'Mrs. Maisel' has a marvelous night as Amy Sherman-Palladino makes Emmy history

Amy Sherman-Palladino accepts the comedy series writing award for her work on comedy series winner "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel." She also won for directing and, in an earlier ceremony, music supervision.

Sept. 17, 2018 10:30 PM PT

“This is very, very new — I feel like the new kid at the party,” said Rachel Brosnahan, who had every reason to be shocked and elated at the turn of events for her comedy series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

Brosnahan spoke backstage after accepting the Emmy for her performance as Midge Maisel, an immaculately coiffed, fast-talking Jewish housewife in midcentury Manhattan who stumbles into a career in comedy in the wake of her marriage’s demise.

In all ways, Monday was a marvelous night for Amazon.

The show picked up five awards at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards, dominating the comedy categories and beating out critical favorites such as “Atlanta” and “Barry.”

It was a fitting turn of events for the frothy eight-episode series about a woman discovering her talent as a stand-up, which won the award for comedy series — a first for a show on a streaming network.

Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino also made history by winning Emmys for both her writing and directing the series pilot, the first time a woman has clinched both prizes. The show’s leading ladies, Brosnahan and Alex Borstein, also won for actress and supporting actress in a comedy, respectively.

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Claire Foy won lead actress in a drama series for “The Crown.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Matthew Rhys won lead actor in a drama series for “The Americans.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Winners for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” include Michael Zegan, left, Daniel Palladino, second from left, Amy Sherman-Palladino, center, and Rachel Brosnahan, right.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The cast of “Game of Thrones” won drama series.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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The cast of “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” won limited series.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Darren Criss won lead actor in a limited series for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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“RuPaul’s Drag Race” won reality-competition program.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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“RuPaul’s Drag Race” won reality-competition program.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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“RuPaul’s Drag Race” won reality-competition program.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Joel Fields, left, and Joe Weisberg won drama writing for “The Americans.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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John Oliver and Liz Stanton after winning variety talk series for “Last Week Tonight.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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John Oliver poses after winning variety talk series for “Last Week Tonight.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Lorne Michaels and his cast win variety sketch series for “Saturday Night Live.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Lorne Michaels accepts variety sketch series for “Saturday Night Live.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Lorne Michaels, winner of variety sketch series for “Saturday Night Live.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Regina King, winner of lead actress in a limited series or movie for “Seven Seconds.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Thandie Newton, winner of supporting actress in a drama series for “Westworld.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Glen Weiss proposed to Jan Svendsen when accepting the award for directing for a variety special for his work on “The Oscars.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Jeff Daniels, winner of supporting actor in a limited series or movie for “Godless.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Peter Dinklage, winner of supporting actor in a drama series for “Game of Thrones.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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John Mulaney, outstanding writing for a variety special.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Rachel Brosnahan, outstanding lead actress in a comedy series award for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Charlie Brooker, left, and William Bridges, outstanding writing for a limited series, movie or dramatic special for “Black Mirror: USS Callister.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Merritt Wever, outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie for “Godless.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Alex Borstein, outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Amy Sherman-Palladino, outstanding writing and outstanding directing for a comedy series for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

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Bill Hader, left, outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for “Barry” and costar Henry Winkler for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

FULL COVERAGE: Live updates | Winners list | Show highlights

The colorful Sherman-Palladino, known for her black hats and eye-catching attire, was typically candid backstage after her historic night.

“The statues are wonderful. The free booze I’m going to drink a lot of is terrific, but the work itself is the true reward,” she said. “That’s what you can hope for when you’re a thousand years old.”

Standing with the show’s cast members and creative team including husband and creative partner Daniel Palladino, Sherman-Palladino discussed the parallels between women in the 1950s and today.

“It was an interesting fluke at the time ‘Maisel’ came out we were taking some trolls down. I’m glad it’s a character that still resonates,” Sherman-Palladino said. “Even though it’s 1959, women can look at her struggle ... a lot of those problems still exist and that just makes us still relevant.”

Praised for its meticulous period design and rat-a-tat banter, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” capitalized on a rare opening in the comedy category, which has for years belonged to the HBO series “Veep” and its perennial Emmy favorite star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

“It’s about a woman reinventing herself ... and it’s never too late to do that. And it’s funny and filled with joy at its core — and that’s something we need a lot more of right now,” Brosnahan said of the show’s appeal.

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The cast and crew of “Game of Thrones” on stage accepting the outstanding drama series award during the show at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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With a huge show background, the cast and crew of “Game of Thrones” on stage accepting the outstanding drama series award during the show at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Daniel Palladino speaks onstage with cast after winning outstanding comedy series for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Ryan Murphy accepts the Emmy for outstanding limited series for “The Assassination Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” during the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Lorne Michaels accepts the outstanding variety sketch series award for “Saturday Night Live” at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Cast and crew take to the stage as “RuPaul’s Drag Race” wins the Emmy for outstanding reality-competition program for the first time.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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RuPaul accepting the Emmy for outstanding reality competition program.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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From the Emmys audience at the Microsoft Theater, Leslie Jones cheers for RuPaul and “Drag Race” after the show won the Emmy for outstanding reality competition program.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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“The Crown’s” Claire Foy wins the award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Sarah Paulson presents the award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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“The Handmaid’s Tale” actresses Elisabeth Moss, left, and Samira Wiley present during the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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“Game of Thrones” creator George R.R. Martin, left, and series star Nikolaj Coster-Waldau chat at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Alex Berliner / Invision for the Television Academy)

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Glenn Weiss turns his acceptance speech for outstanding directing for a variety special for “The Oscars” into a surprise marriage proposal that quickly went viral.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Matthew Rhys accepts his Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series for “The Americans.”

