76th Emmy Awards 2024: 6 Most Memorable Moments

It was a good year for actors over 50 in the 76th annual Emmy Awards: They earned 14 major acting nominations, and won four. The father-and-son duo of Eugene Levy, 77, and Dan Levy of Schitt’s Creek fame were utterly charming hosts, warm and kindly in their ribbing of nominees, though they had a point when they joked that the Emmys honor “movie stars on streaming services,” not so much the big studios anymore.

Here are the most memorable moments of the evening:

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Jean Smart won, as usual — she’s becoming the Meryl Streep of TV comedy

“I appreciate this, because I just don’t get enough attention,” said Hacks star Smart, 73, getting as big a laugh as Deborah Vance, the character she plays on the show. She was kidding — this is her third best comedy lead Emmy for playing the stand-up comic who always kills and never says die. On the other hand, she’s serious, and her triumph in basking in the Emmy limelight lit up smiles in AARP members everywhere. She kept Hacks fresh by reaching deeper into her character, and the intergenerational love-hate relationship she has with her comedy-writer protégée (played by Hannah Einbinder).​

Don’t miss this: Jean Smart Talks Family, Grief and Aging: ‘Every Day Is Precious Now,’ in AARP Members Edition

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Hacks writer Paul W. Downs said the most AARP-friendly thing you’ve ever heard at the Emmys 

The best comment of the evening was by Hacks cowriter Downs, accepting the best comedy series award. “You know, when we pitched the show about two women, one of whom was over 60, we did not know if we would sell it,” he said,  thanking the folks who dared to buy the outrageous concept of grownups as legitimate subjects for a hit show. “About 20 percent of our population is 60-plus, and there are only 3 percent of those characters on television, and I would like to see more of them, because while I’m a great young supporting actor, I really want to be a good old lead.”

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The Bear didn’t go hungry for attention — but one of its winners was literally speechless

​Despite its upset to Hacks for best comedy series, don’t feel too bad for The Bear. The comedy about obsessive restaurant perfectionists set a new record for the most wins for a comedy in one season — 11, beating its own record set last year with 10. It won repeat Emmys for best lead comedy actor, Jeremy Allen White and best comedy supporting actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach; and a first-time Emmy for Liza Colón-Zayas, 52, for supporting comedy actress, who was more surprised than anybody. Colón-Zayas, who plays a feisty prep cook on The Bear, thanked her husband for telling her to write a speech — “and I didn’t! How could I have thought it would be possible to be in the presence of Meryl Streep and Carol Burnett and Janelle and Sheryl Lee Ralph?” The first Latina to win in the category, she added, “To all the Latinas who are looking at me, keep believing and vote.”​

Don’t miss this: 10 Quick Questions for Liza Colón-Zayas on AARP Members Edition