Netflix was the big winner at Sunday’s Emmy Award ceremony, bagging best drama and limited series awards for The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit to finis
Netflix was the big winner at Sunday’s Emmy Award ceremony, bagging best drama and limited series awards for The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit to finish on a joint-record overall haul of 44 awards.
Here are major highlights from television’s version of the Oscars:
‘Qwhite’ the Emmy ceremony
Hollywood’s record on diversity has come under the spotlight in recent years. A raft of nominees of colour at this year’s Emmys could have helped re-balance what has traditionally been a very white-dominated event.
African-American actors including Courtney B Vance, Sterling K Brown and Maya Rudolph won for guest roles or voice over performances, awards that were given out ahead of Sunday’s gala.
There were gongs for Michaela Coel, writer of I May Destroy You, and reality presenter RuPaul.
But in the end, all 12 major acting prize winners went to white performers, with frontrunners such as the late Michael K. Williams missing out.
Those who left us
The television industry lost two of its favourite sons in the weeks leading up to the Emmys.
Michael K. Williams, whose Baltimore stick-up man Omar Little was a key ingredient in the success of seminal HBO crime drama The Wire, died this month of a suspected drug overdose.
Kerry Washington (Little Fires Everywhere) praised “a brilliantly talented actor, and a generous human being who has left us far too soon.”
Williams missed out on a posthumous drama supporting actor prize, which instead went to Tobias Menzies of The Crown.
The late Saturday Night Live comic Norm Macdonald attracted plaudits, including from double-winner John Oliver.
“If you have any time in the next week, do what I did and just spend time YouTubing clips of Norm and Conan (O’Brien) because it just doesn’t get better than that.”
Women’s rights
Kate Winslet was one of several winners to praise Hollywood’s progress on female representation, both in front of and behind the camera.
“It means a huge amount because it makes me feel genuine that our industry is changing,” said Winslet, who took home the prize for best actress in a limited series for Mare of Easttown.
“I am honestly starting to feel that that the shifts are happening. And I think that we’re finger-pointing a lot less at women, in terms of how they look, their shape.”
But broader women’s rights issues were highlighted through the show, with career achievement honoree Debbie Allen urging women “from Texas to Afghanistan” to “claim your voice.”
Scaled-down Emmys
After last year’s pandemic-mandated virtual event, nominees were welcomed back in person at the Emmys — but only a lucky few of them.
Each nomination earned a maximum of three invitations to the socially distanced 500-person, partially outdoor venue (the ceremony typically has an audience of 4,000-6,000).
Even so, actor Seth Rogen joked early in the ceremony that there were “way too many of us in this little room.”
He added: “They lied to us. We’re in a hermetically sealed tent right now.”
Here below is a full list of the winners
Outstanding lead actor in a limited series or TV movie
Paul Bettany, “WandaVision”
Hugh Grant, “The Undoing”
Ewan McGregor, “Halston” *WINNER
Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Hamilton”
Leslie Odom Jr., “Hamilton”
Outstanding lead actress in a limited series or TV movie
Michaela Coel, “I May Destroy You”
Cynthia Erivo, “Genius: Aretha”
Elizabeth Olsen, “WandaVision”
Anya Taylor-Joy, “The Queen’s Gambit”
Kate Winslet, “Mare of Easttown” *WINNER
Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Thomas Brodie Sangster, “The Queen’s Gambit”
Daveed Diggs, “Hamilton”
Paapa Essiedu, “I May Destroy You”
Jonathan Groff, “Hamilton”
Evan Peters, “Mare Of Easttown” *WINNER
Anthony Ramos, “Hamilton”
Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Renée Elise Goldsberry, “Hamilton”
Kathryn Hahn, “WandaVision”
Moses Ingram, “The Queen’s Gambit”
Julianne Nicholson, “Mare Of Easttown” *WINNER
Jean Smart, “Mare Of Easttown”
Phillipa Soo, “Hamilton”
Outstanding lead actor in a comedy series
Anthony Anderson, “Black-ish”
William H. Macy, “Shameless”
Michael Douglas, “The Kominsky Method”
Jason Sudeikis, “Ted Lasso” *WINNER
Kenan Thompson, “Kenan”
Outstanding lead actress in a comedy series
Jean Smart, “Hacks” *WINNER
Kaley Cuoco, “The Flight Attendant”
Tracee Ellis Ross, “Black-ish”
Aidy Bryant, “Shrill”
Allison Janney, “Mom”
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Carl Clemons-Hopkins, “Hacks”
Brett Goldstein, “Ted Lasso” *WINNER
Brendan Hunt, “Ted Lasso”
Nick Mohammed, “Ted Lasso”
Paul Reiser, “The Kominsky Method”
Jeremy Swift, “Ted Lasso”
Kenan Thompson, “Saturday Night Live”
Bowen Yang, “Saturday Night Live”
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Aidy Bryant, “Saturday Night Live”
Hannah Einbinder, “Hacks”
Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”
Rosie Perez, “The Flight Attendant”
Cecily Strong, “Saturday Night Live”
Juno Temple, “Ted Lasso”
Hannah Waddingham, “Ted Lasso” *WINNER
Outstanding lead actor in a drama series
Sterling K. Brown, “This Is Us”
Jonathan Majors, “Lovecraft Country”
Josh O’Connor, “The Crown” *WINNER
Regé-Jean Page, “Bridgerton”
Billy Porter, “Pose”
Matthew Rhys, “Perry Mason”
Outstanding lead actress in a drama series
Uzo Aduba, “In Treatment”
Olivia Colman, “The Crown” *WINNER
Emma Corrin, “The Crown”
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Mj Rodriguez, “Pose”
Jurnee Smollett, “Lovecraft Country”
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Giancarlo Esposito, “The Mandalorian”
O-T Fagbenle, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
John Lithgow, “Perry Mason”
Tobias Menzies, “The Crown” *WINNER
Max Minghella, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Chris Sullivan, “This Is Us”
Bradley Whitford, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Michael K. Williams, “Lovecraft Country”
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Gillian Anderson, “The Crown” *WINNER
Helena Bonham Carter, “The Crown”
Madeline Brewer, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Ann Dowd, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Aunjanue Ellis, “Lovecraft Country”
Emerald Fennell, “The Crown”
Yvonne Strahovski, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Samira Wiley, “The Handmaid’s Tale”
Outstanding reality/competition series
“The Amazing Race”
“Nailed It!”
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” *WINNER
“Top Chef”
“The Voice”
Outstanding variety talk series
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” *WINNER
“The Late Show With Stephen Colbert”
“Conan”
“The Daily Show With Trevor Noah”
“Jimmy Kimmel Live!”
Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)
“Bo Burnham: Inside”
“David Byrne’s American Utopia”
“8:46” — Dave Chappelle
“Friends: The Reunion”
“Hamilton” *WINNER
“A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote”
Outstanding limited Series
“WandaVision”
“Mare of Easttown”
“I May Destroy You”
“The Underground Railroad”
“The Queen’s Gambit” *WINNER
Outstanding comedy series
“Black-ish”
“Cobra Kai”
“Emily in Paris”
“Hacks”
“The Flight Attendant”
“The Kominsky Method”
“Pen15”
“Ted Lasso” *WINNER
Outstanding drama series
“The Boys”
“Bridgerton”
“The Crown” *WINNER
“The Handmaid’s Tale”
“Lovecraft Country”
“The Mandalorian”
