I and many other pundits predicted last night would be a very predictable Emmy Awards. We got that prediction wrong. Well almost. What was actually refreshing about the 77th Emmys was, John Oliver aside, the willingness of voters to embrace new shows rather than doing what they have so often done in the past by selecting the same winners year after year. There were a lot of firsts, which doesn’t often happen in one show.

Tonight saw the first win — for Best Comedy Series — for first year Apple TV+ comedy The Studio. It also became also the first comedy series ever to win 13 Emmys in one season, first or not. Four of those wins were for Seth Rogen. Make a show about them and the Emmy voters will fall in line every time.

The Academy should be applauded since, with its coronation, The Studio becomes the 6th out of the past 7 winners in the Comedy Series category that were first timers (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Fleabag, Schitt’s Creek, Ted Lasso, The Bear, Hacks). It proves the Academy is not relying on same-old, same-old as in the years before 2018 when the category was dominated repeatedly by the likes of 30 Rock, Veep, and Modern Family (the latter winning 5 years in a row).

It was also the first Best Drama Series win for first year HBO series, The Pitt. And the first win — after five Supporting Actor nominations for ER — for Noah Wyle. And the first win off the first nomination for Supporting Actress Katherine LaNasa.

It was also the first win off the first nomination for Severance co-stars Tramell Tillman and Brit Lower (in an upset over veteran Emmy-winner Kathy Bates). It was nice to see Hacks’ Hannah Einbinder finally pick up her first Emmy after four consecutive nominations.

Thanks to being so rudely cancelled by CBS, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert saw its first win as Best Talk Series. Remarkably, it was the first win for a broadcast network talk show since David Letterman last did it in 2002. Ironically it was the first — and only — win of the night for Emmy telecast carrier CBS, and they had to cancel their entire late night franchise in order to get it. The excitement in the room over the Colbert win was palpable. Some in the White House may be upset, but it was a great moment.

The limited series sweep for Adolescence saw the first win off the first nominations for Stephen Graham (who won 3) , Owen Cooper (now the youngest winner ever), and Erin Doherty. At the lively Netflix party in Hollywood following the telecast they were all partying heartily, with Netflix honcho Ted Sarandos congratulating all of them for bringing eight Emmys home with this global sensation. Sarandos was pleased to hear that they seem to have a stranglehold on the Limited Series/Anthology category, having won it consistently over the past few years with the likes of The Queen’s Gambit, Beef, Baby Reindeer and now Adolescence. They even competed against themselves this year, beating other nominees Monster: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story and Black Mirror.

Plan B’s Jeremy Kleiner, a two time Oscar winner (12 Years A Slave, Moonlight) now holds an Emmy as a producer of this masterful series. He told me their company (with Brad Pitt and Dede Gardner) was moving into television in a bigger way with the 2023 hiring of former Netflix exec Nina Wolarsky as their first-ever President Of Television. She also was holding a shiny new Emmy as he introduced me to her, proof the smart hire is working out.

The Netflix party was definitely a place to be as many of their 30 winners (tying with HBO for biggest haul, this year) came pouring in and the NYA joint was jumping.

Perhaps the most surprising win was also a first. Somebody Somewhere’s Comedy Supporting Actor Jeff Hiller was a jaw dropping victor over the likes of Harrison Ford, Ike Barinholtz and others. His nomination for the sweet HBO show was his first such acknowledgement by the industry. His nomination and win show Emmy voters have minds of their own and don’t necessarily need to follow the windy words of pundits. It should also give hope to Emmy campaigners that it is possible to be an underdog and still come out on top.