The 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place on Sunday, September 17 at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California. Hosted by Stephen Colbert, the night was full of big winners and memorable moments.

  One big winner of the night was Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale with a total of five Emmys, two of those awards going to Elizabeth Moss and Ann Dowd who won for Outstanding Lead Actress and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. It was a great victory for the show and a monumental win for Hulu, for it is the first streaming network to win the top Emmy award.

  Along with The Handmaid’s Tale, HBO’s Big Little Lies also took home five Emmys, with wins for Laura Dern, Nicole Kidman and the award for Best Limited Series.

  Records were broken not only for the Emmys, but for the TV industry itself. The show Atlanta, created and directed by Donald Glover, won two Emmys, making him the first black Emmy-winning director. Alongside Glover, Lena Waithe received the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, making her the first African-American woman to win an Emmy in that category.

  One of the memorable parts of the night was when Sean Spicer, a former aid to the Trump administration, made a surprise appearance. Making a joke out of himself, he said,“This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys period. Both in person and around the world.”

   West High’s Head of the Theatre Department Ms. Orabuena said, “I think that everybody in that audience was genuinely surprised because they see him as the enemy and not someone who would be part of that community. Personally, I thought it was funny because I agree with most of the people in the audience and the political views of the arts community.”

  Though Handmaid’s Tale was well-deserving for the prize of Outstanding Drama, some found it disappointing to see one of Netflix’s top shows, Stranger Things, leave the Emmys empty-handed. Along with not winning best drama,  both Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour lost in their categories: Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

David Montefalcon (12), the president of West High’s Film Club, said, “I think that Stranger Things is a great show with a really good cast. I’m not too surprised that David Harbour lost. Millie Bobby Brown was one that had a good shot of winning an Emmy. Stranger Things is a rare show that has good kid actors.”

  Many milestones were set during the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, a few of those being broken records, exciting nominees, and a diverse winner population.