`Game of Thrones' Wins Best Drama Emmy; `Fleabag' Gets 4 Awards

LOS ANGELES -- In a fond farewell, HBO's ``Game of Thrones'' wonthe Emmy for best drama series tonight, honoring the show's final season, but the upstart British comedy ``Fleabag'' stole the ceremony with four wins, including an upset as best comedy series.

A pair of first-time winners took home the acting prizes in the drama categories, with Billy Porter winning for FX's ``Pose'' and Julia Comer named best drama actress for BBC America's ``Killing Eve.'' Porter became the first openly gay black man to win the dramatic actor Emmy -- and it left him an Oscar away from earning an EGOT, having previously won a Tony and a Grammy.

``Game of Thrones'' won just two Emmys on the night, for best drama and a supporting-actor prize for Peter Dinklage, but that was enough to tie its own record -- 12 -- for number of Emmys won by a show in a single season. The program won 10 prizes last weekend during the Creative Arts Emmy Award ceremonies.

The celebrated series, which debuted in 2011 and ended its 73-episode run on May 19, also padded its record for Emmy wins by a scripted series, upping its overall total to 59.

The show has won the Emmy for outstanding drama series each of the last four years it was eligible.

Julia Garner won her first career Emmy for her supporting work in Netflix's ``Ozark.'' ``Ozark'' also earned a drama directing prize for its star, Jason Bateman.

For all the attention focused on ``Game of Thrones'' heading into the ceremony, it was Amazon's ``Fleabag'' that stole the night.

The comic story of a grief-stricken British woman's effort to cope with life while dealing with tragedy, ``Fleabag'' picked up four Emmys. In addition to its win for best comedy series, ``Fleabag'' creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge picked up prizes for lead actress in a comedy series and writing for a comedy. It also won for comedy series directing by Harry Bradbeer.

The show's dominance spoiled the farewell of another HBO series, ``Veep,'' which was considered a heavy favorite in the comedy category. ``Veep,'' which ended its seven-season run on May 12, won the outstanding comedy series Emmy each year from 2015 through 2017. Its final season was delayed to allow star Julia Louis-Dreyfus enough time to recuperate after undergoing chemotherapy treatment for breast cancer.

Louis-Dreyfus was also considered a heavy favorite to win the comedy acting prize, but she was bested by Waller-Bridge.

Tony Shalhoub won his fourth career Emmy, picking up a prize for best supporting actor in ``The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.'' He won three times previously for his lead role in ``Monk.''
Shalhoub's co-star, Alex Borstein, picked up her second straight Emmy for supporting actress in a comedy series for ``Mrs. Maisel.''

``Chernobyl,'' HBO's story of the 1986 nuclear calamity, collected three Emmys -- best limited series, best writing in a limited series or movie by Craig Mazin and directing by Johan Renck.

Netflix's ``Bandersnatch: Black Mirror,'' the story of a computer programmer whose life becomes entangled in the video game he is developing, won the Emmy for best television movie.

Jharrel Jerome won the Emmy for lead actor in a limited series or movie for ``When They See Us,'' the story of the ``Central Park Five'' who were wrongly convicted of the 1989 rape of a jogger in New York's Central Park.

Michelle Williams was named best actress in a limited series or movie for ``Fosse/Verdon,'' and she earned cheers from the audience as she espoused equal pay for performance regardless of gender or race. She said her ``bosses never presumed to know better'' than her about what her role demanded.

Patricia Arquette won the Emmy for best supporting actress in a limited series or movie for Hulu's ``The Act.'' It was her second career Emmy, following her 2005 win for best actress in a drama series for ``Medium.''

Ben Whishaw won the prize for outstanding actor in a limited series or movie for his work in ``A Very English Scandal.''

``RuPaul's Drag Race'' won its second straight Emmy for reality-competition program.

HBO's ``Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' won the Emmy for outstanding variety talk series for the fourth consecutive year, and also picked up the prize for outstanding writing for a variety series. ``Saturday Night Live'' was named outstanding variety sketch series, and it also earned a
directing Emmy for Don Roy King.

City News Service contributed to this report.