The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2017, until May 31, 2018, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held live on September 17, 2018, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California, where 26 awards were presented, and was broadcast in the U.S. by NBC. The ceremony was hosted by Michael Che and Colin Jost.
The nominations were announced by Ryan Eggold and Samira Wiley on July 12, 2018. The biggest winner of the night was Amazon Prime Video's comedy-drama The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, which won five trophies, including the honor for Outstanding Comedy Series, making history by becoming the first streaming television series to claim the prize. Game of Thrones also won its third trophy for Outstanding Drama Series, and Peter Dinklage tied for the most wins for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, with his third victory for Game of Thrones. He would get the sole record by winning for the eighth and final season the following year.
With a U.S. viewership of 10.2 million that reflects an 11% drop from the previous year, it was the then-least watched show in Emmy history. It was also the first time in the show's history that Modern Family was not nominated for Outstanding Comedy Series after eight successive nominations and a record five wins from 2010 to 2014.
The three wins of John Legend, Andrew Lloyd Webber, and Tim Rice made them the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth persons to become an EGOT (at the creative arts ceremony).
Winners and nominees
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡). For simplicity, producers who received nominations for program awards have been omitted.
Programs + The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Prime Video) Atlanta (FX) Barry (HBO) Black-ish (ABC) Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO) GLOW (Netflix) Silicon Valley (HBO) Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Netflix) Game of Thrones (HBO) The Americans (FX) The Crown (Netflix) The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu) Stranger Things (Netflix) This Is Us (NBC) Westworld (HBO) Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central) Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS) Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS) The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS) Saturday Night Live (NBC) At Home with Amy Sedaris (truTV) Drunk History (Comedy Central) I Love You, America with Sarah Silverman (Hulu) Portlandia (IFC) Tracey Ullman's Show (HBO) The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story (FX) The Alienist (TNT) Genius: Picasso (Nat Geo) Godless (Netflix) Patrick Melrose (Showtime) RuPaul's Drag Race (VH1) The Amazing Race (CBS) American Ninja Warrior (NBC) Project Runway (Lifetime) Top Chef (Bravo) The Voice (NBC)
Acting
Lead performances + Bill Hader – Barry as Barry Berkman / Barry Block (HBO) (Episode: "Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast, and Keep Going") Anthony Anderson – Black-ish as Andre "Dre" Johnson Sr. (Episode: "Advance to Go (Collect $200)" (ABC) Ted Danson – The Good Place as Michael (Episode: "Dance Dance Resolution") (NBC) Larry David – Curb Your Enthusiasm as Larry David (Episode: "Fatwa!") (HBO) Donald Glover – Atlanta as Earnest "Earn" Marks / Teddy Perkins (Episode: "Teddy Perkins") (FX) William H. Macy – Shameless as Frank Gallagher (Episode: "Sleepwalking") (Showtime) Rachel Brosnahan – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as Miriam "Midge" Maisel (Episode: "Thank You and Good Night") (Prime Video) Pamela Adlon – Better Things as Sam Fox (Episode: "Eulogy") (FX) Allison Janney – Mom as Bonnie Plunkett (Episode: "Phone Confetti and a Wee Dingle") (CBS) Issa Rae – Insecure as Issa Dee (Episode: "Hella Great") (HBO) Tracee Ellis Ross – Black-ish as Dr. Rainbow "Bow" Johnson (Episode: "Elder. Scam.") (ABC) Lily Tomlin – Grace and Frankie as Frankie Bergstein (Episode: "The Home") (Netflix) Matthew Rhys – The Americans as Philip Jennings (Episode: "START") (FX) Jason Bateman – Ozark as Martin "Marty" Byrde (Episode: "The Toll") (Netflix) Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us as Randall Pearson (Episode: "Number Three") (NBC) Ed Harris – Westworld as the Man in Black / William (Episode: "Vanishing Point") (HBO) Milo Ventimiglia – This Is Us as Jack Pearson (Episode: "The Car") (NBC) Jeffrey Wright – Westworld as Bernard Lowe (Episode: "The Passenger") (HBO) Claire Foy – The Crown as Queen Elizabeth II (Episode: "Dear Mrs. Kennedy") (Netflix) Tatiana Maslany – Orphan Black as various characters (Episode: "To Right the Wrongs of Many") (BBC America) Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid's Tale as June Osborne / Offred (Episode: "The Last Ceremony") (Hulu) Sandra Oh – Killing Eve as Eve Polastri (Episode: "I Have a Thing About Bathrooms") (BBC America) Keri Russell – The Americans as Elizabeth Jennings (Episode: "The Summit") (FX) Evan Rachel Wood – Westworld as Dolores Abernathy (Episode: "Reunion") (HBO) Darren Criss – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as Andrew Cunanan (FX) Antonio Banderas – Genius: Picasso as Pablo Picasso (Nat Geo) Benedict Cumberbatch – Patrick Melrose as Patrick Melrose (Showtime) Jeff Daniels – on The Looming Tower as John P. O'Neill (Hulu) John Legend – Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert as Jesus Christ (NBC) Jesse Plemons – USS Callister (Black Mirror) as Captain Robert Daly (Netflix) Regina King – Seven Seconds as Latrice Butler (Netflix) Jessica Biel – The Sinner as Cora Tannetti (USA) Laura Dern – The Tale as Jennifer Fox (HBO) Michelle Dockery – Godless as Alice Fletcher (Netflix) Edie Falco – Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders as Leslie Abramson (NBC) Sarah Paulson – American Horror Story: Cult as Ally Mayfair-Richards (FX)
Supporting performances + Henry Winkler – Barry as Gene Cousineau (Episode: "Chapter Four: Commit... to YOU") (HBO) Louie Anderson – Baskets as Christine Baskets (Episode: "Thanksgiving") (FX) Alec Baldwin – Saturday Night Live as Donald Trump (Episode: "Host: Donald Glover") (NBC) Tituss Burgess – Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt as Titus Andromedon (Episode: "Kimmy and the Beest!") (Netflix) Brian Tyree Henry – Atlanta as Alfred "Paper Boi" Miles (Episode: "Woods") (FX) Tony Shalhoub – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as Abraham "Abe" Weissman (Episode: "Thank You and Good Night") (Prime Video) Kenan Thompson – Saturday Night Live as various characters (Episode: "Host: John Mulaney") (NBC) Alex Borstein – The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel as Susie Myerson (Episode: "Doink") (Prime Video) Zazie Beetz – Atlanta as Vanessa "Van" Keefer (Episode: "Helen") (FX) Aidy Bryant – Saturday Night Live as various characters (Episode: "Host: Chadwick Boseman") (NBC) Betty Gilpin – GLOW as Debbie "Liberty Belle" Eagan (Episode: "Debbie Does Something") (Netflix) Leslie Jones – Saturday Night Live as various characters (Episode: "Host: Donald Glover") (NBC) Kate McKinnon – Saturday Night Live as various characters (Episode: "Host: Bill Hader") (NBC) Laurie Metcalf – Roseanne as Jackie Harris (Episode: "No Country for Old Women") (ABC) Megan Mullally – Will & Grace as Karen Walker (Episode: "Rosario's Quinceanera") (NBC) Peter Dinklage – Game of Thrones as Tyrion Lannister (Episode: "The Dragon and the Wolf") (HBO) Nikolaj Coster-Waldau – Game of Thrones as Jaime Lannister (Episode: (HBO) Joseph Fiennes – The Handmaid's Tale as Commander Fred Waterford (Episode:"First Blood") (Hulu) David Harbour – Stranger Things as Jim Hopper (Episode: "Chapter Four: Will the Wise") (Netflix) Mandy Patinkin – Homeland as Saul Berenson (Episode: "Species Jump") (Showtime) Matt Smith – The Crown as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (Episode: "Mystery Man") (Netflix) Thandiwe Newton – Westworld as Maeve