The 77th Primetime Emmy Awards drew a who’s who of television on Sunday night as presenters and nominees lined the red carpet outside the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, with standout fashion moments from Jenna Ortega and Kathy Bates drawing particular attention.
Ortega, 22, arrived in a Givenchy jewel-encrusted bra top paired with a black skirt featuring a thigh-high slit, completing the look with crimson lipstick and smoky eye makeup. The Wednesday star, attending the ceremony as a presenter, has emerged in recent months with a series of high-fashion appearances tied to press events for Season 2 of Netflix’s hit series.
Kathy Bates, nominated this year for lead actress in a drama for her role at the center of CBS’s gender-swapped Matlock reboot, appeared in a flowing walnut-brown ball gown. Bates, 77, became the oldest acting nominee in an Emmy acting category this year. In recent interviews she said she had lost roughly 100 pounds over several years and that she used the diabetes medication Ozempic to help trim the last 15 to 20 pounds after a diabetes diagnosis.
Television’s top awards ceremony was broadcast live on CBS and streamed on Paramount+ for premium subscribers, with the base-tier streaming the show on demand the following day. Grammy-nominated comedian Nate Bargatze made his debut as host, a high-profile assignment following repeated appearances on Saturday Night Live and a rise in popularity as a stand-up performer.
Severance led the field with 27 nominations, including best drama series and multiple acting nods, followed by Colin Farrell’s HBO series The Penguin with 24 nominations. Apple TV+’s The Studio and HBO’s The White Lotus were tied with 23 nominations apiece. Other heavy hitters included The Last of Us with 16 nominations, and Andor and Hacks with 14 each. The Bear, The Pitt and newcomers such as Adolescence also secured multiple nominations.
Fans and industry watchers noted several firsts and notable entries on the ballot this year: Harrison Ford received his first Emmy nomination for his role in Apple TV+’s Shrinking; filmmakers Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard earned acting nominations for guest appearances on The Studio; and established performers from film and television populated the presenter list, including Elizabeth Banks, Angela Bassett, Jason Bateman, Kristen Bell and Sarah Paulson.
The White Lotus ensemble received multiple supporting and guest actor nominations for its third season, and some of its cast — including Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Sam Rockwell and Parker Posey — were on hand at the ceremony. Goggins, who was noted in live coverage as one of the first stars on the red carpet, had been at the center of social media attention in recent months after he unfollowed co-star Aimee Lou Wood on Instagram following public praise; Goggins told Variety in June that he typically cuts off communications with colleagues after finishing a project, citing similar behavior after leaving the series Justified.
The ceremony’s creative and technical fields also reflected the wide range of television productions this season. Winners in directing and writing across drama, comedy and limited series categories included nominees drawn from Andor, The Pitt, Severance, Slow Horses and The White Lotus in drama; and Hacks, The Bear, and The Studio among comedies. Limited series and anthology contenders ranged from Adolescence and Black Mirror to The Penguin and Dying for Sex.
Bargatze, 46, who was also nominated in the variety special categories for his stand-up special, said ahead of the show that he planned to avoid overly mean-spirited material in his monologue. The host and other presenters represented a cross-section of television’s cast and crew, from veteran dramatic performers to younger stars who have transitioned from streaming successes to awards recognition.
The Emmys continued to reflect an industry in flux, with streaming platforms, legacy cable networks and broadcast television all represented among nominees and winners. As the ceremony progressed, attention shifted from red-carpet fashion and pre-show moments to awards outcomes that will shape eligibility, prestige and marketability for shows as they head into the next television season.