Best and worst moments of the 2025 Emmys, from Stephen Colbert to that money clock

Sunday’s Emmy Awards had the usual mix of light-hearted moments and powerful speeches, along with some surprise wins in the acting categories. So if there’s one thing we should always remember about television’s biggest night, it’s this: What might seem predictable sometimes isn’t and that’s what makes this awards show worth watching.

Here, Times writers share their favorite moments of the night, and one that perhaps shouldn’t be repeated.

Best standing ovation: Stephen Colbert

Stephen Colbert with his “Late Show” crew after winning his first Emmy for talk series.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

We knew going into the Emmys that Stephen Colbert would be on the receiving end of the night’s biggest outpouring of love. But even knowing that, I wouldn’t have guessed just how electrifying the ovation Colbert would receive when he won the talk series Emmy for his recently canceled late-night show. That the ceremony was aired on CBS, the network that unceremoniously dumped him, offered a bit of delicious irony, as well as an opportunity for Colbert to air a grievance or two. But that’s not the man’s style.

Colbert said he initially wanted to make a late-night comedy show about love. But as the years passed in his 10-year run, he realized the show was really about loss.

“And that’s related to love, because sometimes you only truly know how much you love something when you get a sense that you might be losing it,” Colbert said. “And in September of 2025 my friends, I have never loved my country more desperately. God bless America. Stay strong, be brave.” And one more thing, he added in a nod to Prince. “If the elevator tries to bring you down, go crazy and punch a higher floor.” — Glenn Whipp

Best speech: ‘Culture belongs to the people,’ Cris Abrego says

One of the most riveting and truthful speeches of the night came not from a celebrity, but from Television Academy Chairman Cris Abrego, who used his time onstage before presenting the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to lament the cataclysmic Congressional funding cuts for the Corp. for Public Broadcasting. When Abrego first mentioned the cuts, the audience erupted in an effusive and concerted round of booing.

“In a time when division dominates the headlines, storytelling still has the power to unite us,” Abrego said. “Television and the artists who make it do more than reflect society. They shape our culture, and in times of cultural regression, they remind us of what’s at stake and what can still be achieved.”

Abrego also said that generations of artists have used the power of television to, “broaden horizons, challenge the status quo and bend that arc of history, towards justice.” The words hit home in a room full of creatives struggling with how to walk a tightrope between corporate mandates to make money and not offend, and government attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion.

“All of us in this room must continue to champion that power and wield it responsibly,” Abrego said. “In moments like this, neutrality is not enough. We must be voices for connection, inclusion, empathy.”

Culture, Abrego concluded, “Doesn’t come from the top down. It rises from the bottom up. Culture belongs to the people. So if our industry is to thrive, we need to make room for more voices, not fewer.” — Jessica Gelt

Best squeal of the night: Katherine LaNasa

Katherine LaNasa of “The Pitt” won her first Emmy for supporting actress in a drama series.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Katherine LaNasa’s radiant smile is contagious enough, but when she let out that girlish squeal after a clearly unexpected victory, I felt her excitement in my bones. Clearly so did LaNasa’s partner-in-care Noah Wyle, who looked just as proud to see the first-time nominee up on the stage as he would end up scaling it an hour later.

Beating out “The White Lotus” actors was no small feat — especially considering the season-saving monologue from Carrie Coon — and that LaNasa delivered a fan-favorite performance while dancing her way through it between takes is all the more heartening. Hopefully the same nurses that LaNasa toasted to in her speech, those whose grit and gentleness are manifest in Dana Evans, will feel that they are sharing in this win.

This one is also for the “Imposters” groupies, who know LaNasa should have gotten her flowers for embodying a tough maternal figure long ago. — Malia Mendez

Best shout out to their mom: Tramell Tillman

Tramell Tillman with his mother after winning the Emmy for supporting actor in a drama series for “Severance.”

