‘Mrs. Maisel’ truly a marvel
Female voices, diversity, politics take awards stage
LOS ANGELES — “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” a new sitcom about a 1950s homemaker turned edgy stand-up comedian, took an early lead at the Emmy Awards.
Series star Rachel Brosnahan was honored as best comedy actress, Alex Borstein earned the supporting trophy and the series creator, Amy Sherman-Palladino, nabbed writing and directing awards.
In an awards ceremony that started out congratulating TV academy voters for the most ethnically diverse field of nominees ever, the first awards all went to white nominees.
“I want to say six awards, all white winners, and nobody has thanked Jesus yet,” co-host Michael Che said, referring back to his earlier joke that only African-American winners do.
Brosnahan used the end of her acceptance speech to give a shout-out to the show’s celebration of women power.
“It’s about a woman who’s finding her voice anew, and it’s one of the things that’s happening all over the country now,” she said. She urged viewers to exercise that power by voting.
Bill Hader collected the best comedy actor award for “Barry,” a dark comedy about a hired killer who stumbles into an acting career.
Henry Winkler, aka “The Fonz,” won a supporting actor award for “Barry,” four decades after gaining fame for his role in “Happy Days.”
“If you stay at the table long enough, the chips come to you. Tonight, I got to clear the table,” an ebullient Winkler said, with an equally delighted auditorium audience rising to give him a standing ovation. To his children, he said: “You can go to bed now, daddy won!”
The ceremony opened with a star-studded song celebrating the historical diversity of this year’s Emmy nominations, including nominees Kate McKinnon and Sterling K. Brown. Other stars included Ricky Martin, Andy Samberg and RuPaul. “SNL” faux news anchors Michael Che and Colin Jost were hosts and mocked many of the nominated shows and actors.
They noted that NBC has most nominations for broadcast outlet. “Kind of like being the sexiest person on life support,” Jost joked. (Netflix has eclipsed all broadcast channels).
Sandra Oh played along from her seat: “Thank you, but it’s an honor just to be Asian,” said the KoreanCanadian star.
While Emmy nominees nervously wait to hear their name called, or not, there’s more on the line at the ceremony on NBC than personal glory.
“Saturday Night Live” creator Lorne Michaels, producing his second Emmy telecast in 30 years, is tasked with turning viewership around after the director
2017 show’s audience of 11.4 million narrowly avoided the embarrassment of setting a new low.
The ceremony clearly bears his stamp, with Che and Jost as hosts and familiar “SNL” faces, including Kate McKinnon and Alec Baldwin, as presenters and nominees. The long-running NBC sketch show, already the top Emmy winner ever with 71, could snare up to three more.
The pressure was on Michaels because NBC and other broadcasters are increasingly reliant on awards and other live events to draw viewers distracted by streaming and more 21st-century options. The networks, which air the Emmy telecast on a rotating basis, are so eager for the ad dollars it generates and its promotional value for fall shows that they endure online competitors sharing the stage.
Politics already came up on the red carpet, with Jenifer Lewis of “black-ish” wearing a sweatshirt adorned with a metal-studded Nike “swoosh,” pushing back against criticism of the brand for featuring former San Francisco 49ers Colin Kaepernick in its new ad campaign.
“I want to speak to the millennials today to let them know they are not alone when they speak out,” said the 61-year-old Lewis.
Yeardley Smith, an Emmy winner for voicing Lisa on “The Simpsons,” said she doesn’t object when winners use the spotlight to say more than “thank you.”
“I don’t think it’s inappropriate,” Smith said. “I think that you do need to strike a balance.
“I think if you’re truly passionate about something, anything, that if you have a platform, you almost have a moral obligation to speak up.”
AP Writers Mike Cidoni Lennox in Los Angeles and Leanne Italie in New York contributed to this report.