Emmy winners include Handmaid’s Tale, Veep, Atlanta & more

Last Updated on August 2, 2021

The biggest night of the year for the folks behind some of our favorite TV shows – the Emmys – was last night, and it proved one indisputable fact of modern television: however good some network shows can be, they can never hold a candle to what premium networks like HBO and streaming channels like Netflix and Hulu offer. The three major players dominated the evening with shows like THE HANDMAID’S TALE (Hulu), BIG LITTLE LIES (HBO), BLACK MIRROR (Netflix) and LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER (HBO) won big, with Hulu, in particular, becoming the first streaming channel to win Best Drama Series with HANDMAID’S TALE. Network shows like ATLANTA and SNL walked away with some big awards too, as Donald Glover became the first black man to win Best Director of a Comedy Series. Here is the full list of all the winners below, which doubles as a list of reasons why you should abandon your life and remain glued to the TV until the end of time:

BEST DRAMA SERIES

THE HANDMAID’S TALE (WINNER)
BETTER CALL SAUL
THE CROWN
HOUSE OF CARDS
STRANGER THINGS
THIS IS US
WESTWORLD

BEST COMEDY SERIES

VEEP (WINNER)
ATLANTA
BLACK-ISH 
MASTER OF NONE
MODERN FAMILY
SILICON VALLEY
UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT

BEST LIMITED SERIES

BIG LITTLE LIES (WINNER)
FARGO
FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN
GENIUS
THE NIGHT OF

BEST ACTRESS DRAMA SERIES

Elisabeth Moss, THE HANDMAID’S TALE (WINNER)
Viola Davis, HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER
Claire Foy, THE CROWN
Keri Russell, THE AMERICANS
Evan Rachel Wood, WESTWORLD
Robin Wright, HOUSE OF CARDS

BEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES:

Sterling K. Brown, THIS IS US (WINNER)
Anthony Hopkins, WESTWORLD
Bob Odenkirk, BETTER CALL SAUL
Matthew Rhys, THE AMERICANS
Liev Schreiber, RAY DONOVAN
Kevin Spacey, HOUSE OF CARDS
Milo Ventimiglia, THIS IS US

BEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES:

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, VEEP (WINNER)
Pamela Adlon, BETTER THINGS 
Jane Fonda, GRACE AND FRANKIE
Allison Janney, MOM
Ellie Kemper, UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT
Tracee Ellis Ross, BLACK-ISH
Lily Tomlin, GRACE AND FRANKIE

BEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Donald Glover, ATLANTA (WINNER)
Anthony Anderson, BLACK-ISH
Aziz Ansari, MASTER OF NONE
Zach Galifianakis, BASKETS
William H. Macy, SHAMELESS
Jeffrey Tambor, TRANSPARENT

BEST TV MOVIE

BLACK MIRROR: SAN JUNIPERO (WINNER)
DOLLY PARTON’S CHRISTMAS OF MANY COLORS
THE IMMORTAL LIFE OF HENRIETTA LACKS
SHERLOCK: THE LYING DETECTIVE
THE WIZARD OF LIES

BEST ACTRESS IN A LIMITED TV SERIES AND MOVIE

Nicole Kidman, BIG LITTLE LIES (WINNER)
Carrie Coon, FARGO
Felicity Huffman, AMERICAN CRIME
Jessica Lange, FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN
Susan Sarandon, FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN
Reese Witherspoon, BIG LITTLE LIES

BEST ACTOR IN  A LIMITED TV SERIES OR MOVIE

Riz Ahmed, THE NIGHT OF (WINNER)
Benedict Cumberbatch, SHERLOCK: THE LYING DETECTIVE
Robert DeNiro, THE WIZARD OF LIES
Ewan McGregor, FARGO
Geoffrey Rush, GENIUS
John Turturro, THE NIGHT OF

BEST DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL

Jean-Marc Vallee, BIG LITTLE LIES (WINNER)
Noah Hawley, FARGO
Ryan Murphy, FEUD: BETTE & JOAN
Ron Howard, GENIUS
James Marsh, THE NIGHT OF
Steve Zaillian, THE NIGHT OF

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES

Ann Dowd, THE HANDMAID’S TALE (WINNER)
Uzo Aduba, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK
Millie Bobby Brown, STRANGER THINGS
Chrissy Metz, THIS IS US
Thandie Newton, WESTWORLD
Samira Wiley, THE HANDMAID’S TALE

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

John Lithgow, THE CROWN (WINNER)
Jonathan Banks, BETTER CALL SAUL
Ron Cephas Jones, THIS IS US
David Harbour, STRANGER THINGS
Michael Kelly, HOUSE OF CARDS
Mandy Patinkin, HOMELAND
Jeffrey Wright, WESTWORLD

