The Latest: McKinnon says playing Clinton is an honor

LOS ANGELES (AP) – The Latest on the Emmy Awards, presented Sunday in Los Angeles at the Microsoft Theater (all times local):

8:24 p.m.

“Saturday Night Live” cast member Kate McKinnon says playing Hillary Clinton has been the greatest honor of her life.

McKinnon won outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series Sunday at the Emmy Awards for her work on the sketch comedy show, in which she frequently portrayed Clinton during the Presidential election.

Backstage reporters peppered McKinnon with questions about Clinton. McKinnon says she is a great admirer of Clinton and that she is the best role she’s ever gotten to play.

McKinnon was spotted having dinner with Clinton in New York in February and called the experience surreal and wonderful and says she also ate too much.

– Lindsey Bahr, @ldbahr on Twitter

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8:19 p.m.

Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels says he knows people will stop listening if the show has a clear political bias.

Michaels told reporters backstage at the Emmy Awards that he knows “Saturday Night Live” airs in all 50 states and that “not all of them are going to agree with what you’re doing.”

“Philosophically anyone who is in power should be questioned,” Michaels said. “That’s what we do.”

“Saturday Night Live” won outstanding variety sketch series at the awards Sunday night. The show received acclaim for satirizing the presidential election and the new administration. Michaels called it one of the most amazing years the show has ever had.

– Lindsey Bahr, @ldbahr on Twitter

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8:01 p.m.

“The Handmaid’s Tale” is the winner of the best television drama series Emmy Award.

The Hulu series stars Elisabeth Moss as one of the few fertile women left in a world ruled by a totalitarian regime that treats women as property.

The show is based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling novel of the same name. The win Sunday is a major coup for Hulu – the show is the streaming service’s first Emmy-nominated drama series.

Moss won the best drama actress Emmy moments before the show award was announced.

The cast and producers were joined onstage by Atwood, who received loud applause when she appeared on stage.

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7:57 p.m.

Sterling K. Brown is the winner of Emmy Award for best actor in a drama series for his role in “This Is Us.” Elisabeth Moss is the winner of Emmy Award for best actress in a drama series for her role in “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Brown plays a man adopted into a white family and finds his comfortable lifestyle as a successful father and husband rocked when he discovers his birth father and the lies his adopted mother told him.

It is Brown’s second Emmy win – he won last year for his portrayal of O.J. Simpson prosecutor Christopher Darden in the FX series “The People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”

Brown nodded as the crowd gave him extra applause. He told the audience that before he was an actor, he was a fan. He also thanked his “This Is Us” co-stars, saying they are the best white adopted family a black actor could hope for.

Moss plays one of the few fertile women left in a world ruled by a totalitarian regime. Women are considered property, but Moss attempts to keep her identity and humanity in the Hulu series based on Margaret Atwood’s best-selling novel.

Moss delivered her thank you in rapid-fire, and at one point her speech needed to be bleeped.

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7:40 p.m.

“Big Little Lies” has won the Emmy Award for best limited TV series.

The series follows a group of mothers in Northern California who each have their own secrets threatening to crash down on them.

Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon, Shailene Woodley and Lara Dern were all nominated for their roles on the HBO series.

Kidman won best actress in a limited series moments earlier.

Dern won for best supporting actress in a limited series.

Witherspoon accepted the honor for the series win before handing the microphone over to Kidman.

Witherspoon says, “It’s been an incredible year for women in television.”

Kidman implored the industry to “create more great roles for women, please.”

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7:37 p.m.

The best actress in a limited series Emmy has been awarded to Nicole Kidman.

Kidman won for her role in the HBO series “Big Little Lies,” and she thanked co-star Reese Witherspoon saying she would not have won if not for her.

Moments earlier, Riz Ahmed won the Emmy Award for best actor in a limited series for his role on “The Night Of.”

Both actors used their speech to support personal causes.

Kidman says of the series, “We shone a light on domestic abuse. It is a complicated, insidious disease.”

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7:23 p.m.

“Veep” is the winner of the Emmy Award for best comedy series.

