*Matthew Rhys made Emmy history Monday night, winning two lead-actor trophies in a single year as “Widow’s Bay” emerged as the biggest winner of the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Rhys won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for “Widow’s Bay” and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Netflix’s “The Beast in Me.” The feat made him the first performer to win two Emmys for leading performances in the same year, the Television Academy announced.
The Welsh actor now has another distinction: After previously winning Lead Actor in a Drama Series for “The Americans” in 2018, Rhys is the first performer to capture lead-acting Emmys across drama, comedy and limited series or movie categories.
The historic double win was one of several milestones during an Emmy night that produced plenty of hardware for both newcomers and television veterans.
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‘Widow’s Bay’ Breaks An Emmy Record
Apple TV’s comedy-horror series “Widow’s Bay” collected six awards during Monday’s telecast, including Outstanding Comedy Series.
Combined with eight trophies from the earlier Creative Arts ceremony, the show finished its Emmy run with 14 wins, breaking the comedy-series record of 13 set by “The Studio” last year.
Along with Rhys, Kate O’Flynn won Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Stephen Root claimed Supporting Actor, Katie Dippold won for writing, and Hiro Murai took the directing prize.
The Television Academy said “Widow’s Bay” won more awards during the telecast than any other program.
HBO Max’s “The Pitt,” meanwhile, won Outstanding Drama Series for the second consecutive season. Noah Wyle also repeated as Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.
HuffPost Entertainment highlighted the night’s major winners, which included “Pluribus,” “The Traitors” and “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”
Jean Smart And Allison Janney Join Elite Company
Jean Smart and Allison Janney each reached eight career Emmy wins, tying Cloris Leachman and Julia Louis-Dreyfus for the most Emmys won by a performer.
Smart earned her latest trophy for “Hacks,” marking her fifth Emmy for the role. She also became the first performer to win an Emmy for every season of a series.
Janney’s eighth win came for her supporting performance in Netflix’s “The Diplomat.”
Elsewhere, Rhea Seehorn won her first Emmy for “Pluribus,” while Tom Pelphrey earned his first for “Task.” Vince Gilligan also picked up his first individual writing Emmy for “Pluribus” after previously winning as a producer of “Breaking Bad.”
Michael J. Fox Receives Humanitarian Honor
One of the evening’s most meaningful moments came when Michael J. Fox received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award for his longtime work supporting Parkinson’s disease research through the Michael J. Fox Foundation.
The ceremony also remembered television figures who died during the past year. Reba McEntire honored Dolly Parton with a performance of Parton’s “Appalachian Memories,” while Noah Kahan performed Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Troubled Water” during the In Memoriam tribute.
Mariska Hargitay hosted the ceremony from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, becoming the first woman to host the Emmys in 15 years.
But amid a night packed with milestones, “Widow’s Bay” and Rhys delivered the biggest statistical surprises: a record-breaking 14 Emmys for the series and two history-making lead-actor victories for its star in one night.
MORE NEWS ON EURWEB.COM: Kate O’Flynn Talks Apple TV’s Genre-Bending Series ‘Widow’s Bay’
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