Lee is the first Asian to win in that category and receive the award.
He beat out fellow nominees Bob Odenkirk for Better Call Saul, Jason Bateman for Ozark, Jeremy Strong for Succession, Adam Scott for Severance, and Brian Cox for Succession.
In his acceptance speech, Lee said “First I’d like to thank God above. Thank you to the Television Academy. Thank you to Netflix. Thank you to Director Hwang [Dong-hyuk] for making realistic problems we all face come to life so creatively and with a great script and amazing visuals.”
Squid Game received 14 Emmy nominations and won four, including awards for guest acting, stunt production design, and visual effects.
The awards, which were held at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles, California, recognized TV shows and actors from June 1, 2021 to May 31, 2022.
The complete list of winners is as follows:
Best Drama Series
Better Call Saul (AMC)
Euphoria (HBO)
Ozark (Netflix)
Severance (Apple TV+)
Squid Game (Netflix)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
Succession (HBO): WINNER
Yellowjackets (Showtime)
Best Actress in a Drama Series
Jodie Comer (Killing Eve)
Laura Linney (Ozark)
Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets)
Sandra Oh (Killing Eve)
Reese Witherspoon (The Morning Show)
Zendaya (Euphoria): WINNER
Best Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman (Ozark)
Brian Cox (Succession)
Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game): WINNER
Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)
Adam Scott (Severance)
Jeremy Strong (Succession)
Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Patricia Arquette (Severance)
Julia Garner (Ozark): WINNER
Jung Ho-yeon (Squid Game)
Christina Ricci (Yellowjackets)
Rhea Seehorn (Better Call Saul)
J. Smith-Cameron (Succession)
Sarah Snook (Succession)
Sydney Sweeney (Euphoria)
Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Nicholas Braun (Succession)
Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)
Kieran Culkin (Succession)
Park Hae-soo (Squid Game)
Matthew Macfadyen (Succession): WINNER
John Turturro (Severance)
Christopher Walken (Severance)
Oh Yeong-soo (Squid Game)
Best Comedy Series
Abbott Elementary (ABC)
Barry (HBO)Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Hacks (HBO Max)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)
Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)
Ted Lasso (Apple): WINNER
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Best Actress in a Comedy Series
Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary): WINNER
Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant)
Elle Fanning (The Great)
Issa Rae (Insecure)
Jean Smart (Hacks)
Best Actor in a Comedy Series
Donald Glover (Atlanta)
Bill Hader (Barry)
Nicholas Hoult (The Great)
Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building)
Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building)
Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso): WINNER
Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)
Janelle James (Abbott Elementary)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)
Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso)
Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary): WINNER
Juno Temple (Ted Lasso)
Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)
Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Carrigan (Barry)
Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso): WINNER
Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso)
Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso)
Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Tyler James Williams (Abbott Elementary)
Henry Winkler (Barry)
Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live)
Best Limited or Anthology Series
Dopesick (Hulu)
The Dropout (Hulu)
Inventing Anna (Netflix)
Pam & Tommy (Hulu)
The White Lotus (HBO): WINNER
Best Actress in a Limited Series, Movie, or Anthology
Toni Collette (The Staircase)
Julia Garner (Inventing Anna)
Lily James (Pam & Tommy)
Sarah Paulson (Impeachment: American Crime Story)
Margaret Qualley (Maid)
Amanda Seyfried (The Dropout): WINNER
Best Actor in a Limited Series, Movie, or Anthology
Colin Firth (The Staircase)
Andrew Garfield (Under the Banner of Heaven)
Oscar Isaac (Scenes From a Marriage)
Michael Keaton (Dopesick): WINNER
Himesh Patel (Station Eleven)
Sebastian Stan (Pam & Tommy)
Best Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Connie Britton (The White Lotus)
Jennifer Coolidge (The White Lotus): WINNER
Alexandra Daddario (The White Lotus)
Kaitlyn Dever (Dopesick)
Natasha Rothwell (The White Lotus)
Sydney Sweeney (The White Lotus)
Mare Winningham (Dopesick)
Best Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Murray Bartlett (The White Lotus): WINNER
Jake Lacy (The White Lotus)
Will Poulter (Dopesick)
Seth Rogen (Pam & Tommy)
Peter Sarsgaard (Dopesick)
Michael Stuhlbarg (Dopesick)
Steve Zahn (The White Lotus)
Best Variety Talk Series
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver (HBO): WINNER
Late Night With Seth Meyers (NBC)
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Best Variety Sketch Series
A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO/HBO Max)
Saturday Night Live (NBC): WINNER
Best Competition Program
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (Amazon Prime Video): WINNER
Nailed It! (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Voice (NBC)
Best Directing for a Drama Series
Jason Bateman (Ozark)
Ben Stiller (Severance)
Hwang Dong-hyuk (Squid Game): WINNER
Mark Mylod (Succession)
Cathy Yan (Succession)
Lorene Scafaria (Succession)
Karyn Kusama (Yellowjackets)
Best Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or movie
Danny Strong (Dopesick)
Francesca Gregorini (The Dropout)
Michael Showalter (The Dropout)
John Wells (MAID)
Hiro Murai (Station Eleven)
Mike White (The White Lotus): WINNER
Best Directing for a Comedy Series
Hiro Murai (Atlanta)
Bill Hader (Barry)
Lucia Aniello (Hacks)
Mary Lou Belli (The Ms. Pat Show)
Jamie Babbit (Only Murders in the Building)
Cherien Dabis (Only Murders in the Building)
MJ Delaney (Ted Lasso): WINNER
Best Writing for a Comedy Series
Quinta Brunson (Abbott Elementary): WINNER
Duffy Boudreau (Barry)
Alec Berg, Bill Hader (Barry)
Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, Jen Statsky (Hacks)
Steve Martin, John Hoffman (Only Murders in the Building)
Jane Becker (Ted Lasso)
Sarah Naftalis (What We Do in the Shadows)
Stefani Robinson (What We Do in the Shadows)
Best writing for a drama series
Thomas Schnauz (Better Call Saul)
Chris Mundy (Ozark)
Dan Erickson (Severance)
Hwang Dong-hyuk (Squid Game)
Jesse Armstrong (Succession): WINNER
Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson (Yellowjackets)
Ashley Lyle, Bart Nickerson (Yellowjackets)
Best Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Danny Strong (Dopesick)
Elizabeth Meriwether (The Dropout)
Sarah Burgess (Impeachment: American Crime Story)
Molly Smith Metzler (Maid)
Patrick Somerville (Station Eleven)
Mike White (The White Lotus): WINNER
Best Writing for a Variety Special
Ali Wong (Ali Wong: Don Wong)
Ian Berger, Devin Delliquanti, Jennifer Flanz, Jordan Klepper, Zhubin Parang, Scott Sherman (The Daily Show With Trevor Noah Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Globe – Hungary for Democracy)
Jerrod Carmichael (Jerrod Carmichael: Rothaniel): WINNER
Nicole Byer (Nicole Byer: BBW (Big Beautiful Weirdo))
Norm Macdonald (Norm Macdonald: Nothing Special)