"Fleabag" creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge dominates the Emmy Awards

Phoebe Waller-Bridge described her character in "Fleabag" Sunday night as a "dirty, pervy, angry woman." She can now add Queen of the Emmys to the list.

The creator and star of the Amazon Prime series scored a threepeat during the 71st annual Primetime Emmys, picking up honors for writing, acting and developing the year's outstanding comedy.

"This is getting ridiculous," said the belle of the ball when her show beat out "Veep," which many had predicted would take home its fourth award for outstanding comedy series in its final season.

But, wait. There's more.

Waller-Bridge also helped create "Killing Eve," and while that drama didn't win in its category, the Academy did recognize Jodie Comer with a best actress award for playing that show's charismatic assassin. Comer made sure to praise Waller-Bridge during her acceptance speech — as did Harry Bradbeer when he was honored for directing a "Fleabag" episode.

"Thank you for coming into my life like a glorious grenade," he said.

What makes Waller-Bridge's accomplishment even more extraordinary is that she wrote every episode of the streaming series. She is the fourth woman in the past seven years who has been recognized for outstanding writing in a comedy series.

A win for "Veep"'s Julia Louis-Dreyfus would have given her the most performance Emmys ever. As it is, she remains tied with Cloris Leachman.

Comer's co-star Sandra Oh, who took home a Golden Globe last year, would have become the first person of Asian descent to win in their category.

But the evening still managed to make some history.

Billy Porter became the first openly gay man to be named outstanding actor in a drama series.

"We are artists who get to change the molecular structure of the hearts and minds of the people who live on this planet," the "Pose" star said in his acceptance speech.

Peter Dinklage was named best supporting actor for the fourth time. He is the only "GOT" cast member to have ever gone home with hardware.

For the second year in a row, Bill Hader was named best actor in a comedy series for his work in "Barry." Tony Shalhoub already had three Emmys for "Monk," as well as a 2018 Tony for "The Band's Visit." This time, he took the podium for his supporting work in "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel."

His co-star Alex Bornstein repeated as best supporting actress. She took the opportunity to pay tribute to her immigrant grandmother, who was scheduled to be killed at a concentration camp before she stepped out of the execution line.

"Step out of the line, ladies," Bornstein said. "Step out of the line."

Patricia Arquette, who already has both an Emmy and an Oscar, used her win for a supporting role in "The Act" to call for more justice for trans people. Her sister, transgender activist Alexis Arquette, died three years ago.

"When They See Us" standout Jharrel Jerome didn't have to make any sort of political speech when he took the stage as best actor in a limited series or movie. His win for playing Korey Wise, one of the wrongly convicted Central Park Five, was statement enough, especially with the real-life Wise cheering in the audience.

"I feel like I should just be in the Bronx right now waiting for my mom's cooking," said Jerome, who beat out Oscar winners Sam Rockwell, Benicio Del Toro and Mahershala Ali.

"Ozark's" Julia Garner topped four "GOT" cast members in the category of best supporting actress while her co-star Jason Bateman, got recognized for directing one of the show's episodes.

Michelle Williams isn't exactly a new face, but despite four Oscar nods — and one Tony nomination — she had never won. Now, she's got an Emmy.

Williams, who played Gwen Verdon in "Fosse/Verdon," used her acceptance speech to thank the studios for giving her the same pay as co-star Rockwell and imploring the industry to do a better job when it comes to equity, especially when it comes to women of color.

"Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" won outstanding variety talk series for the fourth year in a row, while "Saturday Night Live" was named outstanding variety sketch series for the third consecutive year. "SNL" executive producer Lorne Michaels got a bit choked up recalling how the episode they submitted for competition included a tribute to the late Chris Farley.

"It's rare that you see a cameraman tear up or the boom crew crying. It was a very chilling moment, and very powerful," Michaels said. "That's what keeps us there. And the politics."

Neal Justin • 612-673-7431 • @nealjustin