Phoebe Waller-Bridge beats Julia Louis-Dreyfus for comedy actress Emmy in major upset

We have our first stunning 2019 Emmys upset.

Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge just won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in a massive upset over Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Louis-Dreyfus was widely considered to be the race's front-runner, as she had never before lost the award for playing Selina Meyer on HBO's Veep, which concluded its final season earlier this year.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up

Had Louis-Dreyfus won for Veep's final season, she would have set the new record for most acting Emmys by a performer in history. She is still tied with Cloris Leachman for most wins. In her acceptance speech, Waller-Bridge, who previously won for writing, expressed as much surprise as prognosticators.

This could indicate that Fleabag itself, which also won a directing Emmy Sunday, could score an upset win over Veep in the night's top comedy category later in the evening. Veep won that prize for its past three seasons.