The return of the Emmys provided six things to know

The 75th Emmy Awards of Merit: The White Lotus, Aubrey, Macfadnan and Smith-Cameron

The winner is. The White Lotus was written by the same person as Aubrey. Plaza (The White Lotus)Elizabeth Smith-Cameron and Seehorn are examples of people who have worked on The Crown. Saul is the author of The White Lotus.

Matthew Macfadnan won theSuccession. Alan Ruck won theSuccession. Murray Abraham (The White Lotus)Michael Imperioli (The White Lotus)Nicholas Braun (Succession)Theo James (The White Lotus)Will Sharpe (The White Lotus)

WINNER: Ebon Moss-Bachrach ( The bear), Anthony Carrigan (Barry),Phil Dunster (Ted Lasso) and James Marsden (Jury duty) are all actors.

1. Most of the Emmys coverage involves a few of the major categories but there is always more going on. It’s hard not to admire the EGOT, a made-up status that it is, due to a win for his special Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium.

2. Black actors are often presented at awards shows as hosts, but it’s not always because they deserve more than a token award. Not so with the Awards of Merit. Three of the first four women to take the stage as winners — Ayo Edebiri, Quinta Brunson, and Niecy Nash-Betts — were Black, and the ceremony’s look back at 75 years of Emmys included beloved icons like Arsenio Hall and Marla Gibbs as well as influential shows like Good Times and Martin. Anderson called it “like MLK Day and Juneteenth rolled into one.”

3. In place of the orchestra playing people off to trim runaway speeches, they decided this year to have host Anthony Anderson’s mother stand up in the audience and start yelling at them. The moment she did it to Jennifer Coolidge, it was more than clear that this was going to be terribly awkward. Fortunately, the producers decided not to continue with it. It’s not clear whether they ever intended to. It was not going to land as they had hoped, so perhaps they didn’t. Do not waste time playing the music.

The 75th Emmy Awards offered up nothing in the way of real surprise; practically every prize went to the frontrunner. Perhaps the closest night to a moment worth an eyebrow-raise was the In memoriam segment that featured a mournful rendition of the Friends theme song. That is a song that is meant to recognize MatthewPerry but isn’t really a song that will make you cry. The Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice awards are just around the corner, meaning that the wins of these nominees are a little more obvious.

Succession, The Bear and Beef won the major categories given out Monday night. They won the big prize for best series. All three won both directing and writing awards. They all won a number of acting awards, two for Beef and three for The Bear, and three for Succession. Only four wins out of the 21 handed out in these three categories went to any other shows: Jennifer Coolidge for The White Lotus, Paul Walter Hauser for Black Bird, Quinta Brunson for Abbott Elementary and Niecy Nash-Betts for Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer story is well known. The last season of Ted Lasso might be in the running, as well as the adaptation of a video game, which could make a strong showing. But it was not to be. The favorites dominated the night.

1. Coolidge’s win for her supporting work in The White Lotus wasn’t unexpected, given that she won last year, but along with the rest of the night, it did come as a real blow to Better Call Saul fans, myself included. Many people were against the idea of Seehorn winning the trophy for her last shot at the work she did. Saul, a show that people think is better than Breaking Bad, did not win an award at the Primetime Emmys. It ended with 53 nominations and no awards. Perhaps that’s only fitting for a show that’s about a bottom-feeder and repeat loser like Jimmy McGill, but those who know, know. Especially about Rhea Seehorn.

There is a number 6. It was a good idea to remind people of the TV of the past at the 75th Emmys. Some of it worked, like seeing old sets or reunions like the one between Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers. Anderson did a skit about American Horror Story that was a little effortful. But on a generous curve of how “and now, we salute television!” stuff usually goes, it gets a solid B-plus.