Stephen Colbert Emmys
Host Stephen Colbert performs onstage during the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 17, 2017 in Los Angeles during one of the night's best and funniest moments. Getty Images

The 2017 Emmy Awards came and went Sunday in Los Angeles on CBS, celebrating the best TV shows of the past year. “The Handmaid's Tale,” “Veep,” and “Big Little Lies” were among the biggest winners, and there were plenty of interesting moments throughout the night.

Here’s a look at the best and funniest moments from the 2017 Emmys:

Stephen Colbert’s Monologue

There’s always a lot of pressure on the host to deliver a strong opening monologue, and the “Late Show” host drew plenty of laughs in the show’s first segment. After starting the Emmys with a musical number, Colbert hit on a number of topics, including Game of Thrones, Ted Cruz’s recent Twitter faux pas, and, of course, Donald Trump. Colbert saved maybe his best joke for last when he began to list names of African-American nominees.

“And of course, Bill Maher,” Colbert quipped. “I assume he’s black since he’s so comfortable using the “N” word.”

Sean Spicer Makes A Surprise Appearance

Not everyone was happy to see him, but Spicer certainly made the biggest splash at the Emmys with his surprise appearance. The former White House press secretary poked fun at his role in the Donald Trump administration, specifically his first-ever press conference in which he boasted about the size of the crowd at Trump’s inauguration in January.

“This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period! Both in person and around the world,” Spicer said, coming out on a podium when Colbert inquired about the number of people watching the show.

John Oliver Thanks Oprah

Oliver found his way onstage twice, and he might have had the two funniest speeches of the night. He accepted awards for both outstanding variety series and outstanding writing in a variety series as the host of “Last Week Tonight.” In between cracking jokes about Dave Chappelle and the staff of his show, Oliver randomly thanked Oprah Winfrey in his first speech because it “seemed inappropriate not to,” and he thanked her seat filler when he couldn’t find her in the audience during his second speech.

“I met Oprah once,” Oliver said. “It was like meeting the queen only much, much better.”

Sterling K. Brown Gives Night’s Best Speech

Brown didn’t receive his first Emmy nomination until he turned 40 years old, but the actor has now won awards in consecutive years. After winning the 2016 award for outstanding supporting actor in a limited series or movie for his role in ‘The People vs. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” Brown’s role as Randall Pearson in “This Is Us” got him the nod for outstanding lead actor in a drama series Sunday night. A grateful Brown thanked his fellow nominees, his cast for being the “best white TV family a brother has ever had,” and others before he was played off by the music and CBS cut to a commercial.

“This one right here, when I think about it. Like Walter White held this joint. Dick Whitman held this joint,” Brown said regarding the award, amazed that he was recognized the same way that the lead actors of “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men” were in recent years.

“Big Little Lies” Wins Big

The seven-episode HBO production was one of the night’s big winners, taking home eight awards in total, including outstanding lead actress, supporting actress and supporting actor in a miniseries. Nicole Kidman was gracious in both of her speeches, giving special thanks to her family, and giving a joint speech with an overwhelmed Reese Witherspoon.

“Nicole and I, we didn’t know what we would do if we won, and we decided we would let the microphone choose which one of us would speak first, so it’s me,” Witherspoon said before asking Kidman for help.

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