Emmys Firsts: Who Took Home the Gold for the First Time This Year? (Photos)

From Aziz Ansari to Tatiana Maslany to Kate McKinnon, 2016 was a pretty good year for first-timers

emmys 2016 first time winners tatiana maslany rami malek
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It was a very good year for first-timers at the Emmys. Perhaps conscious of accusations of falling into a rut in some of the more major categories, the Academy took seemingly every opportunity to give long shots their first Emmy gold.

Alan Yang and Aziz Ansari (comedy writing, “Master of None”) won in their first time out. Alan Yang’s acceptance speech ran into Ansari’s time, though Ansari got a chance to thank his parents when he presented an award later.

Kate McKinnon (supporting actress in a comedy, “SNL”) activated the censors twice while delivering an emotional first Emmy acceptance speech.

Susanne Bier (“The Night Manager”) took home her first for directing for a limited series, delivering a very British speech.

Sterling K. Brown won his first Emmy for his portrayal of Christopher Darden in FX’s anthology series “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.”

“A lot of you may not know who I was, but you checked the box anyway,” he said in his speech.

Sarah Paulson: Wait, what? Yes, really, though she’s been nominated four times, this was her first time actually taking the gold, for playing Marcia Clark in FX’s “The People v. O.J. Simpson.”

This was Courtney B. Vance’s first Emmy nomination, but he’s already halfway to an EGOT with this win, being a Tony winner in 2013 for “Lucky Guy.”

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