It is the third win in a row for the HBO series, which stars Julia Louis-Dreyfus as a fictional U.S. politician who ascends and later loses the presidency.

Louis-Dreyfus won the best comedy actress moments before the show win was announced. The show recently announced its next season would be its last.

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7:21 p.m.

Donald Glover is the winner of the Emmy Award for best comedy actor for his role in “Atlanta,” while Julia Louis-Dreyfus has won – again – for her role on “Veep.”

Glover created and stars in the series about a young man trying to make his way in Atlanta, proving himself worthy to his parents by becoming successful by promoting his cousin in the city’s rap scene.

It is Glover’s second Emmy win of the evening. He previously won for a directing honor for the series, and he thanked his parents and the city of Atlanta in his speech.

It’s the sixth consecutive win for Louis-Dreyfus, who has won the category the last five years for her role as politician Selina Meyer in the HBO comedy.

With her win Sunday night, Louis-Dreyfus now is tied with Cloris Leachman for most Emmy wins. She previously won comedy acting awards for “Seinfeld” and “The New Adventures of Old Christine” before dominating the category with her work on “Veep.”

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7:10 p.m.

John Oliver is the winner of the Emmy Award for outstanding talk series.

Oliver won for his role on the series “Last Night Tonight.”

It is the second win of the night for Oliver, who also won an Emmy for writing on the HBO show.

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7:02 p.m.

The Emmys’ remembrance of actors and television luminaries who have died in the past year did not include Harry Dean Stanton.

The veteran character actor who appeared on shows such as “Big Love” and “Twin Peaks” died Friday at age 91.

The tribute included Adam West, Mary Tyler Moore, Carrie Fisher, Roger Ailes, Alan Thicke and Florence Henderson and numerous others.

The segment included television executive Don Ohlmeyer, who died a week ago.

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6:53 p.m.

Alec Baldwin says the average person is likely grateful that Sean Spicer has a sense of humor about himself.

Speaking backstage at the Emmy Awards Sunday following his win for best supporting actor in a comedy, Baldwin addressed the surprise appearance by the former White House press secretary as a part of a comedy bit that opened the show.

The appearance has garnered mixed reactions on social media, many of which were critical.

Baldwin says Spicer was “compelled to do certain things that we might not have respected … in order to do his job.” He adds that he’s also done jobs that “you shouldn’t admire or respect me for either so he and I have that in common.”

– Lindsey Bahr, @ldbahr on Twitter

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6:43 p.m.

It’s a three-peat for “The Voice,” which has won the best reality competition Emmy Award again.

The NBC singing competition show pairs would-be stars with some of the top talents in the music industry, including judges Blake Shelton and Adam Levine.

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6:20 p.m.

Alec Baldwin may have spoken loudly when accepting his Emmy Award for best comedy supporting actor, but he was quieter when collecting his actual award backstage.

He signed his name and thoughtfully examined the statuette closely at the trophy table backstage Sunday. The actor asked if the engraved nameplate would be mailed to him and a television academy worker told him he could have it attached at the Governors Ball after the show.

Baldwin practically whispered his thanks before disappearing down the hall.

– Sandy Cohen, @APSandy on Twitter

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6 p.m.

Alec Baldwin is the winner of the Emmy Award for comedy supporting actor for his role on “Saturday Night Live.”

Baldwin started out his acceptance speech night by ribbing Donald Trump, saying the president finally has his Emmy.

The actor’s impersonations of Trump have propelled “SNL” to its best season in years, bringing in viewers and also Emmy glory. Baldwin’s win is the third win for “Saturday Night Live” during Sunday’s show.

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5:52 p.m.

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s surprise Emmys appearance nearly upstaged host Stephen Colbert.

Spicer rolled onto the stage Sunday night to declare Sunday’s Emmy telecast the most watched ever.

A raucous Emmy audience inside the Microsoft Theater laughed loudly and often as Colbert, not surprisingly, made President Donald Trump the butt of one joke after another. But the audience gasped with genuine surprise when Colbert called out Spicer to ask how big a crowd was watching the Emmys and he responded that it was the largest ever in a statement similar to his widely mocked claim that Trump’s inauguration drew the largest crowd ever.

