Matthew Rhys did something no actor has managed across 78 editions of the Primetime Emmys. On Monday night in Los Angeles, he won lead actor in a limited series for playing the terrifying real estate heir Nile Jarvis in Netflix's The Beast in Me, then came back later in the show to pick up lead comedy actor for his turn as a small-town mayor in Apple TV's Widow's Bay. Two lead acting trophies, same ceremony, same guy.

Rhys didn't lean into either character's swagger when he got to the mic. Instead he thanked his home country, telling the room, "we are a small but mighty nation," with partner Keri Russell watching from her seat, according to the Los Angeles Times. It's his second Emmy — he won lead drama actor for The Americans back in 2018.

Widow's Bay had a big night beyond Rhys, walking away with Outstanding Comedy Series. Martin Short, nominated for Only Murders in the Building, did not have quite the same evening. The LA Times noted cameras caught him tearing up his own speech and flinging the pieces on the floor when Rhys's win for comedy was announced, a bit that lasted only seconds but landed with anyone watching closely.

HBO Max's The Pitt took the drama series prize for a second consecutive year, and Jean Smart picked up her fifth lead comedy actress Emmy for Hacks, one for every season the show ran, making her the first performer to sweep every season of a series in that category, per JoBlo.

Michael J. Fox received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award in a wheelchair, and Deadline reported a teleprompter mix-up meant he had to ad lib before delivering his speech. He spoke about his foundation's Parkinson's work and, true to form, worked in jokes about Lola Falana along the way. The LA Times described the room going silent as he spoke.

Mariska Hargitay hosted, the first woman to do so in 15 years, opening with a song about television screens that drew mixed reviews, Deadline called it a miss, the LA Times found her self-deprecating charm carried the show regardless. A Law & Order sketch built around whether Taylor Swift would show up ended with Swift making a silent cameo alongside Hargitay and a cat, which several outlets flagged as the strongest recovery of the night. Standards and practices bleeped John Mulaney mid-monologue, cutting into what Deadline called an otherwise sharp set.

Sally Field, accepting for Incredibly Bright Creatures, used her speech to take a swipe at Paramount's ongoing acquisition of Warner Bros., telling the room diverse storytelling "can't be silenced, compromised or merged."

Creative Arts Emmys, handed out separately the week before, saw David Harbour and Linda Cardellini both win supporting acting awards for DTF St. Louis, per JoBlo. A show that's likely to keep coming up as the season's limited-series conversation continues into next year's nominations.