Judith Light, Nick Offerman and others win first Emmys

First-time winners, including Judith Light, clean up at Creative Arts Emmys

Judith Light poses with her Creative Arts Emmy.

By ANDREW DALTON

Associated Press

Jan. 7, 2024 10:06 AM PT

LOS ANGELES — Judith Light from “Poker Face” and Nick Offerman and Storm Reid from “The Last of Us” were winners at Saturday’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards on a night when the theme was first-time Emmys for actors of all ages.

Light, 74, took her first Emmy in a nearly 50-year television career for playing a 1960s radical hiding out in a retirement home on an episode of “Poker Face,” the Peacock comedy-mystery series starring Natasha Lyonne. The star of the 1980s and 1990s sitcom “Who’s The Boss?”, Light had been nominated four times previously, including twice for her acting on “Transparent.”

“I’ve been in the business a long time, and this is quite a gift,” Light said backstage.

Offerman, 53, won his first Emmy in four nominations, taking best guest actor in a drama series for his role as an angry survivalist who ends up in a tender gay relationship on “The Last of Us,” the HBO video game adaptation about a fungal apocalypse that led with eight Emmys on Saturday.

Reid, Offerman’s 20-year-old castmate and currently a college student at nearby USC, won best guest actress in a drama in her first nomination for a flashback in the form of a tragic teen love story with best lead actress nominee Bella Ramsey.

Offerman praised “The Last of Us” for its “decency and inclusivity” and Reid said she was grateful for its “representation of young, queer Black women.”

Sam Richardson, 39, won his own first Emmy for playing a billionaire soccer enthusiast from Ghana on “Ted Lasso,” the Apple TV+ series that is the year’s most nominated comedy with 21 nods. He was nominated once previously for the same role.

The two-part ceremony, where nearly 100 awards are handed out, mostly to less famous crew members and craftspeople, began Saturday night and continues Sunday night. It’s a precursor to the main Emmy ceremony that airs Jan. 15 on Fox, with “black-ish” star Anthony Anderson as host. Just like the main telecast, the Creative Arts Emmys arrive after a four-month delay because of Hollywood’s writers’ and actors’ strikes.

Another 1980s and ’90s sitcom star, Jasmine Guy of “A Different World,” won her first Emmy on Saturday, for best actress in a short-form comedy or drama series for “ Chronicles Of Jessica Wu.” Tim Robinson won the same award on the actors’ side for “I Think You Should Leave With Tim Robinson.” It’s his second Emmy for performing on the Netflix show.

Best television movie went to the Roku Channel’s biopic “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story,” in which Daniel Radcliffe plays the comic-music star.

The real Yankovic, a 64-year-old five-time Grammy winner, gave some advice backstage to young people starting out in entertainment.

“Take accordion lessons,” he said. “It’ll pay off eventually.”

When the Creative Arts Emmys continue Sunday, nominees will include former President Obama, Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey.