(Credit: Netflix)

You know those moments where you just sit back and realise that you saw history happen in front of you. If you watched the Emmys last night, then you know what we are talking about. Adolescence on Netflix, which is already one of the most talked-about limited series this year, gave us a piece of television history.

That’s right! The child lead of the show, played by Owen Cooper, became the youngest Emmy winner ever in the “Supporting Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie” category. This 15-year-old boy just made history, and he’ll forever be known for that. First, he won hearts by his commendable performance in the show, and now this.

Picture it. The room is packed with Hollywood’s biggest names, and then this boy, barely out of school, hears his name called. The camera cut to him. While the rest of the nominees were looking in the camera, this little boy had his face cupped in his palms, and there is no surprise in the fact that he was almost in disbelief. It was one of those rare, unscripted moments that make live award shows worth the hype.

Before we go ahead, you need to know who Owen was competing against in this category. You have Javier Bardem from Monsters: The Lyle And Erik Menendez Story, Bill Camp from Presumed Innocent, Rob Delaney from Dying For Sex, Peter Sarsgaard from Presumed Innocent and Ashley Walters from Adolescence.

Now, if you have watched Adolescence, you’ll know exactly why this happened. Cooper plays Jamie Miller, a 13-year-old suddenly caught in the darkest nightmare a family can face. He is accused of murder. What Cooper did was bring this fragile innocence while still carrying a weight that made you forget his actual age. Honestly, nobody expected a teenager to pull off that kind of performance, and yet here we are.

What made the whole thing even more special was the energy in the room. Going into the night, the odds were stacked against him. Everyone thought the award would go to one of the big names. But when Cooper’s name was announced, there was this collective gasp, which was then followed by thunderous applause. He walked to the stage, clutching the award that looked almost too big for him, gave a short, humble speech, and in that moment, you could feel the industry acknowledging a new star had arrived.

And let’s not forget that Adolescence itself was on fire at the Emmys. Thirteen nominations, eight wins. Stephen Graham, the show’s co-creator and star, had his own double victory with acting and writing awards. That would have been enough to call it a great night for Netflix. But Owen Cooper’s win? That’s the kind of headline you don’t just celebrate. You remember it for years.

So, here we are. Netflix has another hit stamped into awards history. More importantly, a 15-year-old from Liverpool just walked into the spotlight as the youngest Supporting Actor winner the Emmys have ever seen. Something tells us that this is only the beginning for him. And years from now, when we are watching him headline big-budget films or leading another amazing series, we’ll all be able to say, ‘We saw his very first win.’