On Sept. 18, the biggest stars from television came together to attend the 68th Emmy Awards. It was a night full of snubs, surprises and moving speeches. The event was hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, who made fun of the celebrities there and also used humor to bring attention to diversity in Hollywood. There are five categories that members of the Television Academy vote on—drama, limited series, comedy, reality and variety. Actors, actresses, directors, writers and even shows as a whole go up against each other in these to see who will come out on top.
“Game of Thrones” or “Mr. Robot?” That was the big question as to who was going to receive Outstanding Drama Series. While Rami Malek won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor for his role on “Mr. Robot,” his show was not as fortunate. “Game of Thrones” won Outstanding Drama for the second year in a row. “It’s a shame ‘Mr. Robot’ missed out on this opportunity. Especially to ‘Game of Thrones,’” Keith Stephenson, an AUM student, said. “I understand the hype of ‘Game of Thrones,’ but ‘Mr. Robot’ is just better though.” A big shock of the evening was when, first time nominee, Tatiana Maslany won the Outstanding Lead Actress for portraying seven different characters in “Orphan Black.” The supporting category was also quite the shock. Maggie Smith won her fourth Emmy for her role on “Downton Abbey.” Many thought that one of the women from “Game of Thrones” would walk away with the Emmy since three out of the six nominees come from the show, but it wasn’t the case. A nice surprise was the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor. This year it went to Ben Mendelsohn for his work on “Bloodline.” Fans of the show were certain he would win last year, but ultimately lost to- Peter Dinklage. Both writing and directing awards went to “Game of Thrones” as well, which confirmed that this is the TV show to watch right now.
Going into the Emmys, everyone figured that “The People vs. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story” would sweep Limited Series. With 13 nominations between all of the awards, they came out pretty well with five wins. Especially since they were nominated multiple times in some of the same categories. The limited series collectively won for Outstanding Writing, Outstanding Supporting Actor, Outstanding Lead Actress, Outstanding Lead Actor and finishing off with Outstanding Limited Series. It was a big deal for Sarah Paulson who won for Lead Actress as this is her first time winning an Emmy. Many people thought that it would also take home directing, but that went to Susanne Bier for “The Night Manager.” Regina King won Outstanding Supporting Actress for the second year in a row for her work on “American Crime.”
The comedy category was packed with some of the best shows on television. With their second win in a row, “Veep” scored yet another award for HBO. It also remains that comedy queen Julia Louis-Dreyfus received her fifth Emmy for the role of President Selina Meyer on “Veep.” When it came to Outstanding Actor, most people knew who was going to win. Jeffrey Tambor won for the second year for his moving portrayal in the Amazon Original Series “Transparent.” A nice moment of the night was when Kate McKinnon won Outstanding Supporting Actress for her many characters on “Saturday Night Live.” While giving her acceptance speech, McKinnon was just as shocked as everyone else that she could not quit crying because of how much it meant to her. Outstanding Supporting Actor went to Louie Anderson who actually plays a woman on the show “Baskets.” It was the first award of the night and also the biggest “What is happening?” moment. The award for Outstanding Writing went to “Master of None” duo, Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang for the episode “Parents,” which was exciting for the first-time nominees. “Transparent” also got some more love with Outstanding Directing going to Jill Soloway, who is also the creator of the show.
The only award given out for reality at the Primetime Emmys was for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program which was won by “The Voice.” Variety, on the other hand, had more awards to give out, but not as many as the previous categories. Patton Oswalt won for Best Writing for the special “Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping.” It was a great win for Oswalt who briefly mentioned his wife who recently passed away. HBO secured yet another win with the hit show “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” getting its first Emmy. Thomas Kail and Alex Rudzinski won the award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Special with the popular “Grease: Live.” The last award went to “Key & Peele” for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series, which stars Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele. It was a great win for them and their team since they have recently finished up their series.
This year’s Emmys were a whirlwind to watch. It showcased the best television that we have and honored those who give us our favorite characters who we can relate to. So here’s to hoping your favorites won and to many shows you should now start watching.
By Samantha Dunaway
Photo courtesy of variety.com.