Emmys 2019: Inside the Post-Show Parties

Variety Staff

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After the final awards were presented at the 71st Primetime Emmys, television’s biggest stars and execs headed off for final toasts to this year’s festivities. Things kicked off at the Governors Ball and didn’t end until the wee hours at parties throughout Los Angeles.

Here, Variety gives you the inside details on all the hottest after-parties …

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The Governors Ball
L.A. Live Event Deck

The annual post-Emmys Governors Ball brought a who’s who of talent to the L.A. Live Event Deck immediately after Sunday’s awards telecast.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge was mobbed the moment she hit the party, with well-wishers congratulating her for “Fleabag” taking home nearly all of the major comedy award statuettes. The same was true for John Oliver, who held court near the back of the party after his multiple wins for “Last Week Tonight.”

“Russian Doll” collaborators Amy Poehler and Natasha Lyonne hit the party together early on in the evening, though Lyonne was later spotted waiting for Fred Armisen so they could walk back inside together. Late-night host Jimmy Kimmel was also spotted entering the event with Netflix chief content officer Ted Sarandos.

Among those also spotted were Amazon boss Jeff Bezos, Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier along with Fox’s alternative head Rob Wade, “Who Is America?” star Sacha Baron Cohen, “The Good Place” creator Mike Schur, and “Succession” star Jeremy Strong.

There was a wide variety of food available to attendees, but the sliders once again proved to be the hottest commodity of the night. Diners had their choice of chicken, fish, and even a Beyond Meat selection. Of the multiple bars, some served wine and champagne, while others featured craft cocktails made with Ketel One Vodka. The waitstaff closed out the night by carrying around trays of mini vanilla and chocolate milkshakes topped with maraschino cherries.

There were also several points of convenience on hand for those about to hit the town for other parties, namely a charging station for your electronics as well as a makeup touch-up station for any who may have lost some of their shine thanks to the high temperatures on Sunday.

And of course, there’s the engraving station for Emmy statues, where winners were offered glasses of wine from $250 bottles of 2015 Sterling Vineyards Iridium Cabernet Sauvignon. —Joe Otterson and Elizabeth Wagmeister

HBO
The Plaza at Pacific Design Center

They may have a bunch of new competition, but nobody pulls off post-Emmy party spectacle quite like HBO. The centerpiece of this year’s bash was a giant illuminated orb with multiple faces that hovered over partygoers — perhaps a commentary on the number of eyes a person would need to watch all of the TV that is being served up these days.

Winning 12 Emmys, the cast and crew from “Game of Thrones” — including Emilia Clarke, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Nathalie Emmanuel, Conleth Hill, John Bradley, Iain Glen, Alfie Allen and author George R.R. Martin — assembled for one last night out, as Liam Cunningham summed up the crew’s plans for celebrating in one word — “vodka.”

With the curtain falling on “Thrones” and “Veep” this year, the Pacific Design Center bash, packed as ever with talent and executives, felt like the exclamation point on the end of an era for HBO. That’s true, programming chief Casey Bloys said, but he is eagerly awaiting the start of the next chapter.

“I’m going to celebrate tonight,” Bloys told Variety. “But I feel great about next year.” He pointed to “Big Little Lies 2,” “Succession,” the return of “Westworld” and the debut of Damon Lindelof’s “Watchmen,” not to mention “a ton of great limited series.”

The lack of Emmy recognition for “Veep’s” farewell season was a bittersweet note on an otherwise big night for HBO. But Bloys said it was important to keep it all in perspective.

“Julia’s done so much great work and won so many awards for us — it’s hard to complain,” he says. “If you’re going to lose, it makes it easier to lose to somebody like (‘Fleabag’s’) Phoebe Waller-Bridge because she’s pretty talented.”

“Veep” star Tony Hale wasn’t letting anything get him or the cast down as they prepared to spend one last night celebrating.

“We’re trying to be present tonight. We really enjoyed being together, we’re going to enjoy this party. The HBO party is always a spectacle so I love it,” Hale told Variety on the carpet. “The free drinks, the free food, we take advantage of that before we leave. We’re done so we’ve got to take advantage of that.”

