There were tears, politics and passion, long speeches and speeches which were crushed under the merciless weight of an indifferent musical playoff.
For the cruel business of television, it was just another night of the long knives.
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Emmys 2016: People vs OJ wins big
The People v OJ Simpson wins a slew of Emmys including best limited series or movie, best actor, actress and supporting actor.
It was a smooth telecast, even a safe one, but it was also a night for Australian glory as our own Ben Mendelsohn won outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for his work on the Netflix drama Bloodline.
His win brought our national haul to three; Australian production designer and special effects company Iloura won Emmys at last weekend's Creative Arts Emmys for their work on Game of Thrones.
Talk show host Jimmy Kimmel played master of ceremonies, taking a soft line – pulling in his mother and pal Matt Damon for stunts in the auditorium – and aiming at fairly safe targets, such as presidential candidate Donald Trump and his wife "Malaria".
The miniseries The People v. O.J. Simpson swept it's categories, with other top honours falling to the comedies Transparent and Veep, and the dramas Mr Robot, Bloodline and Sherlock.
Notably director Miguel Sapochnik won for his work on the HBO series Game of Thrones. The Emmys are awarded based on a submitted episode; Sapochnik's episode of Game of Thrones was the acclaimed Battle of the Bastards episode.
Transparent star Jeffrey Tambor, who won outstanding lead actor in a comedy, declared "there are no best actors" and pleaded with producers to give transgender actors a chance.
"I would not be unhappy were I the last cisgender male to play a female transexual," he said. The series also won outstanding direction.
Kimmel crowned those wins with one of the best lines of the night: "Transparent was born a drama but it identifies as a comedy."
In the night's most genuinely emotional speech, Julia Louis-Dreyfus apologised for the political climate in the United States. "Veep has torn down the wall between satire and politics," she said.
But visibly trembling, and eventually breaking down in tears, Louis-Dreyfus then dedicated the award to her father, who passed away this week, and, who she said, was very proud of his daughter's work. "His opinion was the only one that really mattered."
The FX drama The People v. O.J. Simpson took a near clean sweep of the limited series categories, winning outstanding limited series as well as wins for actor, actress and supporting actor. And in a genuine surprise Sherlock: The Abominable Bride won for best television movie.
Among those honoured in the "In Memoriam" segment were producer Gary Marshall, author Jackie Collins, actors Anton Yelchin and Doris Roberts, singer Natalie Cole, Happy Days star Al Molinaro and the singers David Bowie and Prince.
Though he was primarily a film actor Gene Wilder was also included in the package.
Going into the night, HBO was by a long measure the most decorated network with 40 nominations. Behind it FX with 28, Netflix with 17, ABC with 12, AMC with nine, and Showtime with eight. Amazon and the channels CBS, NBC and PBS had five nominations apiece.
The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story was the most nominated program with 13 nominations, followed by Veep (10), Game of Thrones (9), Fargo (8) and The Night Manager and Silicon Valley. Amazon's Transparent had five.
A week earlier, the lion's share of the awards – in 89 categories – were handed out at two-night affair known as the Creative Arts Emmys, focusing on trades such as picture and sound editing, cinematography, hair, makeup, costume and an assortment of orphaned categories.
Its host, actress Jane Lynch, referred to it as "the junior prom."
Game of Thrones was the big winner on that night, walking out with nine awards; another notable winner was Netflix's Making a Murderer, which took out outstanding documentary series plus awards for directing, writing and picture editing.
The two Emmy events bookend a busy week in the Hollywood social calendar, with parties hosted by the city's big agencies, including UTA, WME and CAA, companies such as Audi and Buzzfeed, and the annual BAFTA Los Angeles TV Tea Party.
The official post-awards dinner, Governors Ball, is held in the Los Angeles Convention Centre. The key details: 80,000 roses, 7300 bottles of wine and a menu which included beet salad with pistachio-goat cheese bonbons, slow-braised short rib and chocolate cream cake with tropical coconut mousse.
From there the guest list fans out across the city, attending a handful of key after-parties, including events hosted by 20th Century Fox and the streaming platforms Amazon and Netflix; the hot ticket for the night remains the HBO party at LA's sleek Pacific Design Centre.
Full list of winners at the 68th annual Prime Time Emmy Award
Outstanding Drama Series:
Game of Thrones (HBO)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Rami Malek, Mr Robot (USA)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black (BBC America)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline (Netflix)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Dame Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey (PBS)
Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Miguel Sapochnik, Game of Thrones (HBO)
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, Game of Thrones (HBO)
Outstanding Comedy Series
Veep (HBO)
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent (Amazon)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep (HBO)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Louie Anderson, Baskets (FX)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Jill Soloway, Transparent (Amazon)
Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, Master of None (Netflix)
Outstanding Limited Series
The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (FX)
Outstanding Television Movie
Sherlock: 'The Abominable Bride' (PBS)
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Sarah Paulson, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Courtney B. Vance, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (FX)
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Sterling K. Brown, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (FX)
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Regina King, American Crime (ABC)
Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series or Movie
Susanne Bier, The Night Manager (AMC)
Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie
D. V. DeVincentis, The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story (FX)
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
Key & Peele (Comedy Central)
Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special
Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski, Grease: Live (Fox)
Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special
Patton Oswalt, Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping (Netflix)
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
The Voice (NBC)
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