No one in the audience looked more stunned than Melissa McCarthy who repeatedly mocked Spicer’s performance as press secretary on “Saturday Night Live” and won an Emmy Award for her cameos last week.

– John Rogers

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5:48 p.m.

The outstanding variety sketch series Emmy Award has been awarded to “Saturday Night Live.”

The show has already won two honors Sunday night, with comedian Kate McKinnon winning the best supporting actress in a comedy series earlier in the evening.

The NBC series was nominated for 22 Emmy nominations this year, and has seen ratings success with its pointed political humor featuring McKinnon as Hillary Clinton and Alec Baldwin as Donald Trump.

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5:45 p.m.

Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer made a surprise appearance at the Emmy Awards during host Stephen Colbert’s monologue.

Colbert set it up by saying he had no idea how many people would be watching the Emmys, then Spicer wheeled a podium out on stage – a reference to Melissa McCarthy’s memorable impersonation of President Trump’s ex-spokesman on “Saturday Night Live.”

“This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period, in person and around the world,” Spicer said.

That, of course, recalled Spicer’s Trump-ordered claims about the bigness of Trump’s Inauguration Day crowd.

“Wow,” Colbert replied. “That really soothes my fragile ego.”

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5:36 p.m.

Laura Dern has won the Emmy Award for best supporting actress in a limited series. Dern won for her role in the HBO series “Big Little Lies.”

It is the actress’ first Emmy win.

She began her speech by saying that in her career, which began when she was 11, she felt like she’s never worked with as many women on screen.

She also thanked her co-stars Nicole Kidman, Reese Witherspoon and Shailene Woodley.

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5:31 p.m.

The supporting comedy actress Emmy has been awarded to Kate McKinnon.

McKinnon won for her role in the NBC series “Saturday Night Live.”

The actress played presidential candidate Hillary Clinton during the most recent season, and thanked Clinton during her acceptance speech.

She teared up as she gave her thanks Sunday night.

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5:25 p.m.

John Lithgow is the winner of the Emmy Award for best drama series supporting actor. Lithgow won for his role on the Netflix series “The Crown.”

The actor calls the win the latest gift from the series, in which he played Winston Churchill as he advises the newly installed Queen Elizabeth II.

Lithgow thanked Churchill in his acceptance speech Sunday night.

It’s Lithgow’s sixth career Emmy.

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5:15 p.m.

Emmy Awards host Stephen Colbert has taken a jab at President Donald Trump in his opening monologue.

Colbert thanked the president for tuning in Sunday, joking that Trump is the only one who has enough time to keep current on all that’s going on in television nowadays.

Colbert adds he’s “looking forward to the tweets.”

The CBS late-night host had promised a political show, and his opening number did include jabs at negative news headlines.

Colbert also went on a lengthy riff on Trump, blaming Emmy voters for not giving the president an Emmy. Colbert told the crowd, “This is all your fault.”

The host also played a clip of Trump commenting during a presidential debate that he should have been awarded an Emmy before joking that Emmys go to the winner of the popular vote.

The host wasn’t all serious: He took time to thank first responders to hurricanes Harvey and Irma, and urged people to donate to disaster recovery.

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5:10 p.m.

Stephen Colbert has started the 2017 Emmy Awards with a musical number.

The musical bit included cameos from the “This Is Us” cast, a nod to “Stranger Things” and “A Handmaid’s Tale” as well as an appearance from Chance the Rapper.

It also included a couple jabs at politics and negative headlines.

The number was met with thunderous applause.

Colbert promised the ceremony honoring the best actors and shows on television would be political in the days before Sunday’s ceremony broadcasting live from the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles.(backslash)

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4:45 p.m.

A half an hour to showtime, the Microsoft Theater lobby is suffering a serious case of gridlock as people begin to scramble for seats while others gobble down boxes of popcorn they picked up at one of the concession stands.

