CLEANING UP AT THE EMMYS
A number of popular shows score multiple wins in the first half of Sunday’s ceremony
A number of Emmy night’s early winners were seeing double — or even triple.
HBO miniseries Chernobyl, for one, landed a pair of trophies in the first half of the 71st Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night. Craig Mazin won a writing award for the limited series, and Johan Renck earned the limited series directing prize for the historical drama centring around the Chernobyl nuclear disaster of April 1986.
Meanwhile, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’s Alex Borstein won best supporting actress in a comedy, while her co-star Tony Shalhoub took home the Emmy for supporting actor for his role in the hit Amazon series.
British dramedy Fleabag was cleaning up early on Emmy night: Harry Bradbeer won for directing the comedy series, while writer/ actress Phoebe Waller-Bridge picked up prizes for her writing on Episode 1 and her starring role.
Other early winners included Bandersnatch: Black Mirror (outstanding television movie), actor Jharrel Jerome (lead actor in a limited series or movie for his role in Netflix’s When They See Us), Patricia Arquette (outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie), RuPaul’s Drag Race (reality competition), actor Bill Hader (outstanding lead actor in a comedy series for HBO’s Barry) and Michelle Williams (outstanding lead actress in a limited series or movie for Fosse/Verdon).
Williams took time to thank her bosses for paying her equally “because they understood that when you put value into a person it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value and where do they put it? They put it into their work.”
On a night that could have seen old favourites prevailing over the biggest lineup of first-time nominees in eight years, HBO political satire Veep and returning Emmy champ The Marvelous Mrs Maisel from Amazon Studios were seen as front-runners in the contest for best comedy series.
“I think it’s a tight race,” said Julia Louis-Dreyfus, who was competing for her seventh lead actress Emmy in her role as a nakedly ambitious politician hellbent on becoming U.S. president in Veep.
“It’s a very, very, very fine group of actors and shows. There’s no getting around it. Really, truthfully, I can’t believe how good television is right now,” Louis-Dreyfus told Reuters ahead of the ceremony.
Already the most-awarded series in Emmy history with 38 wins, Game of Thrones landed a record 32 nominations for its final season, including nine for its actors, despite a fan uproar over the conclusion of the series.
The haul for Game of Thrones helped cable channel HBO lead all comers with 137 Emmy nominations this year, ahead of Netflix with 117, reflecting the battle for dominance between traditional outlets and streaming services.
“It’s a great year for diversity on all levels. There are hot new shows competing against Emmy incumbents, so there will be a lot at stake in an industry that is undergoing a revolution,” said Tom O’Neil, founder of awards website GoldDerby.com.
None of the Game of Thrones actresses has won an Emmy, and this year they faced formidable competition from Killing Eve co-stars Sandra Oh and Jodie Comer as well as Laura Linney for the drug-trafficking thriller Ozark.
They understood that when you put value into a person it empowers that person to get in touch with their own inherent value.