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

Tramell Tillman had a historic victory on Sunday, becoming the first Black actor to win for supporting actor in a drama series. His performance as Seth Milchick in Season 2 of “Severance” showcases his range, as his character seesaws from a cheery to chilling middle manager. Whether it was a tête-à-tête with Lumon boss Mr. Drummond, where Mr. Milchick is told to shorten his words before choosing to do the opposite — his phrase “devour feculence” seethes with quiet rage — or leading a drumline in the dramatic season finale, Tillman stole many scenes.

In his acceptance speech, Tillman thanked his mother for his achievement: “Mama, you were there for me when no one else was, and no one else would show up. This is for you.”

I think Kier would approve this moment of frolic for him and his mother. — Maira Garcia

Best reference to their innie/outie: Britt Lower

Britt Lower of “Severance” after winning the Emmy for lead actress in a drama series: “It feels like getting to play this role within all of her layers has been a real kind of meeting of a soulmate.”

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

First-time Emmy winner Britt Lower, star of “Severance,” thanked (one) of her characters in the drama series in her acceptance speech for “choosing” her. When she headed backstage to speak with reporters, she said she wasn’t quite sure what she meant by that.

“It feels like getting to play this role within all of her layers has been a real kind of meeting of a soulmate. Getting to walk through the world the way she does and see the world from her point of view has given me a lot of strength,” Lower told The Times of her dual role as Helly R./Helena Eagan. “I don’t know how she chose me, that’s just how it feels.”

When she got another question from a reporter who joined the press room via Zoom, Lower looked around for where the booming voice over the speakers could be coming from.

“I couldn’t see your face, so it felt like you were kind of like Lumon,” she said. “A disembodied voice in the room.”

Something I wish I’d asked about before she headed backstage was the message scribbled on the back of her speech notes: “LET ME OUT,” it read, perhaps invoking the spirit of Helly R. — Kaitlyn Huamani

Best surprise win for a small yet powerful show: Jeff Hiller

Jeff Hiller of HBO’s “Somebody Somewhere” accepting the award for supporting actor in a comedy series.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

Jeff Hiller winning supporting actor in a comedy series for “Somebody Somewhere” is the best thing I’ve seen on an awards show in … well, possibly ever. HBO’s dramedy is a small show by any metric, but like many small things, it is exquisite and Hiller is a big reason why. Playing Joel, a gay, devoutly Christian man in a small town, Hiller fearlessly leaned into dichotomy and sincerity, which is very difficult to do. His Joel had a gimlet eye and wore his heart on his sleeve; he was sometimes goofy but always in on the joke. There was nothing flashy or predictable about Hiller’s performance. A deceptively quiet role in a deceptively quiet series, it was astonishingly powerful.

Still, despite some critical acclaim, no one expected Hiller to be nominated, much less win, including Hiller himself. As bigger shows took the stage again and again, his teary-eyed acceptance speech reminded us that television is full of tremendous shows that, for whatever reason, fly under the radar. And those shows are full artists of all kinds who endure the rejections and compromises, make a years-long career out of small gigs, who consistently hone their craft and when they are finally given the chance, do amazing work. “Somebody Somewhere” may, as he said in his acceptance speech, have changed Hiller’s life but he was there all along, just waiting to shine. — Mary McNamara

Best nod to ‘Star Wars’ fans: Dan Gilroy

Dan Gilroy accepting the award for writing for a drama series for “Andor.” He nodded to “Star Wars” fans with the phrase, “We have friends everywhere.”

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

When “Andor’s” Dan Gilroy took the stage to accept the Emmy for writing for a drama series and said, “We have friends everywhere,” I cheered. As fans of the “Star Wars” series know, the phrase was a play on the words members of the Rebellion say to each other on the show to confirm their allegiance when meeting for the first time.

