Emmys 2022 as it happened: Australians steal the limelight as Squid Game, The White Lotus and Ted Lasso scoop awards

Incredibly, the 2022 Emmys only ran 3 minutes overtime, which probably explains the frenetic pace of this blog.

Compared to this year’s Oscars, there were no huge or standout moments. Just a lot of excellent television being richly rewarded.

Stick around because we’ll be sharing some analysis of the winners and losers, but that’s all in terms of the ceremony and the speeches.

It’s been widely hailed as one of the best drama series of recent years, a worthy successor to the show that spawned it, but Breaking Bad spinoff Better Call Saul has resolutely failed to win the love of Academy voters.

Over six seasons, it has been nominated for 46 awards. It has won precisely none.

Bob Odenkirk, who essentially played three characters in the show – con-artist and struggling wannabe lawyer Jimmy McGill, dodgy lawyer and “friend of the cartel” Saul Goodman, and in-hiding bakery manager Gene Takovic – has been nominated five times for his work on the show, and has been overlooked each time.

At least he’s got two prior wins to his name (for comedy writing). Poor Rhea Seehorn, so excellent as Jimmy’s partner and fellow lawyer Kim Wexler, was clearly delighted to be nominated for her first Emmy. But it turned out she was right to tell the red carpet interviewers that she wasn’t even daring to think about what it would be like to win, because she too went home empty-handed.

Though the series wrapped last month with what was widely hailed as a perfectly judged finale, Emmy rules might yet give Saul another shot next year. The final season was split in two - the last batch of episodes airing outside the eligibility timeline (June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2022) for this year’s awards.

Maybe all is not yet lost. Bob Odenkirk was literally brought back from the dead while making this season; perhaps Saul’s Emmy hopes might rise from the grave next year too.

Ruthless, riveting, yet never predictable, the third season of Succession was among the finest television we’ve seen in recent memory, and it was rightly awarded outstanding drama series at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.

Succession was the heavy favourite heading into the evening - the HBO drama had the most nominations at 25.

Earlier in the evening, the show was surprisingly snubbed with Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong pipped for outstanding lead actor by Squid Game’s Lee Jung-Jae. Australia’s Sarah Snook also missed out on outstanding supporting actress in a drama series, that Emmy being sachet by Julia Garner.

But when it came to the biggest prize, well, in typical Roy family fashion, there was only going to be one winner.

This marks Succession’s second win for the outstanding drama series, having previously won in 2020 for the show’s first season. Last year the HBO drama was, rather fittingly, pipped by The Crown.

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong touched on the situation unfolding in his native United Kingdom while accepting the award.

“Big week for successions, we have a new king in the UK, for us. Evidently, a little more voting involved in our voting than Prince Charles,” joked Armstrong.

“I’m not saying we’re more legitimate in our position. I’ll leave that to other people."

Armstrong’s jibes were met with a clipped comment from Brian Cox, "Keep it royalist.”

The back-to-back success of Succession in the drama category was mirrored by Ted Lasso, which won its second consecutive Emmy for most outstanding comedy series.

Taking to the stage, Jason Sudeikis hinted that a highly anticipated third season was in the works.

“We’ll see you for season three, whenever that might be.”

Speaking backstage, Australian Emmy winner Murray Bartlett said the series would not have been possible without writer/director Mike White, who Bartlett described as "the biggest cheerleader for all of us."

"He's an incredible shepherd, he's in there with you, he creates this incredible atmosphere of play on set, and you feel like he's your biggest fan, which is incredibly empowering."

Bartlett said the character of Armond was a gift. “I was very fortunate this character is so brilliantly written, it’s so detailed on the page. We played with the levels of that,” Bartlett said.

"He's quite a big character at times, but we wanted to make sure we found his moments of vulnerability, the addiction issues, the demons he's barely holding at bay, but [remembering] he's also a showman," Bartlett said. "It's a dream job for an actor to juggle those things."

The moment his name was called out, Bartlett said he felt "shocked and happy. It was also the beginning of the show [so we had only just sat down]. This ride I have been on with this beautiful group in White Lotus has been wonderful. So many of us are nominated, some of us are winning, it's a beautiful feeling to be here all together."

Attending the Emmys has been "a lovely reunion for us," Bartlett said. "Obviously I was nervous, it's this weird, surreal experience, but I just felt incredibly thankful and thrilled to be up on that stage. It takes your breath away."

Five wins! A huge effort for The White Lotus tonight, as it predictably takes out the Emmy for outstanding limited series.

On stage, the show got a special shoutout as a labour of love – made through the most difficult parts of the pandemic. "You showed up every day in the face of global uncertainty away from loved ones," said one producer, speaking of the show's cast and crew.

After a night that has seen most categories stick to the script, we have finally had an upset of sorts.

Squid Game’s Lee Jung-jae has won outstanding lead actor in a drama series, pipping Succession’s double act of Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, as well as fan favourite Bob Odekirk from Better Call Saul. Side note: This is the sixth time Bob Odenkirk has been overlooked in this category, sob!

Jeremy Strong was the hot tip to win the Emmy, but there was no accounting for the massive success of Netflix’s South Korean mega-hit, Squid Game.

With 1.65 billion views in its first 28 days of release, Squid Game holds the record for Netflix’s most-watched series — English-language or non-English-language — and the Korean drama did it largely through strong word of mouth.

“I’d like to thank God for this series, and the creators. Thank you for making realistic problems we all face come to life,” said Jung-jae.

Squid Game has been green-lit for a second season by Netflix, and Lee Jung Jae’s character Seong Gi-hun, otherwise known as Number 456, will return.

Succession creator Jesse Armstrong has picked up the show’s second award for the night (outstanding writing for a drama series), after Matthew Macfadyen’s win early on.

“It didn’t feel necessarily good while I was writing it,” he said, talking about the tortuous process of getting words on the page.

“To my fellow writers out there, if you’re blind to all the merits and can only see the faults it doesn't mean it's bad, it just means you're a writer.”

HBO’s big hit show (which is on Binge in Australia) is not getting as many gongs as expected today, but it’s still the hot pick to take out outstanding drama series against other hits like Squid Game, Severance and Better Call Saul.

Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series was one of the most competitive categories at this year’s Emmy Awards with Abbot Elementary creator and star Quinta Brunson and Insecure's Issa Rae both widely tipped to score an upset.

But ultimately, voters played it safe and smart, literally, with Hacks star Jean Smart going back to back in this category for her work as wisecracking Deborah Vance.

While the second season of Hacks (available on Stan) didn’t come close to the magic it delivered the first time, Emmy voters can be fiercely loyal, and Smart is a Hollywood favourite and the incumbent.

The 71-year-old paid tribute to her fellow nominees and castmates before sharing a story that spoke to the widespread appeal of “our funny little show”.

“One quick story, I didn't realise the breadth of appeal of our show, we were shooting at a mall, and three little boys, maybe 10 or 11, and they said, ‘Look, it's Deborah Vance!’”

“10 or 11-year-olds should not be watching this show, but thank you very much!”