A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
The comedy series, "The Studio," and the drama "The Pitt" were big winners at last night's Emmy Awards.
MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Jean Smart and Hannah Einbinder also picked up awards for the comedy series "Hacks."
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Mandalit del Barco was on the red carpet and backstage at the ceremony in Los Angeles. She's here to tell us about television's biggest night. So, Mandalit, tell us about these two series, "The Studio" and "The Pitt."
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Well, it was a big night for Seth Rogen and his creative partner, Evan Goldberg. They created "The Studio," a satire of Hollywood, and it set a record for a comedy show by winning 13 Emmys in all, including one for Seth Rogen as lead actor in the comedy. He plays the head of a movie studio. And after winning, Rogen walked into the media room with his castmates, and he was carrying a handful of Emmy awards. Someone asked him if this might inspire future story lines in "The Studio."
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SETH ROGEN: This is, like, far too good a thing to happen on our show, unfortunately. Our show's generally based on stress and disappointment, and right now, we're all very happy. And so I don't know if this would comedically work for the show, but it's very encouraging, and it's so nice, and it's very surreal for all of us, I think.
MARTIN: But, you know, one of the big surprises of the night was for the five Emmys won by the medical drama, "The Pitt." It won for outstanding drama series against popular shows, including "Severance" and "The White Lotus." Executive producer Noah Wyle won his first Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama. He plays an ER doctor more than three decades after he first played one on the show "ER." Onstage, he said the show is dedicated to first responders.
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NOAH WYLE: To anybody who's going on shift tonight or coming off shift tonight, thank you for being in that job.
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WYLE: This is for you.
MARTÍNEZ: All right. Now, another show that seemed to come out of nowhere last March to become kind of a cultural touchstone was "Adolescence." How did "Adolescence" perform last night?
DEL BARCO: Yeah, "Adolescence" was a huge hit. The Netflix limited series picked up six awards. Owen Cooper, the British 15-year-old newcomer, became the youngest male actor to win an Emmy. He played a 13-year-old accused of murdering a classmate. And in the show, his father was played by Stephen Graham, who also won an acting Emmy. Graham also wrote and produced "Adolescence." And here are Graham and Cooper accepting their awards.
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STEPHEN GRAHAM: This kind of thing doesn't normally happen to a kid like me. I'm just a mixed-race kid from a block of flats in a place called Kirkby.
OWEN COOPER: I was nothing about three years ago. I'm here now. So I think if you listen and you focus and you just step out of your comfort zone a little bit, who cares if you get embarrassed, you know?
MARTÍNEZ: Now, Mandalit, the Emmys are on CBS. "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" is also on CBS, and CBS recently canceled his show. So when his show won for outstanding talk series, what did Colbert have to say?
DEL BARCO: Well, you know, Stephen Colbert had been the favorite going into the ceremony, and even his fellow nominees Jon Stewart and Jimmy Kimmel were rooting for him. You know, on his show, Colbert regularly skewers President Donald Trump, and some people in the industry thought his show getting canceled was politically calculated, though the network said it was purely financial. But in his acceptance speech, Colbert thanked CBS, and he said this.
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STEPHEN COLBERT: My friends, I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong, be brave. And if the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor. Woo.
DEL BARCO: Colbert told reporters that the tradition of comedy variety show, which stretches back to Jack Benny and vaudeville, will continue.
MARTÍNEZ: All right, that's NPR's Mandalit del Barco. Thanks a lot.
DEL BARCO: Thank you.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "STEPHEN STEPHEN (FOR STEPHEN COLBERT")
THE APPLES IN STEREO: (Singing) Oh, Stephen, Stephen. He's a dashing man. His name is Stephen. Whoa. He's taking on... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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