Gilroy’s win marked the first Primetime Emmy Award bestowed upon the spy thriller, which had won four awards at the Creative Arts Emmys just last week. I’ve sang “Andor’s” praises since its first season premiered way back in 2022, so I’m glad the Television Academy is finally catching up. As Gilroy mentioned in his speech, “Andor” is “a story about ordinary people fighting impossible odds.”

The episode that he wrote involves an elected government official taking a very public stand against authoritarianism, propaganda and genocide in a speech meant to coalesce the various resistance cells into one Rebel Alliance. And while the show itself is inspired by history, its themes have never felt more relevant than they do now. I hope this moment helps convince people who had written off “Andor” because of their preconceptions of the “Star Wars” franchise to finally check it out. — Tracy Brown

Best chat about an ‘Ugly Betty’ reboot: Michael Urie

Michael Urie as he was preparing to attend the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Jason Armond/Los Angeles Times)

With a ceremony that spent time paying tribute to “Golden Girls” and “Gilmore Girls,” maybe it was fitting that in spending my afternoon with first-time nominee Michael Urie, nominated for his supporting role in Apple TV+’s “Shrinking,” I mentioned my love (and recent rewatch) of ABC’s mid-aughts primetime soap “Ugly Betty,” which celebrates the 20th anniversary of its premiere next year. So you can imagine my excitement when Urie, who starred in the show, as he was getting into his plum-hued ensemble for the night, stopped to point out the “Ugly Betty” Season 4 wrap gift he had in tow: A medium-sized sling bag with a patch reading “UBS4” adhered to its side, commemorating the season.

“I just realized that I’ve had it all these years,” he says, stopping to give me a tour of the weathered black bag. “It’s the greatest bag I’ve ever had and over the years I’ve tried to phase it out, and I’ve gotten other bags, but they don’t make it like this one — and this one survives.”

It gets us on the topic of reboots — and my hesitation with Hollywood’s proclivity to try to recapture lightning in a bottle.

“The further we get from it, the less I would be interested,” he says. “I mean, we all would, of course, do it if they want us to do a revival. And we talk about it every year, but the further we get, the more I don’t know. I just don’t see how you could get those characters back in the same dynamics.”

Could Marc St. James, the loyal and snarky assistant to top high-fashion magazine creative director Wilhelmina Slater (Vanessa Williams), who Urie perfectly portrayed, be a big shot editor these days? When the series ended in 2010, Wilhelmina becomes editor-in-chief, with Marc remaining by her side.

“You’d have to figure out some way to get him back under Wilhelmina,” he says. “And I’m too old to be running around to as an assistant.” — Yvonne Villarreal

Worst countdown: That money clock

Emmys host Nate Bargatze on stage, where a screen displays the dwindling Boys & Girls Club donation.

(Myung J. Chun/Los Angeles Times)

This year’s Emmys employed a novel, off-putting and deeply annoying way of trying to keep acceptance speeches short. At the beginning of the show, host Nate Bargatze announced that $100,000 was going to be donated to the Boys & Girls Club of Los Angeles, but whenever a winner went over, the money would start to drop. The visual of winners trying to express themselves while a projection of the money going to a beloved children’s charity plummeted behind them, was not great. It also had unpredictable results. John Oliver raced through his speech in about five seconds and ran off stage. Others, like Hannah Einbinder, kept talking and said she’d pay the swiftly depleting money back.

The funds plunged to $30,000 when 15-year-old Owen Cooper gave his speech after making history as the youngest person ever to win in an acting category. After Cooper left the stage, Bargatze deadpanned, “That was a show ‘Adolescence’ that did that to adolescents.”

When there were 10 minutes left of the telecast, the total stood at negative $26,000. “We’re already in debt,” said Seth Rogen, as the speeches ran long after “The Studio” won for best comedy series. “We’ve f—ed over the boys and girls.”

As Homer Simpson would say, “It’s funny ‘cause it’s true.” At the very end of the night Bargatze announced he would up the total donation to $350,000, but it still came across as an afterthought. — J.G.