in a white gown adorned with a ceil blue bow. “It’s a traditional nursing color,” she said of the hue, “Jason Wu made it for me.”
Taking the stage to a room full of cheering peers was an emotional experience, she said, reflecting on the win. “It’s so humbling.”
She and the cast are currently filming season two of the show. “I fly out Tuesday to Pittsburgh,” LaNasa said.
But for now, she was savoring the celebration — which stretched into the early morning.