'Shogun' dominates Emmys, 'Hacks' surprises

'Shogun' stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai took best lead actor awards in a drama

(Image credit: Gilbert Flores / Variety via Getty Images)

published 16 September 2024

What happened

"Shogun," a big-budget FX show about feudal Japan, won a record 18 Emmys on Sunday night, including for best drama, beating the 13 awards HBO's "John Adams" miniseries took in 2008. In a surprise upset, "Hacks" beat "The Bear" for best comedy. "Shogun" stars Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai took best lead actor awards in a drama, while "Hacks" star Jean Smart won best actress in a comedy.

"Shogun" co-creator and showrunner Justin Marks "expressed awe" in his acceptance speech, Variety said, marveling that Disney's FX "green-lit a very expensive, subtitled Japanese period piece whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition." But the only "major" surprise at the Emmys was the "Hacks" win, The New York Times said. After "The Bear" season three set a record for most nominations in Emmy history in July, there was "mounting frustration" that a "tense workplace series that takes place in a Chicago's dining scene was even eligible in the comedy awards."

"In the true spirit of 'The Bear,' we will not be making any jokes," host Eugene Levy quipped at the top of the ceremony. The series still won 11 awards, topping the 10 comedy wins it notched at the last Emmys — held only eight months ago due to the Hollywood strikes.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.