Millay (Episode: "Akane no Mai") (HBO) Alexis Bledel – The Handmaid's Tale as Emily / Ofsteven (Episode: "Unwomen") (Hulu) Millie Bobby Brown – Stranger Things as Jane "Eleven" Ives (Episode: "Chapter Three: The Pollywog") (Netflix) Ann Dowd – The Handmaid's Tale as Aunt Lydia (Episode: "June") (Hulu) Lena Headey – Game of Thrones as Cersei Lannister (Episode: "The Dragon and the Wolf") (HBO) Vanessa Kirby – The Crown as Princess Margaret (Episode: "Beryl") (Netflix) Yvonne Strahovski – The Handmaid's Tale as Serena Joy Waterford (Episode: "Women's Work") (Hulu) Jeff Daniels – Godless as Frank Griffin (Netflix) Brandon Victor Dixon – Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert as Judas Iscariot (NBC) John Leguizamo – Waco as Jacob Vazquez (Paramount Network) Ricky Martin – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as Antonio D'Amico (FX) Édgar Ramírez – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as Gianni Versace (FX) Michael Stuhlbarg – The Looming Tower as Richard Clarke (Hulu) Finn Wittrock – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as Jeffrey Trail (FX) Merritt Wever – Godless as Mary Agnes McNue (Netflix) Sara Bareilles – Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert as Mary Magdalene (NBC) Penélope Cruz – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as Donatella Versace (FX) Judith Light – The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story as Marilyn Miglin (FX) Adina Porter – American Horror Story: Cult as Beverly Hope (FX) Letitia Wright – Black Museum (Black Mirror) as Nish (Netflix)
Directing + The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: "Pilot" – Amy Sherman-Palladino (Prime Video) Atlanta: "FUBU" – Donald Glover (FX) Atlanta: "Teddy Perkins" – Hiro Murai (FX) Barry: "Chapter One: Make Your Mark" – Bill Hader (HBO) The Big Bang Theory: "The Bow Tie Asymmetry" – Mark Cendrowski (CBS) GLOW: "Pilot" – Jesse Peretz (Netflix) Silicon Valley: "Initial Coin Offering" – Mike Judge (HBO) The Crown: "Paterfamilias" – Stephen Daldry (Netflix) Game of Thrones: "Beyond the Wall" – Alan Taylor (HBO) Game of Thrones: "The Dragon and the Wolf" – Jeremy Podeswa (HBO) The Handmaid's Tale: "After" – Kari Skogland (Hulu) Ozark: "The Toll" – Jason Bateman (Netflix) Ozark: "Tonight We Improvise" – Daniel Sackheim (Netflix) Stranger Things: "Chapter Nine: The Gate" – The Duffer Brothers (Netflix) The Oscars – Glenn Weiss (ABC) Dave Chappelle: Equanimity – Stan Lathan (Netflix) Jerry Seinfeld: Jerry Before Seinfeld – Michael Bonfiglio (Netflix) Steve Martin and Martin Short: An Evening You Will Forget for the Rest of Your Life – Marcus Raboy (Netflix) Super Bowl LII Halftime Show Starring Justin Timberlake – Hamish Hamilton (NBC) The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story: "The Man Who Would Be Vogue" – Ryan Murphy (FX) Godless – Scott Frank (Netflix) Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert – David Leveaux and Alex Rudzinski (NBC) The Looming Tower: "9/11" – Craig Zisk (Hulu) Paterno – Barry Levinson (HBO) Patrick Melrose – Edward Berger (Showtime) Twin Peaks – David Lynch (Showtime)
Writing + The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel: "Pilot" – Amy Sherman-Palladino (Prime Video) Atlanta: "Alligator Man" – Donald Glover (FX) Atlanta: "Barbershop" – Stefani Robinson (FX) Barry: "Chapter One: Make Your Mark" – Alec Berg and Bill Hader (HBO) Barry: "Chapter Seven: Loud, Fast, and Keep Going" – Liz Sarnoff (HBO) Silicon Valley: "Fifty-One Percent" – Alec Berg (HBO) The Americans: "START" – Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg (FX) The Crown: "Mystery Man" – Peter Morgan (Netflix) Game of Thrones: "The Dragon and the Wolf" – David Benioff and D. B. Weiss (HBO) The Handmaid's Tale: "June" – Bruce Miller (Hulu) Killing Eve: "Nice Face" – Phoebe Waller-Bridge (BBC America) Stranger Things: "Chapter Nine: The Gate" – The Duffer Brothers (Netflix) John Mulaney: Kid Gorgeous at Radio City – John Mulaney (Netflix)