Baby Reindeer's Richard Gadd enjoyed a personal hat-trick of wins at Sunday Night's 76th annual Emmy Awards in Los Angeles while Shōgun smashed records and was named Best Drama.
The delighted Scottish star said "no matter how bad it gets, it always gets better" as he collected his first of three Emmy awards for his debut TV series.
Gadd, who created and starred in the dark Netflix show, first appeared on stage at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles to collect the award for Best Writing for a Limited or Anthropology Series, before also winning awards for acting in and producing the show.
Watch: Irish stars Saoirse Ronan, Andrew Scott and Nicola Coughlan wowed on the red carpet in downtown Los Angeles to celebrate the best of television at the annual Emmy Awards.
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Baby Reindeer also won in the Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series category, while Gadd's co-star Jessica Gunning was also a winner.
"This is the stuff of dreams," 35-year-old Gadd, wearing a kilt, said about the hit show inspired by his real-life experiences.
"Look, 10 years ago I was down and out. I never ever thought I'd get my life together.
"I never ever thought I’d be able to rectify myself what had happened to me and get myself back on my feet again, and then here I am, just over a decade later, picking up one of the biggest writing awards in television.
"I don’t mean that to sound arrogant. I mean it as encouragement for anyone who’s going through a difficult time right now to persevere.
"I don’t know much about this life, I don’t know why we are here, none of that, but I do know that nothing lasts forever, and no matter how bad it gets, it always gets better.
"So if you’re struggling, keep going – keep going and I promise you things will be okay."
His win came after co-star Jessica Gunning won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series for playing Martha Scott, who stalks Gadd’s character Donny Dunn.
"I am so incredibly proud to be a part of Baby Reindeer," she said on stage.
"My biggest thanks has to go to Mr Richard Gadd, I tried so many times to put into words what working on Baby Reindeer meant to me and I fail every time, so I’m going to sing," she joked.
"Thank you for trusting me to be your Martha, I will never, ever forget her or you or this."
The show hit the headlines after a woman claiming to be the inspiration behind Martha, filed a lawsuit against Netflix alleging the story is inaccurate.
Shōgun, the tale of warring dynasties in feudal Japan, ended the night with an astounding 18 statuettes, becoming the first-ever non-English-language winner of the highly coveted award for Outstanding Drama Series.
The previous record for any season of a television show was 13.
"It was an East-meets-West dream project, with respect," said veteran leading man Hiroyuki Sanada, who became the first Japanese actor to win an Emmy.
Anna Sawai followed him onto the Emmys stage minutes later with an Outstanding Actress win, before the cast and producers of Shōgun returned for the overall Outstanding Drama Series Award.
The series from Disney-owned FX, based on James Clavell's historical fiction, had led the nominations with 25 overall.
Shot in Canada, it features a primarily Japanese cast and subtitles.
Showrunner Justin Marks thanked producers for commissioning "a very expensive, subtitled, Japanese period piece, whose central climax revolves around a poetry competition."
"Shōgun is a show about translation -- not what is lost, but what is found, when you do safety meetings in two languages, and you learn not to walk on tatami mats with your utility boots," he said.
It also won the Emmy for Outstanding Directing of a Drama Series, in addition to the 14 won in minor categories at a separate gala last weekend.
Mini-series John Adams won 13 Emmys in 2008. Game of Thrones had held the record for dramas at 12.
Sunday night's ceremony also saw several wins for the hit series The Bear at the 76th Emmy Awards.
In their opening monologue, father and son hosting duo Eugene and Dan Levy made jokes about The Bear featuring in the comedy category following the reaction that it should be categorised as a drama.
The series is about a star chef (Jeremy Allen White) who returns to Chicago to run the family business after the death of his brother.
Allen White described himself as "so, so, so lucky" after picking up the Emmy for Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Carmen "Carmy" Berzatto.
"This show has changed my life, it has instilled a faith that change is possible, that change is possible if you are able to reach out, you are really truly not actually alone," he said on stage.
His win came after US actor Moss-Bachrach won Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for his role as restaurant manager Richard "Richie" Jerimovich in The Bear.
In another win for the show, Christopher Storer picked up the directing award for comedy. And there was more.
The ceremony also saw Liza Colon-Zayas win an Emmy for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Tina in The Bear, telling the audience she "revered" the women in the category including Carol Burnett and Meryl Streep.
Referencing the upcoming US presidential election, she added: "To all the Latinas who are looking at me, keep believing and vote, vote for your rights."
Elizabeth Debicki won her first Emmy Award for her role as Diana, Princess of Wales in Netflix’s The Crown - a fictionalised drama about the British royal family.
"Playing this part based on this unparalleled, incredible human being, has been my great privilege - it has been a gift," she said on stage after collecting the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama.
In a surprise ending to the night, Hacks picked up the Outstanding Comedy Series award which had been tipped to go to The Bear.
Click here to see a full list of winners
Additional reporting Press Association and AFP
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