Jean Smart, Matthew Rhys make history at TV's Emmy Awards

Jean Smart has won her fifth Primetime Emmy Award for portraying a tenacious stand-up comic on "Hacks," and Matthew Rhys became the first person to win two lead acting honors at the same ceremony, as Hollywood stars toasted the best of television on Monday.

Smart's accolade made her the first performer to win the Emmy for best comedy actress for every season of a show's run. Hacks aired its final season on HBO Max this year.

"What a ride this has been!" Smart said on stage after thanking the show's creators.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who won best comedy actress for six of the seven seasons of Veep, is the only woman to come close to Smart's milestone.

Emergency room drama The Pitt extended its Emmy reign with a second consecutive best drama trophy, while newcomer Widow's Bay emerged as the comedy victor on Monday as television celebrated its biggest night.

Widow's Bay, a horror comedy about a cursed New England town, overcame the final season of previous winner Hacks to earn the comedy prize.

Rhys claimed awards for best comedy actor for Apple TV horror comedy Widow's Bay and for best actor in a limited series for the Netflix psychological thriller The Beast in Me.

The Emmys offered a rare night of celebration as Hollywood grapples with production cutbacks, anxiety over artificial intelligence, and the proposed Paramount Skydance purchase of HBO owner Warner Bros. Discovery, a deal that has divided the industry and faces legal challenges.

The Pitt star Noah Wyle said it felt "overwhelming" to land his second straight Emmy for playing Dr. "Robby" Robinavitch on the medical drama set in a Pittsburgh trauma center.

Describing himself as a "Hollywood kid," Wyle told the Emmy audience, "This is the only club I've ever wanted to join. Thank you for accepting me."

In other awards, Widow's Bay star Stephen Root upset favorite Harrison Ford of Shrinking for best supporting actor in a comedy.

Best drama actress went to Rhea Seehorn, who plays a misanthropic woman at war with an unfailingly kind alien hive mind on the new Apple TV series Pluribus.It was her first Emmy win.

Seehorn addressed her fellow nominees, including The Diplomat star Keri Russell and Zendaya of Euphoria, with a quote from the feminist activist Gloria Steinem, who died this month aged 92.

"We are linked, not ranked. I feel that way about all you women," Seehorn said.

Emmy winners are chosen by more than 27,000 writers, directors, performers, producers and craftspeople in the Television Academy.

FOX HONORED FOR HIS HUMANITARIAN EFFORTS

The academy honored Michael J. Fox during the ceremony for his advocacy for Parkinson's disease research and treatment.

Speaking from a wheelchair, Fox said support from Hollywood had allowed him to keep acting after his own diagnosis with Parkinson's. "It's because you stood up for me," he told the crowd.

Mariska Hargitay, star of NBC's drama Law & Order: Special Victims ​Unit, hosted the ceremony, breaking with a tradition of having a comedian serve as emcee. It was broadcast live on NBC and streamed on Peacock.

"It's a lot of pressure, but it is so reassuring to see so many familiar faces out there, and I'm not just talking about how many of you I've arrested on SVU," Hargitay told the crowd.

In one pre-recorded sketch, Hargitay's "SVU" character, Olivia Benson, tried to piece together clues to determine if singer Taylor Swift, an Emmy nominee this year for a concert film, would attend the ceremony.

Swift made a surprise cameo in the bit as a rookie detective who pointed out that the singer's categories had been considered in a separate ceremony a week earlier.

Benson correctly deduced that Swift would be in Kansas City watching her husband, Travis Kelce, play on Monday Night Football.