Some of television’s biggest honors of the night went to shows and stars with Garden State ties, from a Jersey-raised actor (Tom Pelphrey) taking home his first Primetime Emmy to a Rutgers alumna (Katie Dippold) whose new series Widow’s Bay, dominated the comedy categories.
Here are Monday night’s Emmy winners with New Jersey ties worth celebrating after television’s biggest night.
Katie Dippold and Widow’s Bay
Freehold native and Rutgers journalism graduate Katie Dippold had a particularly big night: Widow’s Bay, which she created and serves as showrunner for, won 14 of its 19 Emmy nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series. Dippold won for writing, while the series also earned acting awards for Matthew Rhys, Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root and Betty Gilpin, as well as a directing win.
These wins make Widow’s Bay the most decorated freshman comedy series in Emmy history.
The horror-comedy also has Jersey roots. Dippold told New Jersey Monthly earlier this year that it was partly inspired by a haunted house she visited on the Long Branch boardwalk as a child. “I would be so scared, but I would be so excited and giddy,” Dippold says. “And that’s actually a huge inspiration for this show … I want to capture that feeling again, where something is intense and terrifying but you still laugh at the end.”
Stephen Colbert
Longtime Montclair resident Stephen Colbert‘s The Late Show with Stephen Colbert won Outstanding Variety Series for its final season. The victory came after CBS canceled the long-running late-night show, which aired its final episode on May 21.
Tom Pelphrey
Howell native Tom Pelphrey took home his first Primetime Emmy in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his role as Robbie Prendergast in HBO’s Task. Pelphrey graduated from Howell High School and Rutgers’s Mason Gross School of the Arts before launching his acting career, which previously earned him two Daytime Emmys for his performance on Guiding Light.
