Best and Worst Moments From the 2023 Emmys

The 2023 Emmys finally happened. In 2024.

Delayed from September by the dual strike of Hollywood’s actors and writers, the belated ceremony, hosted by Anthony Anderson, took place on Monday night at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. On an evening in which the broadcast competed with coverage of the Iowa caucuses and an N.F.L. playoff game — and just a week after the Golden Globes honored many of the same shows — the Emmys made for pleasant, if rarely necessary, viewing.

Most of the awards went to favored artists and shows, with “Succession,” “The Bear,” “Beef” and “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” dominating. (“Better Call Saul,” nominated for 53 Emmys over its six seasons, failed to earn even one statue.) Still, the show did have a few surprises.

There was Niecy Nash-Betts’s impassioned speech, Elton John’s newly minted EGOT status and the presenter Joan Collins’s timeless smolder. Kieran Culkin, a winner for “Succession,” used his speech to petition his wife for another child. Ebon Moss-Bachrach celebrated the best comedy win for “The Bear” by planting a long kiss on his co-star Matty Matheson. And Anderson’s mother, Doris Bowman, killed as the evening’s shadow co-host, heckling winners who took too long with their speeches.

Here are some of the evenings high and lowlights. — Alexis Soloski

Least Surprising Wins: All of Them?

Most of them, anyway. It’s nice when an awards show allows for a little envelope-opening suspense. This year, the Emmys had nearly none. With a very few exceptions, three shows swept the awards: “Succession” for drama (six Emmys); “The Bear” for comedy (six Emmys); and “Beef” for limited or anthology series or movie (five Emmys). Throw in two for “Late Night With John Oliver” — the eighth consecutive time it has won Emmys in a variety series category and for variety writing — and that was pretty much the winners list.