Hacks cooked up a major upset for the final category at the 2024 Emmys.
The Max series won the Emmy Award for best comedy series for its third season, marking its third win of the ceremony. Also nominated in the category were The Bear, Abbott Elementary, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Only Murders in the Building, Palm Royale, Reservation Dogs and What We Do in the Shadows.
In her acceptance speech for the award, series co-creator Lucia Aniello emphasized the value of comedy. “Comedy is so important, obviously, to us, but we really feel like it can bridge divides,” she said. “When you laugh with someone, you have something in common with them. So please support comedy. It speaks truth to power. It really does, so support your local comedian.”
Co-star and co-creator Paul W. Downs also addressed the crowd, noting that the team didn’t know if the series would initially sell, given that it featured two female characters, one of whom — stand-up comedy legend Deborah Vance, as played by Jean Smart — was over 60.
“About 20 percent of our population is over 60-plus, and there are only 3 percent of those characters in television,” Downs said. “I would like to see more of them because, while I am a great, young supporting actor, I really want to be a good old lead.”
Hacks also won for best actress in a comedy series for Smart and best writing in a comedy series for Aniello, Downs and Jen Statsky. Hacks, which also stars Hannah Einbinder, earned 16 nominations ahead of the 2024 Emmys.
The show’s win for best comedy series was seen as a surprise, with many pundits expecting the FX/Hulu series The Bear to top the category for the second year in a row. The Bear‘s wins in the comedy categories have spurred debate regarding whether the show is too dramatic to be seen as a comedy.
Eugene Levy, who co-hosted the ceremony with son Dan Levy from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Sunday, poked fun at the discourse surrounding whether The Bear should indeed be considered a comedy.
“I know some of you might be expecting us to make a joke about whether The Bear is really a comedy,” Eugene Levy told the crowd during the co-hosts’ monologue. “But in the true spirit of The Bear, we will not be making any jokes.”
During the ceremony, Einbinder’s mother, Saturday Night Live alum Laraine Newman, posted messages to social media that criticized The Bear for being nominated as a comedy. Newman wrote, “Every time I think about The Bear being in the comedy category for the Emmys I can feel an ulcer developing.”
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