Netflix’s The Crown and “The Queen’s Gambit” combined with Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” to win top series honors at the Sunday’s Emmy Awards, a first for streaming services that cemented their rise to prominence in the television industry.
Actor Jason Sudeikis was named outstanding lead actor in a comedy for his turn as the soccer coach in ‘Ted Lasso’, while Hollywood star Kate Winslet won the lead actress title in a limited series or movie for her role as a detective sergeant in ‘Mare of Easttown’.
Advertisement
Network Apple TV Plus’ ‘Ted Lasso’ and HBO’s ‘Mare of Easttown’ picked up the first awards of the night, each winning the pair of supporting acting awards for a comedy and limited series, respectively.
Stream giant Netflix’s ‘The Crown’ took over the drama fields. It picked up top honors for supporting actress, which was taken home by Gillian Anderson, supporting actor won by Tobias Menzies, writing and directing.
The show ‘Hack’ dominated the comedy field.
Jean Smart took home her fourth Emmy of her career for her role as stand-up comic Deborah Vance, and the show took home the writing and directing for a comedy award.
Female directors such as Jessica Hobbs and Lucia Aniello among many others bagged the Primetime Emmy Awards for comedy and drama series directing in the same year for the first time, as makers from ‘The Crown’ and ‘Hacks’ prevailed against tough competition.
“I’m at a loss for words,” said Peter Morgan, the creator, and writer of the British royal saga “The Crown,” which collected acting, writing, and directing awards in addition to four acting honors.
His comment may also apply to the premium cable channels that once dominated the Emmy Awards and to the broadcast networks — including Sunday’s ceremony host, CBS — that have long grown accustomed to being largely also-rans.
Netflix won a leading total of 44 awards, equaling the broadcast network record set back in 1974, by CBS.
There was a bright spot for HBO with its limited series “Mare of Easttown,” the crime drama that earned four Emmys, including a lead acting award for star Kate Winslet. For broadcaster NBC, “Saturday Night Live” again came through with a variety of honors.
The ceremony proved disappointing as well to those scrutinizing diversity in Hollywood. The record number of nominees of color yielded only two Black winners, including RuPaul for “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and Michaela Coel for “I May Destroy You.”
Cedric the Entertainer proved a game host, moving from a hip-hop opening number to gags and sketches, but the relatively small crowd — a result of pandemic precautions — was fairly muted in their response to his and others’ one-liners.
There was a feeling of personal loss that pervaded the night, with a number of winners recounting the loss of loved ones.
“The Crown” stars Olivia Colman and Josh O’Connor won the top drama acting honors Sunday, with Jason Sudeikis, star of the warm-hearted “Ted Lasso,” and Jean Smart of the generation-gap story “Hacks,” winners on the comedy side.
Colman and O’Connor were a winning fictional mother-son duo: She plays Queen Elizabeth II, with O’Connor as Prince Charles in the British royal family saga that combines gravitas and soap opera.
“I’d have put money on that not happening,” Colman said of the award, calling it “a lovely end to the most extraordinary journey” with the show’s cast and creators. O’Connor gave a shoutout to Emma Corwin, who played opposite him as Princess Diana and was also a nominee Sunday, as a “force of nature.”
Kate Winslet, who played the title character in “Mare of Easttown,” and Ewan McGregor, who starred in the fashion biopic “Halston,” were honored as top actors for a limited series.
Winslet saluted her sister nominees in “this decade that has to be about women having each other’s back.”