HBO and HBO Max together came out on top at the Emmy Awards last night, collecting a total of 38 awards across various categories.
It won for shows like “Euphoria” (six trophies), “Hacks” (three trophies) and “Succession” (four trophies). But one limited series, in particular, was a clear fan favorite.
Creator and director Mike White wins it all at the Emmys
“The White Lotus” took home a total of 10 awards. Creator and director Mike White bagged three Emmys for the show himself for outstanding directing and outstanding writing for a limited or anthology series or movie, alongside outstanding limited series.
The show is “a sharp social satire following the exploits of various employees and guests at an exclusive Hawaiian resort over the span of one highly transformative week,” the official description states.
As the episodes go on, the dark truths about the “picture-perfect travelers, cheerful hotel employees, and idyllic locale” surface.
Since it is a limited series, there are only six episodes. Mindy Kaling jokingly called it “lazy” at the event Monday night.
“How are you getting away with this? We came up doing network sitcoms — 22 shows a year,” said Kaling, who was previously a writer for the sitcom “The Office.”
Chiming in, B.J. Novak — who also worked on “The Office” — said: “And that show, it would take up your whole life. No time for other projects.” He added that now “you can just write some self-contained masterpiece, cast it with movie stars.”
Kaling said that the series only takes a “few weeks” to shoot and everyone stayed at a “fancy luxury compound” while filming it, per NBC News.
Then she proceeded to call out the creator of the show: “How was your pandemic, Mike White? You have a hard time?”
Jennifer Coolidge wins for ‘The White Lotus’ and gives funny speech
Actress Jennifer Coolidge played the role of quirky and well-off Tanya McQuoid, who is grieving the death of her mother, in “The White Lotus.” She won the Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie for her role in the show.
She started her speech with the signature Coolidge-style “Hey, hi” and began to tell the audience that she took a lavender bath that has made her swell up in the sparkling emerald green dress, as per CNN.
“This is so thrilling because … I didn’t think it was going to happen,” she continued. She then pulled out a written speech and began reading out names and saying thank yous and I love yous.
When the music started playing, it didn’t deter her from stopping. “Hold on. No! This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing!” she said.
Coolidge tried thanking more people but the song changed to something more upbeat, louder and harder to compete with.
The actress admitted defeat by doing a little dance on stage, which was met with plenty of cheers.
Murray Bartlett also won for best supporting actor in a limited series for his role in “The White Lotus.”
‘The White Lotus’ is renewed for another season
The dark comedy is returning for a second season, which was announced as the first season aired.
“Mike has once again delivered a quintessential HBO show, and it’s the talk of the town,” said Francesca Orsi, executive vice president of HBO programming, per Cosmopolitan. “We were thrilled to hear where he wanted to go next after closing this epic chapter in Hawaii and can’t wait to keep following him wherever he takes us.”
There is a whole new cast, including Aubrey Plaza, Theo James, Haley Lu Richardson, Michael Imperioli, Murray Abraham, Adam DiMarco, Tom Hollander, Leo Woodall, Meghann Fahy and Will Sharpe.
One star is returning and that is Coolidge, who will continue playing Tanya. The upcoming season will be set in Italy.
The show has a TV-MA rating and is available to stream on HBO Max.