Australia’s Murray Bartlett has joined Hollywood heavyweight Michael Keaton among the early winners as the prestigious Emmy Awards get underway in Los Angeles. 

Bartlett, who played a hotel manager at a ritzy resort in HBO’s The White Lotus, was named best supporting actor in a limited series.

“I just want to thank my mum, all the way back home in Australia, for giving me the most wonderful foundation of unconditional love and inspiring me to believe that we can all do that for each other,” Bartlett said.

Keaton landed an Emmy for playing a small-town doctor who becomes addicted to painkillers in Dopesick, as Hollywood stars gathered to toast the best of television.

Keaton starred in the Hulu limited series that turned a spotlight on America’s opioid epidemic. 

The actor thanked people in his life who had supported him over the years despite the fact “I made a fool of myself over and over again”.

Saturday Night Live star Kenan Thompson, host of the event at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles, promised a festive night to celebrate one of the world’s favourite pastimes.

“What would we do without television? Read books?” he joked, before joining in with dance numbers to theme songs ranging from classic sitcom Friends to current best drama nominee Stranger Things.

Key winners from the 74th Emmy Awards:

• BEST DRAMA SERIES – Succession
• BEST COMEDY SERIES – Ted Lasso
• BEST LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES – The White Lotus
• BEST COMEDY ACTOR – Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
• BEST COMEDY ACTRESS – Jean Smart, Hacks
• BEST DRAMA ACTOR – Lee Jung-jae, Squid Game
• BEST DRAMA ACTRESS – Zendaya, Euphoria
• BEST ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE – Michael Keaton, Dopesick
• BEST ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE – Amanda Seyfried, The Dropout
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE – Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE – Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, COMEDY SERIES – Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, COMEDY SERIES – Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR, DRAMA SERIES – Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
• BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS, DRAMA SERIES – Julia Garner, Ozark