Viola Davis, Christine Baranski, and Gina Torres pay tribute to TV lawyers at the 2024 Emmys

Some of the most iconic lawyers in TV history took to the Emmys stage to pass the baton to the year's best dramatic actress.

Annalise Keating, Diane Lockhart, and Jessica Pearson shared the same stage tonight, to the delight of, well, everyone.

Tonight, the 2024 Emmys made audiences wildest legal dreams come true by uniting three of the most iconic lawyers in TV history. Viola Davis (who played Keating on How To Get Away With Murder), Christine Baranski (who played Lockhart on The Good Wife and The Good Fight), and Gina Torres (who starred in Pearson, the spin-off of the character she played on Suits) joined forces to present the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series to first-time nominee Anna Sawai, for Shōgun.

"It has been said that the doctor sees our human weakness, the minister sees our stupidity, and the lawyer sees our sickness," Baranski opened. "Although let me add this," Davis said. "One caveat in courtrooms and law office like the ones we've seen from the early days of TV up through today lawyers have seen every combination of the human condition."

Torres continued, "and in their efforts, in so many ways they try to better that human condition and uplift us. Ultimately, TV lawyers remind us of two things: first, that the trifecta of weakness, stupidity, and wickedness will never go away." Baranski added that "second, the cases and trials and clients that showcase that trifecta make for really entertaining TV."

Related: Emmys 2024: See the complete list of winners

How to Get Away With Murder, The Good Wife, and The Good Fight were all dynamos at the Emmys during their runs. Baranski was nominated three times for her Good Wife performance, and Davis won in the category she presented tonight in 2015 and 2016.

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While Suits was never nominated for an Emmy awards (Pearson was never nominated), it does maintain a coveted honor that none of the other actresses' shows can claim - 2023's most-watched series on streaming.

Related: A very Good run: Christine Baranski bids farewell to Diane Lockhart

The competition for tonight's Lead Actress in a Drama Series prize was absolutely stacked. Facing off against Sawai were Jennifer Aniston and Reese Witherspoon (both for The Morning Show), Carrie Coon, (The Gilded Age), Maya Erskine (Mr. & Mrs. Smith), and Imelda Staunton (The Crown).

Aniston and Witherspoon have both won Emmys at past ceremonies, Aniston for Friends in 2002 and Witherspoon for Big Little Lies in 2017. Coon, Staunton, Erskine have all previously been nominated, and this is Sawai's first Emmy.

"I was crying before my name was announced, and I’m a mess today,” Sawai joked in her victory speech, thanking the series' (now highly Emmy-decorated) showrunner, producers, cast, and crew. She ultimately dedicated the award "to all the women who expect nothing and continue to be an example for everyone."

You can check all tonight's winners on EW's complete, live-updating list.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.