The 78th Emmy Awards are still building toward the big Primetime ceremony on September 14, but the first two nights have already delivered plenty of victories, surprises, political shade and a few results that make you wonder what exactly Hollywood is rewarding.

And honestly? There was a lot to talk about.

The first two ceremonies, held September 5 and 6, handed out more than 100 awards across technical, creative, variety, guest-acting and other categories. The Television Academy has essentially folded what used to be called the Creative Arts Emmys into the first two nights of the Emmy ceremony. 

Night One: Bad Bunny Takes the Biggest Victory Lap

The biggest story of the first night was undoubtedly Bad Bunny’s Super Bowl LX halftime show, which completely swept its seven nominated categories.

The performance won Outstanding Variety Special (Live), along with awards for directing, choreography, music direction, sound mixing, lighting design and technical direction/camerawork. It was also Bad Bunny’s first Emmy. 

And let’s be honest about the cultural context here: that had to pour some serious salt into MAGA’s already-burning wound.

After months of political outrage surrounding Bad Bunny performing at the Super Bowl, the very performance that became a target of conservative outrage just walked away with seven Emmys.

That’s one hell of a victory lap.

And unlike the endless declarations of victory coming from Donald Trump’s political propaganda machine, this was an actual trophy case moment.

Stephen Colbert Gets His Own Victory Lap

Then there was The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, which collected five Emmys during the weekend, including writing and technical honors. 

That’s significant because the program’s cancellation by CBS has become one of the biggest entertainment stories of the year.

So while the show may be coming to an end, Colbert and his team are getting one hell of a final victory lap.

And there’s something almost delicious about watching a canceled late-night program collect major awards on its way out the door.

That’s something Trump can’t manufacture with a monument.

Trump has spent enormous energy trying to construct his own political legacy and surround himself with monuments to himself. But monuments don’t automatically create a legacy. Sometimes they just become giant targets for future generations to argue over, criticize—or, yes, potentially tear down.

That’s my opinion, obviously. But it’s hard not to notice the contrast between manufacturing a legacy and actually receiving recognition from your peers.

Jimmy Kimmel and Jeopardy! Keep Winning

Jimmy Kimmel also took home the Emmy for Outstanding Game Show Host for Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?, while Jeopardy! continued its dominance with another win for Outstanding Game Show. 

Some things in television apparently refuse to die.

Jeopardy! keeps collecting trophies, and Jimmy Kimmel continues adding to his Emmy résumé.

The Muppets, Sabrina Carpenter and Hollywood’s New Dream Team

Another fun moment came when The Muppet Show won Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded), while Sabrina Carpenter received her first Emmy for her work as a performer and executive producer on the special. 

Yes, you read that correctly.

Sabrina Carpenter and the Muppets are now Emmy-winning collaborators.

Somewhere in Hollywood, an executive is probably already trying to figure out how to turn that into a cinematic universe.

And honestly, I’d watch it.

Night Two Brings More Firsts—and a Very Strange Emmy Winner

Night Two belonged largely to Widow’s Bay, which led the night with eight Emmys. DTF St. Louis followed with six, while Spider-Noir, The Pitt and Pluribus also picked up multiple awards. 

There were also several major first-time Emmy winners.

Shailene Woodley won her first Emmy for her guest performance in Paradise. 

David Harbour also became an Emmy winner for DTF St. Louis, alongside Linda Cardellini, who also earned her first Emmy. 

Those are legitimate, well-deserved career moments.

But then we get to Spider-Noir.

Spider-Noir: The Emmy-Winning Flop?

Here’s where I’m going to editorialize.

Spider-Noir was canceled by Amazon after one season—and then proceeded to win five Emmys.

Five.

The series took home awards including visual effects, stunt coordination, cinematography, sound editing and title design. 

And I’m sorry, but Spider-Noir was a flop in my book.

Yes, it won Emmys. Yes, technically that makes it an Emmy-winning series.

But compare the cultural footprint of Spider-Noir with the Marvel shows that actually became major pop-culture conversations on Disney+.

WandaVision.
Loki.
The Falcon and the Winter Soldier.
Daredevil: Born Again.

Those shows generated memes, debates, theories, fan communities and enormous amounts of cultural conversation.

Spider-Noir?

It barely seemed to exist in the broader pop-culture conversation before getting canceled.

And then, almost immediately afterward, it gets five Emmys.

Hollywood really said, “Congratulations on your cancellation—here are five trophies.”

That’s a hell of an ending.

South Park Gets the Last Laugh

And then there is South Park.

After nearly three decades of offending basically everybody, the little animated monsters are still finding ways to generate headlines.

The show won Outstanding Animated Program for the episode “Sermon on the ’Mount,” which went directly after Donald Trump with the kind of outrageous political satire South Park has built its reputation on. 

And this is the part I find especially funny.

It’s not simply that South Park won an Emmy.

The season itself spent time humiliating Trump through satire, turning the president into a recurring punchline and dragging his political persona into the absurd universe that South Park has been creating for almost 30 years.

Then the show wins an Emmy.

And afterward, South Park basically twisted the knife again by mocking Trump over the award.

After all those years, those vulgar little animated children are still finding new ways to make one of the most powerful men in the country the punchline.

That’s South Park.

And We’re Not Even at the Main Emmys Yet

That’s the crazy part.

These were only the first two nights.

The official Primetime Emmy ceremony—the big televised event hosted by Mariska Hargitay—is still coming September 14. 

So already we’ve had Bad Bunny’s massive victory lap, Colbert collecting trophies despite his show’s cancellation, Jimmy Kimmel winning again, Jeopardy! continuing its seemingly endless Emmy reign, the Muppets teaming up with Sabrina Carpenter, Shailene Woodley and David Harbour getting their first Emmys, South Park continuing its Trump humiliation tour—and somehow Jeff Bezos’s canceled Spider-Noir walking away with five awards.

Not bad for a warm-up.

And if these first two nights are any indication, the actual Emmy night is going to have plenty more to talk about.