By Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway
LOS ANGELES, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Jean Smart won her fifth Primetime Emmy Award for portraying a tenacious stand-up comic on "Hacks," and Noah Wyle took his second for his role as a traumatized emergency room doctor on "The Pitt," as Hollywood stars toasted the best of television on Monday.
Smart became the first performer to claim the trophy for best comedy actress for every season of a show's run. "Hacks" aired its final season on HBO Max this year.
"What a ride
this has been!" Smart said on stage after thanking the show's creators.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who won best comedy actress for six of the seven seasons of "Veep," is the only woman to come close to Smart's milestone.
Wyle said it felt "overwhelming" to land his second straight Emmy for playing Dr. "Robby" Robinavitch on "The Pitt," a medical drama set in a Pittsburgh trauma center. The show is seen as the frontrunner for the night's top award of best drama.
Describing himself as a "Hollywood kid," Wyle told the Emmy audience, "This is the only club I've ever wanted to join. Thank you for accepting me."
In other awards, "Widow's Bay" star Stephen Root upset favorite Harrison Ford of "Shrinking" for best supporting actor in a comedy.
Best drama actress went to Rhea Seehorn, who plays a misanthropic woman at war with an alien hive mind on the new Apple TV series "Pluribus." It was her first Emmy win. Seehorn addressed her fellow nominees, including "The Diplomat" star Keri Russell and Zendaya of "Euphoria," with a quote from the feminist activist Gloria Steinem, who died this month aged 92.
"We are linked, not ranked. I feel that way about all you women," Seehorn said.
Mariska Hargitay, star of NBC's drama "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," hosted the ceremony, breaking with a tradition of having a comedian serve as emcee. It was broadcast live on NBC and streamed on Peacock.
"It's a lot of pressure, but it is so reassuring to see so many familiar faces out there, and I'm not just talking about how many of you I've arrested on SVU," Hargitay told the crowd.
The Emmys offered a rare night of celebration as Hollywood grapples with production cutbacks, anxiety over artificial intelligence and the proposed Paramount Skydance purchase of HBO owner Warner Bros Discovery, a deal that has divided the industry and faces legal challenges.
Emmy winners are chosen by the more than 27,000 writers, directors, performers, producers and craftspeople in the Television Academy.
(Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway;Additional reporting by Matt Silverstein; Editing by Howard Goller)
