Emmys 2017: Reese Witherspoon hails ‘incredible year’ for women on TV

Morano's work on the series led to her being hired to direct The Rhythm Section, a movie thriller starring Gossip Girl's Blake Lively.

In other awards, Lena Waithe became the first African-American woman to win for comedy writing for Master of None, sharing the prize with the show's star Aziz Ansari.

(Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe shared the comedy writing prize for Master of None)

"Thank you for embracing a little Indian boy from South Carolina," she said in her acceptance speech, "and a little queer black girl from the south side of Chicago. We appreciate it more than you could ever know."

Julia Louis-Dreyfus won best actress in a comedy series for Veep for a record sixth year in a row. Asked whether the evening's many wins for women indicated a progress in the entertainment industry, she replied: "God, I hope so.

"Let's hope this is the beginning of something even better in our country and in the world, because I think the world would be a better place if more women were in charge."

Turning to Veep showrunner David Mandel, she added: "No offence, Dave."

At which point, he shot back: "You're in charge! You're my boss!"