At the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, streaming service Netflix raced to the top of the studio charts. It was a shiny night for England-set shows and British actors at the Emmys.
Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso, which led all comedies with 20 nominations, claimed four trophies on Sunday night at the 73rd annual ceremony honoring excellence in TV. The feel-good story of 2020 centered on an American football coach (Jason Sudeikis) who moves to London to coach a professional soccer team in the Premiere League. When the game was over, Lasso netted statuettes for Outstanding Comedy Series, Lead Actor (Sudeikis), Supporting Actress (Hannah Waddingham), and Supporting Actor (Brett Goldstein).
The Crown is a biographical series about the British royals, The drama’s windfall of 11 wins (including for non-telecast categories) comes after four years of nominations marked by sporadic victories. The event was held on Sunday (Sept 19) night in Los Angeles.
As critics have noted, Emmy voters – like millions around the world – turned to comfort viewing last year to soothe the emotional turmoil wrought by the pandemic.
Shows with escapist content – such as The Crown, the miniseries The Queen’s Gambit and the feel-good comedy series Ted Lasso – went home with the most awards in the major categories.
Prestige shows with social and political themes were largely overlooked. The critically acclaimed Lovecraft Country, a horror series that explores the American racial divide, and I May Destroy You, a series that deals with sexual assault, went home with only two wins each.
The audience, which included about 500 nominees and guests, joined in, standing up, clapping and singing along. The energy level was contagious for the first hour of the show as “Ted Lasso” snagged two back-to-back acting awards, leading to emotional speeches from first-time winners Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein.
This year’s ceremony took place at L.A. Live’s Event Deck instead of the Microsoft Theater, which has been home to the Emmys since 2008. The relocation was due to the Covid pandemic. Typically, attendees would have been seated in rows in a theater, but were able to congregate at small tables.