Of who he’s most excited to meet, he added, “I’m always kind of overwhelmed. Like I’m always kind of shell-shocked as to who I see. I get a little creepy, I get a little creepy staring. If I see Bob Newhart, like Bob Newhart is everything to me… If I see him in person, I think that might be a little overwhelming.”

HBO’s “Chernobyl” was one of the underdog success stories of this Emmy season. The team behind the limited series was positively glowing as they piled into one of the recessed areas along the party perimeter with comfy couches and chairs. Director Johan Renck, who won a directing trophy for his work, said the stories and suffering still haunt him. So much so that he hasn’t been able to decide on his next project.

“You just don’t move on that quickly from something like ‘Chernobyl,’” Renck said.

HBO’s future was very much on display with Zendaya, Maude Apatow, Sydney Sweeney and other cast members from “Euphoria” huddling and giggling in the very adult setting. A quorum of “Queer Eye” guys and “RuPaul’s Drag Race” favorite Nina West also made the rounds and turned heads. —Cynthia Littleton and Angelique Jackson

Amazon Studios
Chateau Marmont

The Amazon party was already a rowdy affair as Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the undisputed star of Emmys night, arrived clutching a statuette to cheers and whoops from the assembled company.

The Chateau Marmont courtyard provided an appropriately dramatic crucible for Waller-Bridge and her “Fleabag” co-stars to hold court. Waller-Bridge reclined on a sofa in the corner with one Emmy statuette nestled behind her back and another sitting on the table in front of her, as A-list names from across the TV world fought their way through the crowd to pay tribute.

“Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” star Alex Borstein exchanged mutual congrats with the “Fleabag” team, followed by the show’s creator Amy Sherman-Palladino, who leant in close and whispered something in Waller-Bridge’s ear. Stephen Colbert was another who stopped by to give Waller-Bridge and the cast a hearty congratulations.

Waller-Bridge was flanked all party long by her “Fleabag” co-stars Andrew Scott (the hot priest was in unsurprisingly effusive mood) and Brett Gelman, as well as playwright and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” director Martin McDonagh, whom she is currently dating.

Later in the night, Ben Whishaw, who carried away some hardware himself during the ceremony, managed to squeeze his way onto the “Fleabag” couch and had his hair affectionately tousled by Scott.

Much like the awards themselves, the Amazon party was a decidedly British affair, with Hugh Grant sitting on another couch across from the “Fleabag” crew. James Corden surveyed the scene indoors, where a lady was playing the electric violin with some vigor, before diving straight into the golden wallpapered photo room.

1 a.m. came around and the “Fleabag” crew finally made their exit leading to a general exodus from the party.

However, as they left, multiple members of the “Game of Thrones” cast arrived, including Peter Dinklage, who by this point had changed out of his tux and into a t-shirt and jeans. Dinklage was greeted by yells and demands for autographs as he stepped out of his car and away toward the chateau entrance.

Also among the late arrivals was Taika Waititi wearing a white denim jacket adorned with various patches. The quirky director made a beeline for a secluded table in the darker corner of the chateau courtyard, as most of the guests made their way down the main staircase and into the early morning on Sunset Boulevard. —Will Thorne

Netflix
Milk Studios

As the network with the second-most Emmy wins for the year, including four that were picked up on Sunday night, Netflix had a lot to celebrate. So naturally the streamer’s post-awards party vibe was just that: one of joy and excitement.

The multi-room event consisted of a “refresh” room in which attendees who had spent hours on the 90-degree red carpet followed by being packed into the stuffy Microsoft Theater at L.A. Live could get their hair and makeup touched up and grab a few minutes of quiet relaxation on plush couches before heading into the main space, whose centerpiece was once again a dance floor.

After posing for selfies with friends and fans, Niecy Nash (“When They See Us”) got her groove on in one corner of the dance floor with Sherri Shepherd, while Ja’Siah Young (“Raising Dion”) represented for the next generation of Netflix stars by busting quite a few moves of his own in his stunning red suit.

