Jeremy Strong is Emmy voters' number one boy.
Strong on Sunday won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Kendall Roy on HBO's Succession. Critics widely saw his toughest competition in the category as being his own co-star, Brian Cox, who plays his character's father on the series.
"Brian Cox, I share this with you," Strong said during his acceptance speech, which he delivered remotely amid the virtual show. "Thank you so much."
This was Strong’s first Emmy nomination and his first win, which comes after a season of Succession in which he earned particular praise for his performance. At last year's Emmys, despite Succession being up for the top drama series prize, Strong was surprisingly snubbed for a nomination. This year, he had some tough competition in the lead drama actor category from not only Cox but also stars including Ozark's Jason Bateman and Pose's Billy Porter, the latter of whom won last year. As Succession heads into season three, Logan Roy can only hope his upcoming conflict with Kendall ends differently than it did tonight. Brendan Morrow
A woman suspected of sending a letter last week to the White House containing the poison ricin was arrested on Sunday at the New York-Canada border, law enforcement officials told CNN and The Associated Press.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers took the woman into custody at the Peace Bridge border crossing near Buffalo. One official told CNN the woman was carrying a gun when she was arrested. She is expected to face federal charges.
The letter, which appeared to have originated in Canada, was intercepted at an offsite facility that screens mail sent to the White House, AP reports. During a preliminary investigation, the envelope tested positive for ricin. Catherine Garcia
Who watches the Watchmen? Emmy voters, clearly.
HBO's Watchmen on Sunday took home the award for Outstanding Limited Series at the Emmys, beating out shows including Mrs. America and Little Fires Everywhere. The superhero series, which is adapted from the graphic novel, was one of the most critically acclaimed shows of 2019, and it received the most nominations of any series at this year's Emmys with 26.
In an acceptance speech for Outstanding Limited Series, Watchmen creator Damon Lindelof dedicated the award to the victims of the Tulsa race massacre, which was depicted in the series. Watchmen star Regina King had earlier in the night won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, while Yahya Abdul-Mateen II took the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie Emmy. The show also won a writing prize.
Watchmen examines systemic racism in the United States and was widely seen as having taken on even greater relevance in light of the nationwide protests over the killing of George Floyd. King touched upon that idea as she accepted her Emmy, saying, "Gotta vote. I would be remiss not to mention that being a part of a show as prescient as Watchmen." Brendan Morrow
The Bobcat fire in Los Angeles County has grown to nearly 100,000 acres, and continues to threaten the historical Mt. Wilson Observatory in the San Gabriel Mountains.
This is one of the largest fires ever recorded in the county; the biggest blaze, 2009's Station fire, burned 160,000 acres in the Angeles National Forest. The Bobcat fire is only 15 percent contained, and is moving through communities in the Antelope Valley, the Los Angeles Times reports. There are more than 1,600 firefighters on the scene, with some coming from as far away as New York.
"We're still in the thick of a good firefight," Andrew Mitchell, public information officer with the U.S. Forest Service, said on Sunday. There were some flare-ups around Mt. Wilson Observatory overnight, but crews were able to stamp them out. Forecasters expect lower temperatures and calmer winds over the next few nights, and Mitchell said he thinks "the next couple days we'll start to really get a handle on this fire because the conditions will be right and we'll be able to really start backing it with all our assets."
There are 27 major wildfires now burning in California, the state's Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said on Sunday. Since mid-August, blazes in the state have killed 26 people and destroyed more than 6,100 structures. Catherine Garcia
Schitt's Creek is going out on top.
The show just pulled off a sweep at the Emmys, winning every single comedy award during Sunday's broadcast, including Outstanding Comedy Series.
Schitt's Creek's four main stars — Eugene Levy, Dan Levy, Catherine O'Hara, and Annie Murphy — were all awarded Emmys for their performances. This makes Schitt's Creek the first comedy in history to win all four comedy actor Emmys. The show also won Emmys for writing and directing.
The series' domination was especially notable after it went without any Emmy love throughout the majority of its six-season run. It wasn't until 2019 when the show finally earned its first nominations for its penultimate season, and before 2020, it had never won a single Emmy.
But the show picked up serious momentum as its final episodes debuted earlier this year and after new viewers caught up on past seasons on Netflix, similar to the streaming boost series like Breaking Bad received late in their run. The result is that, according to Gold Derby, Schitt's Creek is now just the third show ever to win the main comedy series Emmy for the first time in its final season, with the previous two being Barney Miller and Fleabag. Hey, better late than never, right? Brendan Morrow
Schitt's Creek is off to a strong start at the Emmys.
The acclaimed comedy kicked off Sunday's Emmys with back-to-back wins for its two stars, Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy, who won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, respectively. Both stars were together in Ontario, Canada, where the show's cast gathered at an event "adhering to Ontario’s COVID-19 guidelines," according to the series' Twitter account.
This was the first Emmy for both O'Hara and Levy since the 1980s, when they picked up writing Emmys for their work on SCTV Network. Neither performer had been nominated for their work on Schitt's Creek until last year.
Levy also co-created the show with his son, Dan Levy, who was also with the cast and crew in Ontario and won his own Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series. Brendan Morrow