Monday marked the 70th
Annual Primetime Emmys on NBC, hosted by Colin Jost and Michael Che, who rose
to fame as the hosts of the Weekend Update segment on “Saturday Night Live.”
Che and Jost were bland
as hosts. Although their monologue was well-delivered, their overall presence
was lackluster at best. However, Che’s piece that revolved around giving
reparation to the Emmys in an attempt to rectify Hollywood’s oversight of black
actors and actresses was one of the best of the night.
Television legend Betty
White was honored during the ceremony for her 70 years in the industry. One of
the best moments of the night came from the recipient of the Outstanding
Direction for a Variety Special, Glenn Weiss, who proposed to his girlfriend
Jan Svendsen during his acceptance speech. Another great moment was the
appearance of Teddy Perkins from “Atlanta,” who was spotted in the audience.
Starting off with Best
Supporting Actress in a Comedy, Alex Borstein won for her portrayal of Susie
Myerson on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel.” Harry Winkler won his first Emmy for
his supporting role in “Barry” on HBO. Jeff Daniels and Merritt Wever both won
for Supporting Actor and Actress in a Limited Series or Movie, respectively,
for “Godless” on Netflix. Thandie Newton of “Westworld” won her first Emmy for Best
Supporting Actress in a Drama. Peter Dinklage won Best Supporting Actor for his
portrayal on HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
The Lead Actor categories
had some of the most beloved actors in television and Hollywood. Darren Criss
in “The Assassination of Gianni Versace” and Regina King in “Seven Seconds” won
for a Limited Series or Movie. In comedy, Bill Hader won for his show “Barry”
on HBO and Rachel Brosnahan won for her part as Midge Maisel in “The Marvelous
Mrs. Maisel” on Amazon Prime. In Drama, Claire Foy won for her final portrayal
of Queen Elizabeth II in “The Crown.” Matthew Rhys won for his role in “The
Americans” on FX.
The biggest winners of the
night were HBO and Netflix who won 23 Emmys apiece. This includes the Creative
Emmys that each network won the week before. “Game of Thrones” won nine of the
23 Emmys, including Outstanding Drama for the third year in row.
“Last Week Tonight with
John Oliver” won for Outstanding Variety Talk series. Netflix went home with
the award for Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series for “Black Mirror” as
well as Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special for John Mulaney’s “Kid
Gorgeous.”
Netflix’s big budget period
piece, “The Crown,” took home the Emmy for Outstanding Directing for a Drama
Series. FX won a total of 12, even though FX’s main contender “Atlanta” was not
a recipient of any awards. It was FX’s critical darling “The Americans” that
managed to snatch two of the 12 Emmys received in its final season run. Amazon
took home eight Emmys for the period comedy piece “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”
in which Amy Sherman-Palladino made history by becoming the first woman to win
both Writing and Directing in Comedy in the same year.
For the Emmys celebrating
70 years, the ceremony lacked enthusiasm, whether that be from the audience or
from the fact that Jost and Che were not as charming and upbeat as hosts from
previous years. Overall, the Emmys did go out to a group of deserving
individuals in the industry. It is a shame the ceremony just did not reflect
it.