EMMYS SPOTLIGHT STEPHEN COLBERT AND VIEWER FAVORITES
The Emmys has always been an awards show that thrived on its own predictability. Beloved shows repeat in the same categories year after year, the same stars walk the red carpet and the show runs longer than its allotted time.
At the 69th Primetime Emmys Sunday, the awards had to be a bit unpredictable, whether the TV Academy liked it or not. Game of Thrones, which has been an Emmy favorite since it debuted in 2011 and won the outstanding drama series award for the past two years, wasn’t eligible due to its summer start date. (Although the number of jokes that referenced it meant Thrones was never far from the Emmy broadcast’s heart.)
Coupled with the sheer number of new series entering the fray, from cable and streaming but also NBC’s family drama This is Us, the races, especially in the drama series categories, became a little more exciting. And even when playing it safe, the TV Academy picked strong, worthy winners. When there’s this much talent on the screens, it’s hard to go wrong.
Stephen Colbert, whose Late Night, like Saturday Night Live, won a ratings and quality surge due to the political climate, hosted for the first time. He opened the ceremony with a giddy and borderline-corny song-and-dance number, Everything Is Better on TV, which mashed TV insider jokes (about the backlash to HBO’s upcoming alternate-history drama Confederate) with his trademark political humor (a Russia jab with the stars of Soviet spy drama The Americans).
The night kicked off on a high note with John Lithgow taking his much-deserved award for supporting actor in a drama, for his bravura performance as Winston Churchill in The Crown. He noted that The Crown “kept on giving,” and it’s the second major award he’s won for the performance, including a Screen Actors Guild award earlier this year.
In a similarly predictable turn, Kate McKinnon was rewarded for supporting actress in a comedy for Saturday Night Live, her second consecutive win. The actress’ impressions of Hillary Clinton, Kellyanne Conway and more were essential to Saturday Night Live’s renewed relevancy and ratings this season, although it was a little bittersweet to see Gina Rodriguez present the award, given that her stellar turn on CW’s Jane the Virgin has been consistently overlooked.
In early awards, SNL had a fantastic night, also taking the award for outstanding variety sketch series, the first time the long-running series has won in a comparable category since 1993, when it won for variety, music or comedy series.
Shortly after, Alec Baldwin, perhaps the man most responsible for this season’s success thanks to his impression of President Trump, won for supporting actor in a comedy. “I suppose I should say, at long last Mr. President, here is your Emmy,” he quipped at the beginning of a genuinely moving speech about the importance of art.
Proving that the Emmys could still have big surprises, Ann Dowd won for supporting actress in a drama for her role on Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, a worthy win for a veteran actress that was so shocking, even Dowd seemed numbed by it.
Big Little Lies star Laura Dern picked up the award for supporting actress in a limited series or TV movie, and she was a standout even when acting next to Oscar winners. In her speech she recognized the rarity of a female-centric series getting made, let alone being recognized by the Emmys.
Hopefully the Emmys can continue the trend of recognizing diverse, new and exciting series in the years to come.