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Emmy Awards 2016: 'Game of Thrones' breaks record with wins; Tatiana Maslany, Rami Malek and Jimmy Kimmel lead a gala that reflects TV's bold new age

| Sep 19, 2016 08:36 AM EDT

"Game of Thrones" has now won 38 Emmys in total.

"Game of Thrones" has set a new record for the highest number of awards won by any fictional series in the just concluded 2016 Primetime Emmy Awards. The HBO fantasy drama triumphed in three categories at the ceremony, including outstanding drama series for the second year.

There were some inevitabilities going in to the 68th awards on Sunday night: The "Game of Thrones" won best drama series, "The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story" also earned several awards and "Veep" took home the top comedy award. Maggie Smith did not show up even after winning while Julia Louis-Dreyfus won the lead comedy actress category for the fifth consecutive Emmy awards.

The 2016 Emmy Awards will be remembered for the exciting speeches such as Jill Soloway's call to "topple the patriarchy," Sandwich-gate and Tatiana Maslany getting a win for the clone-club and Kate McKinnon setting Twitter on fire with a lot of Donald Trump jokes.

Jimmy Kimmel hosted the telecast for the second time and proved to be a night marked by unexpected wins and funny, heartfelt speeches. This year's most-discussed series focused on the two-decade-old O.J. Simpson trial, so it was not a surprise that the Emmys telecast started with a montage inspired by Simpson's infamous low-speed car chase.

Kimmel's trial to reach the Microsoft Theater in downtown L.A. started in a white Bronco that was driven by Malcolm-Jamal Warner and continued in vehicles with the Selina Meyer of "Veep", "Modern Family" Dunphy family, "Late Late Show" host James Corden and Jeb Bush, a presidential candidate-turned-Uber driver. The host's arduous commute culminated in a ride on the back of one of Daenerys Targaryen's "Game of Thrones" dragons, which set Ryan Secrets ablaze.

British winners for this year included Dame Maggie Smith, who won outstanding supporting actress in a drama series for her role in Downton Abbey. This is the third time Dame Maggie has won an Emmy for her portrayal of Violet Crawley, but she has never attended the ceremony in person.

According to BBC News, host Jimmy Kimmel made a joke and said: "We are not mailing this to her. Maggie, if you want this, you will get it in the lost and found." In addition, BBC One's Sherlock was named best made for TV show for its special episode, "The Abominable Bride."

While receiving the award, Sherlock creator Steven Moffatt made reference to the "The Great British Bake Off," currently showing on BBC One but bought by Channel 4 last week. In his speech, he thanked the BBC who they all love above all bakery. "British people will get that," he added.

Susanne Bier, the Danish director of "The Night Manager" a BBC spy thriller won for best directing in a limited shows. Other big winners of the Sunday night include a dramatization of the OJ Simpson trial of 1990s, "The People vs OJ Simpson" which broadcast on BBC Two in the UK. The show won five trophies among them, the outstanding limited series plus acting gongs for Sterling K Brown, Sarah Paulson and Courtney B Vance.

Kate McKinnon won outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for her performances in Saturday Night Live, he recently starred in the all-female Ghostbusters reboot. "Master of None," Netflix series scored its first Emmy award, the outstanding writing for a comedy series. In his acceptance speech, Alan Yang, the show's co-writer called for better Asian representation on screen, Los Angeles Times reported.

Elsewhere, "The Voice" took home the award for been an outstanding reality competition series, beating "Dancing With The Stars" and "Project Runway." The 38 Emmys won by "Game of Thrones" includes the nine trophies the series picked up at last weekend's Creative Arts Emmys.

The "Game of Thrones" series is now the most decorated drama series in Emmy awards' history, the overall record is held by Saturday Night Live, which has won 44.

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