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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“Queer Eye’s” Bobby Berk, from left, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness present an award at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Television Academy Chairman Hayma Washington speaks during the Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Gina Rodriguez and Lil Rel Howery present the Emmy for outstanding writing in a drama series at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Ron Cephas Jones, left, and Sterling K. Brown present the award for outstanding directing for a variety special at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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RuPaul Charles and Leslie Jones present the Emmy award for outstanding lead actress in a limited series, movie or dramatic special.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Married couple Chrissy Teigen and John Legend present the award for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series, movie or dramatic special at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Regina King accepts the Emmy award for outstanding lead actress in a limited series, movie or dramatic special for “Seven Seconds.”

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Ryan Murphy accepts the award for outstanding directing in a limited series, movie or dramatic special for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story.”

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Darren Criss accepts the award for outstanding lead actor in a limited series, movie or dramatic special for “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Jeff Daniels accepts the outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie award for “Godless.” Yes, he thanked his horse.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Thandie Newton accepts the outstanding supporting actress in a drama series award for “Westworld” at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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John Mulaney accepts the award for outstanding writing for a variety special at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Producer Glenn Weiss proposes to his girlfriend Jan Svendsen onstage at the 70th Emmys after he won the variety special directing award for the Oscars.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Peter Dinklage accepts the Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for “Game of Thrones.”

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Peter Dinklage accepts the outstanding supporting actor in a drama series award for his role in “Game of Thrones.”

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Charlie Brooker, left, and William Bridges accept the Emmy for outstanding writing for a limited series, movie or dramatic special for the “USS Callister” installment of “Black Mirror.”

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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John Legend performs at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Betty White gets a standing ovation in her surprise appearance at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards as Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin look on.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Betty White acknowledges presenter Kate McKinnon onstage at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Hosts Colin Jost, left, and Michael Che share a laugh with presenters Maya Rudolph and Fred Armisen during the Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Merritt Wever accepts her Emmy for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie for “Godless.”

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Alex Borstein makes a quick wardrobe change before heading onstage to accept the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

(Chris Pizzello / Invision / Associated Press)

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Millie Bobby Brown, left, and Emilia Clarke present the award for outstanding writing for a comedy series.

(Phil McCarten / Invision for the Television Acad)

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Sandra Oh, left, and Andy Samberg present the Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series award onstage during the 70th Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Andy Samberg drops in during the Emmys’ opening skit, a tongue-in-cheek musical on diversity in Hollywood.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Bill Hader accepts the outstanding lead actor in a comedy series award for “Barry.” But don’t ask him what he covered in the speech: “I legit don’t know what I said up there.”

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Presenter Michael Douglas strolls onstage at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Rachel Brosnahan accepts the outstanding lead actress in a comedy series award for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Tiffany Haddish and Angela Bassett present onstage during the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Rachel Brosnahan accepts the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series award for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” from Tiffany Haddish and Angela Bassett during the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Amy Sherman-Palladino holds tight to her two Emmy wins for comedy writing and directing for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Hosts Colin Jost, left, and Michael Che start the show at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Presenter James Corden at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Kate McKinnon, left, Titus Burgess, Kristen Bell and Kenan Thompson share some laughs onstage during the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Henry Winkler shares his jubilation after winning the Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series for “Barry.”

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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“Daddy won!” said Henry Winkler to his kids in closing his speech after winning his first Emmy.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Henry Winkler hugs Bill Hader, left, and Alec Berg after his win for outstanding supporting actor in a comedy series. “Westworld’s” Thandie Newton, in pink, is part of the standing ovation and would go on to win the Emmy for supporting actress in a drama series.

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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After a truly showstopping shimmy to the stage, Alex Borstein accepts the outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series award for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.”

(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

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Matt Smith and Claire Foy head onstage to crown the first trophy winner at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

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Kate McKinnon and Kenan Thompson kick off the 70th Emmy Awards with an opening skit.

(Kevin Winter / Getty Images)

Combined with a trio of wins at the previous weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys, the freshman series won eight awards in total — one for each episode in its first season.

Sherman-Palladino, creator of shows like “Gilmore Girls” and “Bunheads” that were praised by critics but ignored by Emmy voters, fared well in her first trip to the Primetime Emmys as a nominee. She also won a Creative Arts Emmy for her work as music supervisor on the series.

Her win for comedy directing also marked the fifth time in six years that a woman had won the category. She beat last year’s directing winner, “Atlanta’s” Donald Glover. The wins for “Maisel” meant that his series, a critical darling that was praised for taking bold new aesthetic risks in its second season, went home empty-handed.

“One thing I love about this show is it’s about a woman who is finding her voice anew,” said Brosnahan, previously known for a supporting role in “House of Cards.” “It’s something happening all over the country right now. And one of the best ways to find our voice is to vote.”

Accepting her Emmy for supporting actress in a comedy, Borstein used her national TV platform to encourage women to a different kind of collective action.

“Ladies, when you use a public restroom, sit down,” said the actress, who also starred in the HBO series “Getting On.” “If you sit, we can all sit.”

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Times staff writers Deborah Vankin and Makeda Easter contributed to this report.