For me, the big story of the evening was the completely unexpected victory of Hacking for the best comedy series about The bear which had scored a record 10 Emmy wins for its first season in January, led the pack with another record 23 nominations in Season 2, raced through the Creative Arts categories with 7 wins last weekend, and picked up another 4 wins on Sunday night before the final awards show of the evening, which at that point was a no-brainer for the FX series about a chef who returns to Chicago to run a restaurant. But then the SHOCK.

Max hacks, now in its third season, it somehow worked out, winning the award for Best Comedy Series after only winning the award for Comedy Screenplay, and a third award for star Jean Smart as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series. And although this was the show’s most lauded season yet, no one had predicted a win in the top category. It was The bear to lose – and it did.

I really wanted to stay up to date with the Hacking Team at the Governors Ball, but they were obviously busy backstage after this surprise victory. At about 9:15 a.m. I gave up and went to the West Garage to look for my car, when suddenly I was in the middle of Hacking creators Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky, storming through the garage with all the Emmys between them to celebrate their two big wins at the 76th Emmys. I had them pose, and Downs told me he was completely shocked and had no idea how this surprise for the ages could have happened. “I was completely stunned,” he said when I told him that as a member of the Television Academy and the writers’ section for Hacking for Best Comedy Series and Best Screenplay for a Comedy Series. “Your voice might have made the difference,” he laughed (somehow) and thought it must have been close with The bear.

I am not so sure. First of all, although the moderators Dan and Eugene Levy indicate in their monologue that The bear is really not a comedy, many I speak to in the Academy thought the same, but it didn’t stop them from voting for it in the comedy categories. Well, it looks like the chickens have come home to roost, and probably enough The other members were of the same opinion as me that a comedy winner should actually Be a comedy. That’s what we got on Sunday night when it came time to open the envelope for outstanding comedy series. Academy bosses told me that after grappling with the issues of categorizing the series, they basically agreed to let the creatives decide which sandbox they want to play in.

I went into the Emmys thinking that it was a done deal. Three shows would probably dominate. After last weekend Creative Arts Ceremonies in which Shogun 14 out of 14 wins and thus already a single season win of the series before the big show last night, she certainly couldn’t let herself be shabby and she didn’t do so, she took four more wins and thus a total of astonishing 18 Emmys. Then The bear recorded 7 at Creative Arts and added another record of 4. That’s obvious, right? And then you couldn’t beat Netflix’s sensationalism and headlines. Baby reindeer to dominate the limited series categories, winning six times, including Outstanding Limited Series or Anthology.

At the 75th Emmys in January, voters seemed to watch only three shows: Succession, beef, And The bear. They simply decimated their competitors in the three major categories. It looked like that was going to happen again, but to my great relief, this Emmy show had a few surprises in store. Baby reindeer did not dominate when another Netflix miniseries, the sensational Ripley received four Emmys, including Best Director for Steven Zaillian, and shared the glory almost Ren. And then of course there was the big Hacking shockeroo. Plus a win for Slow horses in Drama Writing to light slow Shogun Defeat and a surprise victory for Lemorne Morris in Fargo was also fun, as was the triumph of the reality series The traitors which upsets the usual pattern of repetition when it comes to winners in this category. And Liza Colon-Zayas beats the likes of Meryl Streep, Carol Burnett and Hannah Einbinder for Best Supporting Actress in the Comedy category for The bear was another smash hit. Maybe the Emmys aren’t so predictable after all.

All of this gave me hope, just when I thought voters were a little lazy, that the Television Academy, of which I have been a member for decades, is still willing to shake things up, still capable of pulling off a surprise here and there. That’s what makes it still worth watching, even if we knowledge John Oliver will win again, and The daily show in a presidential election year, when Jon Stewart returned as one of the rotating hosts.

After last January’s record low ratings, another show with the same old programming would have been a disaster, but I was impressed with the voters. And the ABC show itself, while not exactly an awards show reboot, was quite pleasant and classy, ​​with good hosts, plenty of nostalgia (I love you, Candice Bergen) and a nice pace. Greg Berlanti’s speech accepting the Governors Award was moving. I also loved Dan and Eugene Levy as an entertaining father-son anchor team, especially the part they did in the audience.

The mood was good at the Governors Ball, where I met some of the winners And Losers. You might have thought Fellow travelers Star Matt Bomer actually won (Richard Gadd of Baby reindeer accepted one of the three statuettes he won in total in Bomer’s category). “It’s been such a long journey to make this show happen and we were just so proud to be here,” he told me without a hint of disappointment. The recognition of the nominations was everything. The morning show Billy Crudup, the now two-time winner in the Supporting Actor Drama category, was also grateful to be on a show with a great script and a great role. When he and his wife Naomi Watts (also nominated for Feud: Capote vs. The Swans) At the ball, I asked him how this victory compared to his first two years ago. “It’s more sweaty,” he laughed.

Later he appeared at the engraving booth at the same time as Gadd and his colleague Ren Winner Jessica Gunning, and they all posed for photos. The Crown Elizabeth Debicki, winner of the category “Supporting Actress in a Drama” also headed straight for the engraving station after her performance at the Govs Ball.

Two of the evening’s big stars were also spotted at the ball repeat Winners. I have completely lost track of how many Emmys both Jon Stewart and John Oliver have, but it seems every time they are nominated, win. Oliver began his career with Stewart’s original incarnation of The Daily Show , and he won his latest Emmy in a category in which he only beat Saturday Night Live. Stewart was the lucky winner in front of The daily show again this season, but I don’t have to work every day, only on Mondays.

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special winner Alex Edelman celebrated at the ball with his proud mother and boyfriend and newly crowned EGOT winner Benj Pasek, who was with his partner Justin Paul Finally won an Emmy last week at Creative Arts (for her song by Only murders in the building) go with their LaLaLand Oscar and Grammys, and Dear Evan Hansen Tony, this is Tony.

The ball was packed, and some of the stars stayed for about an hour before heading off to other parties, like Netflix in Hollywood or HBO’s San Vincente Bungalows (a scaled-down version of the massive post-Emmy party they used to throw) or Disney. At the latter, the studio took over the entire Music Center plaza, lavishly covered it with tents and threw a party that easily rivaled, if not surpassed, what HBO used to throw at the Pacific Design Center. In the middle of it all was a beaming Bob Iger, speaking with Dana Walden. They had plenty to celebrate, including these 11 The bear victories and the record-breaking 18 for Shogun. Both are from FX and there was a lot of praise for FX chief John Landgraf, who really had a very good year. Given the huge turnout and the huge party floor. When I suggested that this was the new HBO, Disney’s Alan Bergman laughed and said, “It’s good we won!” Another Disney executive told me that this celebration exuded the look of confidence. They knew they had a winning hand on their hands. It’s good for the Emmys, too. When a studio throws a party like this, large, Obviously winning an Emmy still means something.

Among those in attendance were Jimmy Kimmel and his wife, Molly McNearney, whom I congratulated for winning an Emmy last weekend at Creative Arts for their production of the Oscars. It’s a rare Emmy indeed, as the Oscar show hasn’t won one in decades. “Maybe it was because of the interviews we did with Deadline,” she laughed, also telling me that the Oscars have only won an Emmy about four times in the past. That’s still better than the track record of the Emmys, which itself has never won an Emmy. She’s not eligible, which is a shame, as there’s a lot to celebrate in production. But I think we’re ready for a break after being in nonstop Emmy mode for much longer than usual due to the strikes and the postponement of the 75th show to January, making this the first year with not one but two Emmy shows. Producer Jesse Collins and his team pulled both off with style.

See you in a Year.