Holding court in various areas around the room were the “When They See Us” group, Tan France (“Queer Eye”) and Netflix vice president of content Cindy Holland. “It’s Bruno” creator and director Solvan “Slick” Naim was in attendance sans his titular canine costar, while both “House of Cards” nominees lead actress Robin Wright and supporting actor Michael Kelly mingled, as did “GLOW’s” Betty Gilpin, Kia Stevens and Britney Young. “American Son’s” Kerry Washington and “Unbelievable’s” Kaitlyn Dever and Danielle Macdonald got their first taste of what their own upcoming awards season will be like. And at one point, a Domino’s delivery guy wandered through with a pizza box. It was a mystery as to whom he was delivering to, though, because the vegan ice cream sandwiches were wheeled out at the same time, and exhausted Emmy-goers descended on them for a quick sugar high/pick-me-up, getting him lost in the crowd.

“Russian Doll’s” Lyonne and Poehler arrived together, with Poehler sporting eye-catching metallic sneakers, while “Forever’s” Alan Yang and Armisen were not too far behind. The party drew other cross-network talent such as “Black Monday’s” Andrew Rannells and his boyfriend Tuc Watkins, as well as “Almost Family’s” Brittany Snow. The “Late Night With Seth Meyers” man himself (Seth Meyers) also stopped by for a bit with his brother, actor Josh Meyers.

After making his rounds backstage as a winner, Jharrel Jerome arrived a bit later than his “When They See Us” co-stars (Emmy in hand, of course) and all smiles. The actor made history with his win by becoming the youngest performer to take the trophy in the lead limited series/TV movie actor category, as well as being the first Afro-Latino actor to win. “I still can’t really believe it,” he said. “I really just want to find the rest of my ‘When They See Us’ family so we can really all share in this and celebrate together.” And he promptly did just that, heading in to hang out with Korey Wise, whom he played in the four-part series. —Danielle Turchiano

ABC/Disney Television Studios/FX Networks/Hulu/National Geographic
Otium

Emmy winners Michelle Williams and Billy Porter gave two of the best acceptance speeches of this year’s ceremony, and both were the toast of the first-ever after-party under the combined Disney umbrella. Williams won the limited series actress category for FX’s “Fosse/Verdon,” while Porter made history with his best actor win for FX’s “Pose” as the first openly gay black man to even be nominated in the category.

“He deserves it,” “Pose” executive producer Steven Canals said of Porter’s win. “This is someone who is in my mind Hollywood royalty. He’s been working so hard for so long. So to finally see him be so warmly received by the industry just feels right. His win for me represents an affirmation from the industry that these stories deserve to be told. To know the show has been honored in this way and specifically his performance is being honored, it’s beyond words. It means the industry understands that our stories aren’t niche, that there’s a space and an audience, and I hope folks recognize now that we’re not just a trend. We’ve been here, we’ll always be here.”

As partygoers ate from towers of shrimp and grazed on oven-roasted chicken with shishito peppers, the hot topic at Otium restaurant (under the shadow of the Broad museum) was also just how bizarre it was to celebrate with ABC, FX, Hulu and Nat Geo under the same umbrella. In years past, it was 20th Century Fox TV, FX and the Fox network celebrating in a different spot, Hulu at the Otium, and ABC with no party at all.

What a difference a year makes, and a mega-merger between Disney and 21st Century Fox’s production units. As everyone got used to the new corporate order, they also discussed ways to get the broadcast networks (and in particular at Otium, ABC) back into the Emmy mix. Conversations about the night’s telecast also revolved around whether or not ABC (which will telecast the Emmys next year) should bring back a host — with the general consensus being a firm “yes.”

Spotted in one corner of the party were Norman Lear and Kimmel — both winners the previous weekend for “Live in Front of a Studio Audience” — while elsewhere Ike Barinholtz was seen chatting up former “Real Housewives” star Bethenny Frankel. Elsewhere, “Schitt’s Creek” co-creator and star Dan Levy was spotted — perhaps celebrating his new deal with Disney’s ABC Studios.

Others attending included Disney TV Studios/ABC Entertainment chairman Dana Walden; Disney TV Studios’ Craig Hunegs; FX Networks’ John Landgraf, Nick Grad and Chuck Saftler; Nat Geo’s Courteney Monroe and Carolyn Bernstein; ABC Studios’ Jonnie Davis; Fox 21’s Bert Salke; 20th Century Fox TV’s Carolyn Cassidy; Hulu’s Craig Erwich and Fox Entertainment’s Collier. Also at the party: Ryan Murphy, Bradley Whitford and Amy Landecker, “Fosse/Verdon” exec producer Joel Fields and “The Bachelor” host Chris Harrison.

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