The Australian-British co-production Slow Horses won the Emmy for writing for a drama series. “I come in peace, despite my name,” British screenwriter Will Smith said, referring to actor Will Smith and the Oscar slap heard around the world, and winning him a big laugh from the audience.

Two other nominated Australians, creative directors Patrick Clair and Raoul Marks, were nominated three times in the main title design category for their work on Fallout (Amazon), Silo (Apple TV+) and 3 Body Problem (Netflix). They lost, as did many nominees, to Shogun.

Jean Smart won the Emmy for actress in a comedy, for her extraordinary work on Hacks. “It’s humbling because I don’t get enough attention,” Smart joked.

Smart’s win was a loss for actress Maya Rudolph, who was nominated for the Apple TV+ series Loot. But the 52-year-old Saturday Night Live star isn’t doing too badly. She won her sixth Emmy last weekend, for her voice performance on the series Big Mouth.

Rudolph is also playing US Vice President Kamala Harris on SNL during the election campaign, doubtless one of the plum jobs in modern American comedy. “I feel like I am connected somehow to an incredible time in this country and an excitement that I haven’t felt in a long time,” she said last weekend.

When the nominations were announced earlier this year, Shogun was the leading program with 25, followed by 23 for The Bear. On those numbers, there were high expectations for both. Shogun stunned, but The Bear’s glory was soured by a winning night for Hacks.

Other key winners included Billy Crudup (supporting actor in a drama for The Morning Show), whose marriage to Naomi Watts makes the Emmy more or less another win for Australia, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (supporting actor in a comedy for The Bear), who rattled off a list of names so long it sounded, for a moment, like he was riffing off the magic mirror from Romper Room.

The ceremony was hosted by Eugene Levy and Dan Levy. The father and son Schitt’s Creek duo kept their scripted patois light, focusing on the nominees, the industry and the event itself, refraining from anything too sharp. “We’re not hosts – we’re more like actors acting like hosts,” Daniel said.

It was a safe but charming performance, capping off an unpredictable year for awards hosts: comedian Jo Koy skidded into a train wreck with the Golden Globes, while actor/comedian Anthony Anderson played it safe with the delayed 2023 Emmys. Neither matched the industry’s safest best, Jimmy Kimmel, who handled the Oscars with elegance. And none of them have yet bested the historic high bar of Ricky Gervais. It’s unlikely anyone will.

The 45-second speech time limitation was gently but firmly enforced, regardless of anyone’s level of preparedness. “I didn’t write anything down because I am very superstitious, and now I’m in a pickle,” Debicki said when she got to the stage.

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John Oliver’s speech turned into a car crash when the producers tried to play him off, pausing when they realised he was speaking of his family losing a beloved pet. “F--- you, ” Oliver exclaimed.

Lamorne Morris’ speech (supporting actor in a limited series for Fargo) landed a little better. “I told you I’d do it. You always doubted me,” Morris said to his daughter, who was watching the telecast at home.

The “in memoriam” segment included acknowledgments of legendary actors James Earl Jones and Donald Sutherland, broadcaster Phil Donahue, actress Shannen Doherty, journalist Robert MacNeil, television exercise guru Richard Simmons and stuntwoman Jeannie Epper, who was Lynda Carter’s stunt double on the 1970s television series Wonder Woman.

The Governors Award, a special Emmy, was presented to screenwriter, producer and director of film and television Greg Berlanti in recognition of his significant impact on television and culture by depicting the underrepresented in film. Berlanti’s credits include Dawson’s Creek, Brothers & Sisters, Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and the films The Broken Hearts Club and Love, Simon.

The winners of the Emmys are determined via ballot, by the more than 25,000 members of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences; members vote only in their area of expertise.

Key winners from last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys included Jamie Lee Curtis (guest actress in a comedy series for The Bear), Shogun (cinematography for a one-hour series, production design for a narrative period program, and others), Beckham (documentary or non-fiction series) and Alan Cumming (host for a reality or reality competition series for The Traitors).