40 Emmy Awards Jokes: The 2016 “Dragon Records, O.J. Simpson’s Verdict & The Election Fever” Edition

In 2016, the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards felt like a mix of a high-stakes courtroom and a fantasy battlefield. It was the year Game of Thrones officially became the most awarded scripted show in Emmy history, The People v. O.J. Simpson proved that true crime is the ultimate prestige genre, and Jimmy Kimmel turned the political tension of 2016 into a three-hour roast.

The 2016 Emmy Red Carpet Top 10: “Trial of the Century, Dragon Scales & Juice Box Jokes”

1. The Game of Thrones Record: Why did it win Best Drama? Because with “Battle of the Bastards,” the show proved it had a bigger budget for one episode than the rest of the nominees had for their entire lives.
2. The O.J. Simpson Sweep: Why did it win 9 awards? Because 20 years later, America was still obsessed with the glove—only this time, the “verdict” was a landslide of gold trophies.
3. The Sarah Paulson Victory: Why was it the most cheered win? Because after five years of playing every nightmare imaginable in American Horror Story, she finally won for playing a real-life hero (Marcia Clark) who actually showed up as her date.
4. The Veep Dynasty: Why did it win Best Comedy again? Because in 2016, real-world politics were getting so weird that Selina Meyer started looking like the “sensible” candidate.
5. The Stranger Things Buzz: Why was everyone talking about kids on bikes? Because the first season had just dropped, and every celebrity on the carpet was trying to get a selfie with Eleven.
6. The Jimmy Kimmel “PB&J” Bit: Why did he feed the audience? Because he knew that a room full of hungry actors is a dangerous place, so he had the kids from Stranger Things deliver 7,000 sandwiches.
7. The Maggie Smith “Lost & Found” Joke: Why was it a highlight? Because Jimmy Kimmel threatened that if she didn’t show up to claim her award, he’d put it in the “Lost and Found” box.
8. The Rami Malek Shock: Why did he win for Mr. Robot? For proving that a hoodie, giant eyes, and a monologue about hacking society is the fastest way to an Emmy.
9. The Julia Louis-Dreyfus Streak: Her fifth win in a row! At this point, the Emmy Academy should just name the trophy “The Julia.”
10. The Election Fever: Why so many political jokes? Because with the 2016 election just weeks away, every presenter acted like they were giving a campaign speech.

The Full 2016 Emmy Jokes Archive

11. Worst Dressed (The 2016 Metallic Trend): Why so much silver? Because half the actresses looked like they were auditioning to be the new Emmy statuette.
12. Outstanding Comedy: Why Veep? For proving that a “competent incompetent” is the funniest thing on TV.
13. Outstanding Drama: Why Game of Thrones? For proving that dragons are the ultimate “closer” for any awards season.
14. Outstanding Lead Actor (Comedy): Why Jeffrey Tambor? For Transparent, proving that great acting transcends any gender or boundary.
15. Outstanding Lead Actress (Comedy): Why Julia Louis-Dreyfus? For apologizing for the current political climate while holding a gold statue.
16. Outstanding Lead Actor (Drama): Why Rami Malek? Because “Please tell me you’re seeing this too” was the perfect reaction to beating the veterans.
17. Outstanding Lead Actress (Drama): Why Tatiana Maslany? For Orphan Black, finally winning for playing 15 different people in one show—proving she’s been cheated out of 14 other awards.
18. The Sterling K. Brown Breakthrough: Why did he win for O.J.? For a performance so powerful it made everyone forget he was playing Christopher Darden and just saw a superstar.
19. The Courtney B. Vance Win: Why did Johnnie Cochran win? Because “If the glove don’t fit, you must acquit,” but if the Emmy fits, you must take it.
20. The Ben Mendelsohn Surprise: Why for Bloodline? For proving that the “bad brother” always has the best scenes and the most trophies.
21. The Louie Anderson Win: Why for Baskets? For playing a mom so convincingly that everyone in the room wanted to call their own mother after his speech.
22. The Kate McKinnon Victory: Why did she win for SNL? For a year of impressions that were so good they actually started affecting the real-world polls.
23. The John Oliver Dominance: Why did Last Week Tonight start its streak? Because if you explain complicated laws using puppets and jokes, people will actually watch.
24. The Sherlock “Abominable Bride” Win: Why? Because even when it’s a confusing Victorian dream, the Academy still loves Benedict Cumberbatch in a scarf.
25. The Amazing Race’s Loss (Again): Why did The Voice win? Because Americans officially prefer spinning chairs over running through airports.
26. The Silicon Valley “Bachman” Jokes: Why? Because T.J. Miller’s character was the spirit animal of every tech bro who ever overstayed his welcome.
27. The Master of None Writing Win: Why? Because Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang proved that “Parents” is the most relatable (and awkward) episode of the decade.
28. The 30-Second Rule: Why the loud orchestra? Because Jimmy Kimmel had a bit with his “nemesis” Matt Damon that required perfect comedic timing.
29. The Downton Abbey Final Bow: Why the technical wins? For a show that ended exactly as it began: with very polite people being very wealthy.
30. The Better Call Saul Snub: Why was Bob Odenkirk ignored again? Because the Academy is clearly making him wait as long as Jimmy McGill had to wait for his law degree.
31. The American Crime Story Clean Sweep: Why? Because it was the first time a miniseries felt like a national event since the actual 90s.
32. The Patton Oswalt Speech: Why the tears? For a heartbreaking and beautiful tribute to his late wife that reminded everyone what really matters.
33. The Kit Harington “Revival” Joke: Why? Because Jon Snow dying and coming back to life was the only thing more dramatic than the Best Actor race.
34. The Hodor Tribute: Why the “Hold the Door” jokes? Because half the audience was still crying every time they saw a wooden door.
35. The Netflix vs. HBO War: Why was it a draw? Because Netflix had the “cool” factor, but HBO had the dragons and the budget.
36. The Transparent Director Win: Why Jill Soloway? For “Toppling the Patriarchy” in an acceptance speech that became the viral moment of the night.
37. The Key & Peele Goodbye: Why the win? For a sketch show that defined the 2010s humor and left us all wanting one more “A-A-Ron” joke.
38. The Matt Damon “Eating an Apple” Bit: Why? For mocking Jimmy Kimmel for losing Best Variety Series while casually munching on a snack.
39. The In Memoriam Prince & Bowie: Why the silence? Because 2016 was a brutal year for music legends, and the room felt every bit of it.
40. The 2016 Final Emmy Vibe: Why the “True Stories” year? Because between O.J., Marcia Clark, and the actual election, reality was far more gripping than fiction.