BEST DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

Reed Morano, THE HANDMAID’S TALE (WINNER)
Vince Gilligan, BETTER CALL SAUL 
Stephen Daldry, THE CROWN
Kate Dennis, THE HANDMAID’S TALE
Lesli Linka Glatter, HOMELAND
The Duffer Brothers, STRANGER THINGS
Jonathan Nolan, WESTWORLD 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Kate McKinnon, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (WINNER)
Vanessa Bayer, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
Anna Chlumsky, VEEP
Kathryn Hahn, TRANSPARENT
Leslie Jones, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE
Judith Light, TRANSPARENT

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Alec Baldwin, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (WINNER)
Louie Anderson, BASKETS
Tituss Burgess, UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT
Ty Burrell, MODERN FAMILY
Tony Hale, VEEP
Matt Walsh, VEEP

BEST DIRECTING FOR COMEDY SERIES

Donald Glover, ATLANTA (WINNER)
Jamie Babbit, SILICON VALLEY
Morgan Sackett, VEEP
David Mandel, VEEP
Dale Stern, VEEP

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR TV MOVIE

Laura Dern, BIG LITTLE LIES (WINNER)
Judy Davis, FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN
Jackie Hoffman, FEUD: BETTE AND JOAN
Regina King, AMERICAN CRIME
Michelle Pfeiffer, THE WIZARD OF LIES
Shailene Woodley, BIG LITTLE LIES

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED TV SERIES OR MOVIE

Alexander Skarsgard, Big Little Lies  (WINNER)
Bill Camp, The Night Of
Alfred Molina, Feud: Bette and Joan
David Thewlis, Fargo
Stanley Tucci, Feud: Bette and Joan
Michael K. Williams, The Night Of

BEST WRITING FOR LIMITED SERIES, TV MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL

Charlie Brooker, Black Mirror: San Junipero (WINNER)
David E. Kelley, Big Little Lies
Noah Hawley, Fargo
Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette and Joan
Jaffe Cohen, Michael Zam & Ryan Murphy, Feud: Bette and Joan
Richard Price & Steven Zaillian, The Night Of

BEST GUEST ACTRESS IN DRAMA SERIES

Alexis Bledel, The Handmaid’s Tale (WINNER)
Cicely Tyson, How to Get Away With Murder
Laverne Cox, Orange Is the New Black
Shannon Purser, Stranger Things
Alison Wright, The Americans
Ann Dowd, The Leftovers

BEST GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES

Gerald McRaney, This Is Us (WINNER)
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
BD Wong, Mr. Robot
Hank Azaria, Ray Donovan
Brian Tyree Henry, This Is Us
Denis O’Hare, This Is Us

BEST WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES

Bruce Miller, The Handmaid’s Tale (WINNER)
Joel Fields, Joe Weisberg, The Americans
Gordon Smith, Better Call Saul
Peter Morgan, The Crown
The Duffer Brothers, Stranger Things
Lisa Joy, Jonathan Nolan, Westworld

BEST WRITING IN A COMEDY SERIES

Aziz Ansari, Lena Waithe, Master of None (WINNER)
Donald Glover, Atlanta
Stephen Glover, Atlanta
Alec Berg, Silicon Valley
Billy Kimball, Veep
David Mandel, Veep

BEST GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES

Melissa McCarthy, Saturday Night Live (WINNER)
Wanda Sykes, Black-ish
Carrie Fisher, Catastrophe
Becky Ann Baker, Girls
Angela Bassett, Master of None
Kristen Wiig, Saturday Night Live

BEST GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES

Dave Chappelle, Saturday Night Live (WINNER)
Matthew Rhys, Girls
Riz Ahmed, Girls
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Saturday Night Live
Tom Hanks, Saturday Night Live
Hugh Laurie, Veep

BEST VARIETY TALK SERIES

FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE 
JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE
LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER (WINNER)
THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH JAMES CORDEN
THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT
REAL TIME WITH BILL MAHER

BEST WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES

LAST WEEK TONIGHT WITH JOHN OLIVER (WINNER)
FULL FRONTAL WITH SAMANTHA BEE
LATE NIGHT WITH SETH MEYERS
THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT
SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

BEST DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES

Don Roy King, Saturday Night Live (WINNER)
Derek Waters & Jeremy Konner, Drunk History 
Andy Fisher, Jimmy Kimmel Live!
Paul Pennolino, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver
Jim Hoskinson, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

BEST VARIETY SKETCH SERIES

SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE (WINNER)
BILLY ON THE STREET
DOCUMENTARY NOW!
DRUNK HISTORY
PORTLANDIA
TRACY ULLMAN’S SHOW