For me the big story of the evening was the completely unexpected victory of Tricks for Best Comedy Series more than The Bear which won a record 10 Emmys in January for its first season, led with another record 23 nominations in Season 2, swept the Creative Arts with 7 wins last week and had another 4 on Sunday night heading into the evening’s final awards show, a no-brainer at this point was the FX series about a chef who returns to Chicago to run a restaurant. But then SHOCKER.

from Max Tricks, Now in its third season it somehow managed to pull it off, winning Best Comedy Series with only Comedy Writing and a third win for star Jean Smart as Outstanding Leading Actress in a Comedy Series. And while this was the show’s most critically acclaimed season to date, a win in the top category was not predicted by anyone. It was The bear lose – and the did.

So I really wanted to catch up with the Tricks team at the Governors Ball, but they were clearly busy backstage after that surprise win. Around 9:15 I gave up and went to the West Garage to look for my car when I suddenly bumped into Tricks creators Paul W. Downs, Lucia Aniello and Jen Statsky were running through the garage with all those Emmys between them for their two big wins at the 76th Emmys. I had them pose and Downs told me he was in complete shock and had no idea how this disappointment could have happened in the eternity. “I was absolutely flabbergasted,” he said when I pointed out that as a member of the Television Academy and the writing staff at Tricks for Best Comedy Series and Writing in a Comedy Series. “Your voice could have made the difference,” he laughed (sort of), thinking it was a close call with The Bear.

I’m not so sure. First, even as acknowledged by hosts Dan and Eugene Levy who slyly suggest in their monologue that The Bear is not really a comedy, many I speak to at the Academy thought the same, but it didn’t stop them from voting for it in the comedy categories. Well, it looks like the chickens came home to roost and probably enough members joined me and thought a comedy winner was actually are a comedy. That’s what we got Sunday night when we opened the envelope for Outstanding Comedy Series. Academy bigwigs tell me that after struggling with the category’s placement, they basically opted to let the creatives decide what sandbox they wanted to play in.

I went into the Emmys thinking it was all a done deal. Three shows were probably going to dominate. After the Creative arts ceremonies where Shogun went 14 for 14 and posted a single series season win even before the big show last night, it certainly couldn’t miss, and it didn’t, grabbing four more wins for a staggering 18 Emmys in total. Then The Bear grabbed 7 at Creative Arts, and added a record 4 more. Isn’t that obvious? And you couldn’t beat the sensationalism and headlines of Netflix’s Baby reindeer to dominate the Limited Series categories, ultimately winning 6, including Outstanding Limited Series or Anthology.

At the 75th Emmys in January, it seemed voters only got to see three shows: Succession, Beef, And The Bear. They simply decimated their competitors in the three major categories. It looked like it was going to happen again, but to my relief, this Emmy show had a few surprises. Baby reindeer did not dominate, like another Netflix Limited Series, the sensational Rijpley won four Emmys, including Best Director for Steven Zaillian, and shared the honor almost equally Reindeer. And then of course there was the big one Tricks shockeroo. Plus a win for Slow horses in Drama Writing to slightly slowly Shoguns defeat and a surprise victory for Lemorne Morris in Fargo was also fun, just like the triumph of Reality Series The traitors disrupting the usual pattern of repetition, repetition, repetition when it comes to winners in that category. And Liza Colon-Zayas, who beat out Meryl Streep, Carol Burnett and Hannah Einbinder for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for The Bear was another cracker. Maybe the Emmys aren’t so predictable after all.

All of this gave me hope, just when I thought voters were being lazy, that the Television Academy, of which I have been a member for decades, was still willing to shake things up, still capable of pulling off a surprise here and there. That is what makes them worth watching even if we to know John Oliver is going to win again, and so is The daily show in a presidential election year that saw Jon Stewart return as one of the show’s rotating hosts.

After the record-low ratings of last January, a new show of the same-old-same-old would have been a disaster, but the voters impressed me. And the ABC broadcast itself, if it didn’t rewrite the book on how to run an awards show, was pleasant and stylish enough, with good hosts, lots of nostalgia (love you Candice Bergen) and a nice pace. Greg Berlanti’s Governors Award acceptance speech was moving. And I enjoyed Dan and Eugene Levy as the funny father/son hosting team, especially their audience bit.

The mood was good at the Governors Ball, where I met some of the winners And losers. You might have thought Fellow travelers star Matt Bomer actually won (Richard Gadd of Baby reindeer took one of three statuettes he won in total in Bomer’s category). “It’s been such a long journey to make this show and we were just so proud to be here,” he told me without a hint of disappointment. The recognition of the nominations was everything. The morning show now two-time winner of Best Supporting Actor Drama Billy Crudup was also grateful to be on a show with a great script and a great character to play. While he and his wife Naomi Watts (also nominated for Feud: Capote vs. The Swans) At the ball I asked him how this win compared to his first two years ago. “It’s sweatier,” he laughed.

Later he appeared at the engraving booth, along with Gadd and his colleagues Reindeer winner Jessica Gunning, and they all posed for photos. The Crown Best Supporting Actress Drama winner Elizabeth Debicki also went straight to the engraving station when she entered the Govs Ball.

Two of the evening’s big names were also spotted at the ball repeat winners. I’ve completely lost count of how many Emmys both Jon Stewart and John Oliver have won, but it seems like every time they get nominated, to win. Oliver began his career with Stewart’s original incarnation of The daily show, and he won his last Emmy in a category that was only contested against Saturday Night Live. Stewart was the lucky winner and was in the front row The daily show also this season, but I don’t have to work every day, only on Mondays.

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special winner Alex Edelman celebrated at the ball with his proud mother and boyfriend and newly minted EGOT winner Benj Pasek, who is with his partner Justin Paul Finally won an Emmy last week at Creative Arts (for their song by Only murders in the building) to go with them La La Land Oscars and Grammys, and Dear Evan Hansen Tony’s.

The ball was crowded, and some stars lingered for an hour or so before heading to other parties, like Netflix’s in Hollywood or HBO’s San Vincente Bungalows, a scaled-down version of the giant post-Emmy party they used to throw, or Disney’s. For the latter, the studio took over the entire Music Center Plaza, set up an elaborate tent, and threw a party that easily rivaled, if not surpassed, what HBO used to throw at the Pacific Design Center. Easy to spot was a beaming Bob Iger chatting with Dana Walden and holding court. They had a lot to cheer about, including those 11 The Bear wins and breaks the record 18 for Shogun. Both are from FX and there was a lot of praise for FX chief John Landgraf who had a very good year. Looking at the huge turnout and the huge party space. When I suggested that this was the new HBO, Alan Bergman from Disney laughed and said, “It’s good that we won!” Another Disney executive told me that this party looked confident. They knew they had a winning hand in their hands. It’s also good for the Emmys. If a studio is going to throw this party, big, Winning an Emmy clearly still means something.

Among those in attendance were Jimmy Kimmel and his wife Molly McNearney, who I complimented on winning an Emmy at this past weekend’s Creative Arts for producing the Oscars. It’s a rare Emmy, as the Oscar show hasn’t won an Emmy in decades. “Maybe it was those interviews we did with Deadline,” she laughed, also telling me that the Oscars have only won four Emmys in the past. That’s still better than the track record of the Emmys, which have never won an Emmy themselves. It’s not eligible, which is a shame because there’s a lot to celebrate about the production. But I think we’re due for a break after being in non-stop Emmy mode for much longer than usual thanks to the strikes and the delayed 75th show being moved to January, making this the first year with not one but two Emmy shows. Producer Jesse Collins and team delivered both in style.

See you in a year.