As published on Blog do Amaury Jr./Splash UOL

If I got any of my Emmy predictions wrong, it was because I did not look closely enough at certain categories — and because I underestimated Sally Field. My mistake: an actress with two Oscars and now four Emmys obviously entered the race with considerable strength. I also did not believe The Diplomat would give Allison Janney her eighth Emmy, even though she was a favorite. I do not like the series; I find it excessively melodramatic, but Janney is, by far, the best thing about it. With her victory, she tied Jean Smart, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Cloris Leachman for the record in acting Emmys.

The question now is: has The Pitt hit its ceiling? The show still won Outstanding Drama Series and Lead Actor for Noah Wyle, but lost ground in the other acting categories. When nearly the entire cast is nominated, votes become divided, creating space for shows with fewer internal competitors. It is also the natural fatigue that eventually affected The Bear and Hacks: after years of watching the same shows win everything, voters begin searching for the contender capable of defeating the favorite. Succession was the rare exception.

In comedy, Widow’s Bay completed a thoroughly deserved sweep, winning series, lead actor, both supporting categories, directing and writing. After years in which The Bear, a half-hour drama, and Hacks, a drama about a comedian, occupied space that could have gone to genuine comedies such as Abbott Elementary and Only Murders in the Building, an actually funny series finally won. Last year, it was The Studio; now, it is Widow’s Bay. Jean Smart, however, remained untouchable: she won for all five seasons of Hacks.

Matthew Rhys was the great competitive story of the evening. He won Lead Actor in a Comedy for Widow’s Bay and Lead Actor in a Limited Series for The Beast in Me, becoming the first man to win two lead acting categories at the same Emmy ceremony. Having already won for The Americans in 2018, he also became the first actor to win lead Emmys across drama, comedy, and limited series. It is the definitive consecration of someone who, for years, was simply “the excellent Matthew Rhys from The Americans.”

There was also a measure of historical justice for Rhea Seehorn, finally rewarded for Pluribus after going through Better Call Saul without the Emmy she deserved, and an emotional moment for Michael J. Fox, honored for turning his struggle with Parkinson’s disease into decades of advocacy and research funding. The farewell to Dolly Parton, led by Sally Field and Reba McEntire, the In Memoriam segment, and the Buffy and Charlie’s Angels reunions gave the evening its necessary sense of collective memory.

And Mariska Hargitay was sensational. She entered singing Joan Jett, joked about the film industry, and even poked fun at Nicole Kidman without turning the ceremony into a political soapbox. The daughter of a legend and true Hollywood royalty, she understands that world and delivered humor that felt safe, affectionate, and natural. A perfect choice.