While the big screens above the stage that will show the broadcast display trivia questions, an anonymous voice interrupts the endless jazz pop soundtrack playing in the theater to repeat every minute or two, “Ladies and gentlemen, please take your seats, the show will begin shortly.”

– John Rogers

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4:35 p.m.

Men’s fashions at awards shows tend to be pretty staid, but “This Is Us'” star Chris Sullivan has upped the ante by sporting both a top hat and cane on the Emmys red carpet Sunday.

Sullivan mugged for the cameras with the cane, but the top hat was a late addition to his wardrobe. Sullivan says he spotted it in a shop on Saturday and said, “This is happening.”

His “This Is Us” co-star Ron Cephas Jones arrived in a white tuxedo jacket and left his bow tie undone as he posed for photographers.

One of the more colorful men’s fashion choices came from one of the younger “Stranger Things” stars, Caleb McLaughlin, who wore a purple tuxedo jacket.

– Sandy Cohen, @APSandy on Twitter

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4:15 p.m.

It’s less than an hour to showtime, and the Microsoft Theater resembles a ghost town as celebrities ignore the requests from security guards to move inside, choosing instead to stop and chat with friends, family and each other.

Anthony Anderson embraces a friend warmly after wrapping up a red carpet interview with the cast of “black-ish” while nearby William H. Macy and wife Felicity Huffman pose for cellphone photos with friends. “Oh come on, get in the photo,” Huffman says to a friend who tries to step aside when an official red carpet photographer joins the shoot.

Those who make it inside are greeted by what is essentially a giant cocktail lounge.

Attendees are standing in lines a dozen or more deep, hoping to grab a quick drink before heading for their seats. Bottled water that was free outside is going for $5 a pop at the theater lounge.

– John Rogers

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4 p.m.

The biggest traffic jam in Los Angeles might be on the Emmy red carpet.

Stars were gridlocked Sunday on their way into the auditorium with just over an hour to go until the show started.

In the crowd Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy chatted with Giancarlo Esposito, Tatiana Maslany checked her phone and Chris Hardwick snapped a photo of the crush of people ahead of him, including Uzo Aduba, Michael Kelly and Zach Woods.

By the time stars arrive on the carpet, they’ve often spent hours preparing for the ceremony.

Huffman and Macy, who are married, said preparing for the Emmys was a family affair. Both actors are nominated – Macy for his work on “Shameless” and Huffman for her role on “American Crime.”

Huffman says, “I was in hair and makeup at 10:30.”

Macy says, “We had music on. I took a picture of everyone. It was sort of sweet.”

– Sandy Cohen, @APSandy and Lindsey Bahr, @ldbahr on Twitter

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3:50 p.m.

Sterling K. Brown says his Emmy nomination for “This Is Us” feels different from his experience last year.

Brown won last year for his role as O.J. Simpson prosecutor Christopher Darden in the limited series “People v O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”

The actor is nominated this year in one of the night’s top acting honors: best drama actor for the NBC series.

Brown says, “It does feel different but for different reasons. I’m the first African American in 16 years nominated, that kind of blows my mind.”

The last African-American actor to win in the category was Andre Braugher in 1998 for “Homicide: Life on the Street.” He was nominated three years later for “Gideon’s Crossing,” but did not win.

– Sandy Cohen, @APSandy on Twitter

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This story has been corrected to show that Andre Braugher was nominated for best drama actor in 2001, but did not win. Braugher was last African-American actor to win the best drama actor Emmy in 1998.

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3:45 p.m.

“Saturday Night Live” star Aidy Bryant says there will come a day when Melissa McCarthy will return to the show.

Speaking to The Associated Press Sunday on the bustling Emmys red carpet and flanked by male co-stars Beck Bennett, Pete Davidson, Kyle Mooney and show writer Mikey Day, who she called her barbershop quartet, Bryant said they missed McCarthy. She called the actress a powerhouse.

“Saturday Night Live” has 22 nominations, and McCarthy has already won for her recurring guest appearance as former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer.

As for the upcoming season, Mooney says not to worry and to trust the process. Plus, Bennett adds: they’ve got Ryan Gosling for their season premiere later this month.

