‘Watchmen’ wins big at Emmys

With four victories in major categories, ‘Watchmen’ ended up with a total of 11 Emmys — television’s equivalent of the Oscars

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — “Watchmen,” a dark superhero series that tackles US racism, triumphed at the Emmys on Sunday as the stars beamed in live to an empty Los Angeles theater for Hollywood’s first major COVID-era awards show.

Fellow HBO show “Succession” — the saga of a powerful, backstabbing family — won big in the prestigious drama categories, while offbeat Canadian hit “Schitt’s Creek” performed a clean sweep of the night’s comedy prizes.

With four victories in major categories, “Watchmen” ended up with a total of 11 Emmys — television’s equivalent of the Oscars. Its creators dedicated their win for best limited series to African-American victims of the 1921 Tulsa massacre.

“The only way to put the fires out is to fight them together,” said showrunner Damon Lindelof.

Its 11 wins left it two short of the all-time record of 13 held by historic mini-series “John Adams.”

‘Succession’ and ‘Schitt’s Creek’

Nominees and winners for the 72nd Emmys beamed in remotely from their homes and socially distanced gatherings via video call, as Los Angeles is still under tough coronavirus-related restrictions.

The creator of “Succession” — a dark portrait of a Murdoch-esque family’s wrangling for control of a dynastic media empire — sounded one of several political notes by “un-thanking” world leaders for their handling of the pandemic.

“Un-thank you to President (Donald) Trump for his crummy and uncoordinated response. Un-thank you to Boris Johnson for the same thing in our country,” said British showrunner Jesse Armstrong, accepting best drama series, the night’s final prize.

The show also won for best drama writing and directing, while star Jeremy Strong bagged best actor honors.

Former Disney child star Zendaya pulled off a surprise, youngest-ever win for best drama actress with bleak, hard-hitting “Euphoria,” in which high school students struggle with sex, drugs and crime — in explicit detail.