Nominees included Ayo Edebiri for ‘The Bear’, Kristen Bell for ‘Nobody Wants This’, Quinta Brunson for ‘Abbott Elementary’ and Uzo Aduba for ‘The Residence’
Jean Smart picked up another win for Hacks.
The actress, 74, won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series at the 77th annual Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 14.
This is Smart’s fourth Emmy for her performance as comedian Deborah Vance on the HBO Max series Hacks.
“Thank you so much. You honor me so much,” Smart said in her acceptance speech, before noting, “If I was walking [onstage] like John Wayne it’s because I broke my knee this summer and it’s not quiet repaired.”
She continued, “One of the best things about winning something like this is that you get to actually publicly thank the people you work with. Our unbelievable crew, my incredible cast mates, led by the incomparable Hannah Einbinder. Our showrunners, beyond brilliant. … And my children, who are my anchor. Joe [Pacheco], my cheerleader.”
“Everybody,” concluded Smart, “let’s be good to each other. Just be good to each other.”
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Smart, during her acceptance speech last year, poked fun at her success. “Thank you. Thank you so, so much. It’s very humbling, it really is,” she quipped. “And I appreciate this, because I just don’t get enough attention. I’m serious!”
Earlier that year, Smart told The Hollywood Reporter that she felt a connection to the role from the moment she read the script: “I said, ‘This is everything I could possibly want for my next job.’”
“I had never been a comedian, so they were the real litmus test. And I passed, I think!” she added.
Smart won the Outstanding Lead Actress Emmy for her role on Hacks in 2021 and 2022, and has nabbed six Emmy Awards throughout her career, along with 14 nominations.
Also nominated in the category were Ayo Edebiri for The Bear, Kristen Bell for Nobody Wants This, Quinta Brunson for Abbott Elementary, and Uzo Aduba for The Residence.
Edebiri, 29, leads The Bear — alongside Jeremy Allen White — as chef Sydney Adamu.
The FX dramedy follows fine dining chef Carmen “Carmy” Berzatto (White) as he fights to keep his struggling Chicago restaurant alive with the help of his cousin Richie (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) and sous-chef Sydney.
Along with her nomination for her performance on-screen, Edebiri was also nominated for her directing of the season 3 flashback episode, titled “Napkins.” She reacted to the recognition during an interview with Vanity Fair last month, joking that she hasn’t had to give an acceptance speech recently.
“I haven’t really won anything in a while, so now I just kind of drink at the shows,” she teased. “I just kind of chill out to be honest. I hope this doesn’t sound cheesy or disgusting, but it really has been making me appreciate being nominated, and in presence of people who are just beyond talented. I love TV. I watch TV. So having my name, even this conversation at all, it’s like really still nuts and something I’m very grateful for.”
Edebiri won Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2023 and was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in 2024, the same year that The Bear broke records with 23 nominations as a comedy series (NBC’s 30 Rock previously held the title with 22 nominations in 2009).
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Bell, 55, and Adam Brody starred in the debut season of Nobody Wants This.
The story follows the love story between a 𝑠e𝑥 podcaster named Joanne (Bell) and a progressive rabbi, Noah (Brody), as they navigate their cultural differences. The Netflix hit is based on creator Erin Foster’s real-life experience with her husband, Simon Tikham.
When Bell found out she was nominated, she shared her reaction on Instagram. The post included a snap of her and Foster, who also received a nomination for her work as producer.
“finding out I was nominated for an Emmy – finding out @erinfoster was nominated for an Emmy!!!!” Bell captioned the post, which featured photos of the two women learning the news.
This is Bell’s first Primetime Emmy nomination ever. Nobody Wants This is also up for Outstanding Comedy Series.
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Brunson, 35, has been starring in, executive producing and writing for Abbott Elementary since its debut in 2021.
She plays Janine Teagues, a second-grade teacher in the school-inspired series, which she also created. In 2024, Brunson won the same nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, making her the first Black woman to score the win in 42 years.
“Thank you so much,” she said in her acceptance speech that year. “I love making Abbott Elementary so much, and I am so happy to be able to live my dream and act out comedy, and I say it every time and I just love comedy so much that I am so happy to be able to get this.”
Though Brunson adores the series, she revealed in a June 30 Bustle cover story that she is weighing her options about potentially bringing it to an end after five seasons.
“We are so fortunate and blessed to be on a network TV show for five seasons, and for people to still be fans,” she noted. “That being said, I have cast members who would love to pursue other projects, and our show is very time-consuming. We shoot about seven months out of the year. That can stop people from being able to do a lot of other things.”
“Right now, I’m receiving scripts, and waiting for that moment that feels like, ‘Oh man, this is exactly what I’ve been looking for,’” she explained. “Abbott has been so successful, and I want to use that success to get other people’s projects off the ground.”
“I’m always interested in playing against type,” she added. “I think that’s any actor’s dream. Right now my type is ‘Janine’ and ‘teacher.’ I’m looking forward to moving away from that a little bit.”
Brunson won her first Emmy in 2022 for Outstanding Writing For a Comedy Series, and has accumulated 12 total nominations. This year, she is also up for her writing and Abbott Elementary is nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series as well.
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Aduba, 44, played famous detective Cordelia Cupp, who was determined to solve an unexpected murder at the White House, in The Residence.
The Netflix comedy was developed by Shonda Rhimes and her production company, Shondaland, along with series with creator Paul William Davies. Of the dramatic finale in March, Aduba told PEOPLE that the cast was not told who the killer was until they got the scripts.
“I was blown away. Like, whoa!” she said of the episode. “That was a curveball I was not expecting at all.”
The Residence was not renewed for a second season, although it did receive four nominations at this year’s award show.
Aduba has made history at the Emmys before, becoming the first female to win in both comedy and drama for the same role when she was on Orange Is the New Black. In total, she has received six nominations and three wins.
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See PEOPLE’s full coverage of the 77th annual Primetime Emmy Awards as they’re broadcasting live on CBS and Paramount+ from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.