Emmy Awards
Ceremony spreads its wealth around to streaming and cable but largely snubs broadcast networks and diversity.
Claire Foy of “The Crown” and Matthew Rhys of “The Americans” won top drama acting Emmys as Monday’s ceremony spread its wealth around to streaming and cable but largely snubbed broadcasting and, largely, diversity.
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amazon’s freshman sitcom about a 1950s homemaker turned edgy stand-up comedian, took an early lead at the Emmy Awards, which gently mocked itself for its own lack of diverse winners.
“Mrs. Maisel” star Rachel Brosnahan was honored as best comedy actress, Alex Borstein earned the supporting actress trophy and the series creator, Amy Shermanpalladino, nabbed writing and directing awards.
The field bested by Foy included last year’s winner Elisabeth Moss for “The Handmaid’s Tale” and Sandra Oh of “Killing Eve,” who could have been the first actor of Asian descent to get a top drama award.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” said Foy, honored for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth II in the Netflix series.
In a ceremony that started out congratulating TV academy voters for the most ethnically diverse field of nominees ever, the early awards all went to whites.
“Let’s get it trending: #Emmyssowhite,” presenter James Corden joked at the midway point, riffing off an earlier tribute to Betty White.
“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 and Republican winners do.