'Fleabag' steals 'Game of Thrones' thunder at Emmys

It was a love story that robbed "Game of Thrones", considered one of the biggest shows of all time, of its sheen at the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards. "Fleabag" made the epic fantasy series 'kneel' to its second season-run with its four big wins -- lead actress in a comedy series, best comedy series and best comedy writing for Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and best director in comedy series for Harry Bradbeer.

Waller-Bridge, who scored a hat trick for her very personal dark comedy, said it was wonderful and reassuring to know that "a dirty, pervy, angry and messed-up woman can make it to the Emmys". "I find acting really hard and really painful. Thank you to be nominated with these unbelievable actresses who I've looked up to and watched and laughed with for so many years - it means so much. I mean that in a nice way. And this means a huge amount to me," she said.

The actor, who beat Emmy darling Julia Louis-Dreyfus ("Veep") in a surprise snub, recognized the contribution of her fellow nominees. Waller-Bridge also gave a shout-out to Andrew Scott's 'Hot Priest', the love interest of Fleabag in the second and final season of the Amazon show.

"Season two would not have exploded in the way that it did if it wasn't for Andrew Scott, who came into our 'Fleabag' world like a whirlwind and gave a performance of such depth and complexity it elevated the whole thing." "GOT" dominated the nominations list with 32 nods, but managed to grab barely two big awards -- outstanding drama series and a record fourth win for Peter Dinklage in best supporting in drama series.

"These last 10 years have been the best years of our lives, I can't believe we did it, we shall never see it's like again..." co-showrunner David Benioff said. Out of 10 actors nominated across board, only Dinklage scooped up a trophy for the team with actors like Lena Heady, Maisie Williams and Sophie Turner getting snubbed.

"We did nothing but sweat, we did nothing but laugh. David and Dan, we literally walked through 'fire and ice' for you, literally. And I would do it all again in a heartbeat," he said. In a historic feat, Billy Porter became the first openly gay, black artist who took home the trophy of best actor in a drama for playing gregarious emcee Pray Tell in "Pose".

Created by Ryan Murphy and Steven Canals, the FX series focuses on the extravagant subculture of the LGBTQ ballroom scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s New York, as well of the lives of the people of the community. "We are the people. We as artists are the people that get to change the molecular structure of the hearts and minds of the people who live on this planet. Please don't ever stop doing that. Please don't ever stop telling the truth," Porter said in his speech.

Jharell Jerome, another actor of color, made a mark at the ceremony as he became the youngest person and the first Afro-Latino to win an Emmy in a limited series acting category for Netflix's "When They See Us". The actor, 21, dedicated his win to Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, Yusef Salaam, Antron McCray, and Korey Wise -- "the Exonerated Five", who was wrongly convicted as teenagers of color for the rape of a jogger and were jailed for 14 years.

Patricia Arquette, the winner of the best-supporting actress in a limited series or TV movie for "The Act", used the dais to demand equal rights for transgender people as she remembered her sister Alexis Arquette, a transgender actor who died in 2016. "They're human beings. Let's give them jobs. Let's get rid of this bias that we have everywhere," she said.

The list of powerful speeches continued with Michelle Williams as she used her maiden Emmy win to champion equal pay for women in the entertainment industry. Williams, who won the award for outstanding lead actress in a limited TV series or movie for "Fosse/Verdon", said the win was an acknowledgment of what is possible when a woman is trusted.

"The next time a woman — and especially a woman of colour, because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white male counterparts — tells you what she needs in order to do her job, listen to her, believe her, because one day she might stand in front of you and say thank you for allowing her to succeed because of her workplace environment and not in spite of it," she added. British platforms continued to dominate the 71st edition of the Primetime Emmy Awards as Jodie Comer scored an Emmy for lead actress in drama series, her first, for "Killing Eve", created by Waller-Bridge.

Comer thanked her "Killing Eve" co-star and fellow nominee Sandra Oh for her win. Bill Hader won the trophy for best lead actor in a comedy series the second year in a row for HBO's "Barry".

"Chernobyl", a controversial retelling of the massive explosion of the nuclear power plant in Ukraine on April 26, 1986, and its aftermath, took home three awards for limited series, directing for a limited series, movie or dramatic special for Johan Renck and writing for a limited series for Craig Mazin. Tony Shalhoub and Alex Borstein from "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" were named best supporting actor and actress in comedy series.

Jason Bateman was adjudged best director for drama and Julia Garner won the best supporting actor in drama series for "Ozark". Netflix's TV movie "Bandersnatch" also added a trophy to the streamer's kitty.

Ben Whishaw was awarded in the supporting actor in a limited series or movie category for "A Very English Scandal". Jesse Armstrong won the trophy for writing for drama series for satirical drama, "Succession".

The In Memoriam segment at the ceremony remembered stars like Stan Lee, Luke Perry, Valerie Harper, John Singleton, Cameron Boyce, Peggy Lipton, Kristoff St John, Rutger Hauer, Peter Fonda, among others.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)