– Lindsey Bahr, @ldbahr on Twitter

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3:15 p.m.

The child stars of Netflix phenomenon “Stranger Things” are sticking together at the Emmys.

Gaten Matarazzo and Finn Wolfhard stayed close walking down the red carpet Sunday in the lead up to Sunday’s ceremony, where “Stranger Things” is up for best drama.

The pair was joined by Noah Schnapp and Caleb McLaughlin for photos, with McLaughlin sporting a vibrant purple tuxedo jacket.

“Saturday Night Live” cast members Pete Davidson and Kyle Mooney also braved the carpet together.

– Lindsey Bahr, @ldbahr on Twitter

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2:50 p.m.

“Billy on the Street’s” Billy Eichner has a fan in Jackie Hoffman.

The “Feud” star crossed paths with Eichner on the Emmys red carpet Sunday shouting “Billy! Billy! Over here!”

Eichner, a nominee, laughed and waved and made his way to an area where he was photographed repeatedly.

Elsewhere “Top Chef’s” Gail Simmons powdered her nose before facing the cameras, while E! red carpet correspondent Giuliana Rancic adjusted her black tulle gown.

– Lindsey Bahr, @ldbahr on Twitter

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2:30 p.m.

Emmy nominees Sterling K. Brown and Jackie Hoffman are among the first nominees to walk the red carpet on Sunday.

The actors posed for photographs on the red carpet as publicists and security readied for the deluge of stars expected for the show. The red carpet for the first time is tented and air conditioned to provide for some relief from the usually warm temperatures in Los Angeles in September. The temperatures are in the 70s on Sunday and the air conditioning was a welcome respite from recent years of sweltering Emmys red carpets.

Another early arrival was “Modern Family” star Rico Rodriguez.

Hoffman, who is nominated for the FX series “Feud: Bette and Joan” says she’s “less freak-out nervous” now that all the pre-Emmy festivities are over and she’s finally at the big show. She says she’ll be happy to accept anyone’s Emmy for them tonight, but is most excited about the chance to claim her own.

– Lindsey Bahr and Sandy Cohen

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5:30 a.m.

The Emmy ceremony is about winners and losers. But expect politics and a cheeky turn by host Stephen Colbert too.

Colbert says that Sunday’s Emmys are a celebration of TV, and that President Donald Trump was TV’s biggest star in the past year.

Colbert also vowed to show his nude rear, or at least part of it, in the opening musical number.

Nominees for the top drama series Emmy include the warm-hearted “This Is Us” and the dark “The Handmaid’s Tale.”

Among comedy contenders, political satire “Veep” is the favorite after two consecutive wins. Star Julia Louis-Dreyfus could claim the best comedy actress trophy for the sixth time for her role.

The 69th prime-time Emmy Awards air at 8 p.m. Eastern Sunday on CBS.

Sterling K. Brown accepts the award for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for “This Is Us” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Elisabeth Moss accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series for “The Handmaid’s Tale” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Lorne Michaels and the cast of SNL accept the award for outstanding variety sketch series for “Saturday Night Live” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Donald Glover accepts the award for outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for “Atlanta” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Nicole Kidman, center left, Reese Witherspoon, center right, and cast and crew accept the award for outstanding limited series for “Big Little Lies” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Julia Louis-Dreyfus accepts the award for outstanding lead actress in a comedy series for “Veep” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Riz Ahmed arrives at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

Host Stephen Colbert performs at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Sean Spicer speaks at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Riz Ahmed accepts the award for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or a movie for “The Night Of” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Laura Dern accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie for “Big Little Lies” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Alec Baldwin accepts the award for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for “Saturday Night Live” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Audrey Morrissey accepts the award for outstanding reality-competition program for “The Voice” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

John Lithgow accepts the award for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for “The Crown” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Alexander Skarsgard accepts the award for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or a movie for “Big Little Lies” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Ann Dowd accepts the award for outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for “The Handmaid’s Tale” at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, Sept. 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)