THE PANDEMMYS
All the stars, all the gossip and all suitably socially distanced:
THE Emmys were a victory for ‘ the power of love’ after Schitt’s Creek bagged a record nine prizes – and was cheered on by Sir Elton John.
The Canadian show scooped the most-ever wins for a comedy, as father and son Eugene and Dan Levy were named best lead and best supporting comedy actors, while co-stars Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy won the comedy actress awards.
‘Our show, at its core, is about the transformational effects of love and acceptance, and that is something we need more of now than we’ve ever needed before,’ said Dan, 37, who also picked up the best comedy series gong after creating the programme.
And Eugene, 73, hailed his son, saying: ‘I want to thank this young man who took our fish-out-of-water story and transformed it into a story of inclusivity, a castigation of homophobia and a declaration of the power of love, so thank you Daniel.’
The cast, partying in Canada, were cheered via Zoom by fan Sir Elton, who joked the show was ‘an all-time favourite’ because it name-checked him.
The sitcom, about a wealthy family moving to a dead-end town after losing their fortune, was beaten only by Watchmen, which landed 11 prizes, and followed by Succession with seven.
Comedian Jimmy Kimmel opened the awards show, dubbing it the ‘ pand-Emmys’ and quipping: ‘You can’t have a virus without a host.’
On the distanced set-up – which saw men in hazmat tuxedos hand gongs to winners at home – he added: ‘ We have live feeds to and from more than 100 locations. You know how hard it is to get your parents to FaceTime? Multiply that by a lot.’
Those who showed up in person to LA’s mostly empty Staples Center included actress Tracee Ellis Ross, who was seen taking a coronavirus test on arrival.
And presenters had to fight fires on the night – as Jennifer Aniston struggled to put out a burning envelope in an opening stunt.
The actress then raced home for a mini Friends reunion with Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow on Zoom. Meanwhile, Zendaya became the youngest ever winner of the best drama actress prize, beating Killing Eve’s Jodie Comer. ‘I know this feels like a weird time to be celebrating but I just want to say there is hope in the young people out there,’ said the 24year-old, who played drug addict Rue in HBO’s Euphoria. ‘I just want to say to all my peers out there doing the work in the streets: I see you, I admire you, I thank you.’ Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman and Glee’s Naya Rivera were honoured following their deaths by an In Memoriam segment.