Green screens. Over 130 incoming live feeds. An alpaca, somehow. The 72nd Primtime Emmys were destined to be the strangest to date thanks to an unwieldy pandemic that rendered the entire event a remote affair. To their credit, ABC and the Television Academy have been prepared to embrace an impending mess since the initial planning stages. And after five nights of pre-taped Creative Arts Emmys that still managed to end with a blunder—specifically, briefly awarding the Guest Actor In A Drama award to the wrong guy—we were more than prepared to witness a few train wrecks.
But all things considered, the night progressed without much incident at all! In fact, we could have used just a little more excitement. That poor alpaca got gussied up for nothing. Oh well. This is probably a testament to the bottomless possibilities at our fingertips. If the Emmys can progress remotely with only one tiny fire, then maybe the future of tentpole awards ceremonies can promise a slight breakaway from tradition. Imagine what a remote ceremony could look like next year with a little more time to plan.
Besides, there were, more interesting factors that were bound to make this year’s event one to watch, like the absence of now-ended shoe-ins Game Of Thrones, Veep, and even last year’s comedic upset Fleabag, leaving some highly coveted statuettes up for grabs. Prior to Sunday’s big show, the Creative Arts Emmys showed early love to RuPaul’s Drag Race, Watchmen, Saturday Night Live, and Rick And Morty. Quibi even managed to take home some gold, emphasizing that quite literally anything could happen.
The ceremony opened with earnest desperation as host Jimmy Kimmel took the stage to note that fun during these trying times is frivolous, but necessary amid a string of archived audience footage. ABC eventually removed the veil to show that things were “just a little bit different!” this year with a hall full of cardboard cutouts. And then after a string of obligatory social distancing jokes (which progressed throughout the evening, as if there aren’t a ton of other things to lampoon), the actual fun began.
Schitt’s Creek swept the comedy categories and made a little history while Watchmen also managed to win big. The drama suite proved to be a bit of a nail-biter as Succession, Euphoria, and Ozark split the lot. Succession would ultimately win for Outstanding Drama Series, but the variation proved to be one of the less predictable aspects of the night. All in all, HBO took home the most trophies, Netflix managed to cause a little bit of an upset with Ozark, and a win for Zendaya served as a nice bright spot to a quaint evening. Check out the winners below.
Outstanding Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Dead To Me
The Good Place
Insecure
The Kominsky Method
Schitt’s Creek
What We Do In The Shadows
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Outstanding Drama Series
Better Call Saul
The Crown
The Handmaid’s Tale
The Mandalorian
Ozark
Stranger Things
Succession
Killing Eve
Outstanding Limited Series
Little Fires Everywhere
Mrs. America
Unbelievable
Unorthodox
Watchmen
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston, The Morning Show
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Laura Linney, Ozark
Sandra Oh, Killing Eve
Zendaya, Euphoria
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Sterling K. Brown, This Is Us
Steve Carell, The Morning Show
Brian Cox, Succession
Billy Porter, Pose
Jeremy Strong, Succession
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series
Nicholas Braun, Succession
Billy Crudup, The Morning Show
Kieran Culkin, Succession
Mark Duplass, The Morning Show
Giancarlo Esposito, Better Call Saul
Matthew Macfadyen, Succession
Bradley Whitford, The Handmaid’s Tale
Jeffrey Wright, Westworld
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Laura Dern, Big Little Lies
Julia Garner, Ozark
Thandie Newton, Westworld
Fiona Shaw, Killing Eve
Sarah Snook, Succession
Meryl Streep, Big Little Lies
Samira Wiley, The Handmaids Tale
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson, Black-ish
Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Ted Danson, The Good Place
Michael Douglas, The Kominsky Method
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate, Dead To Me
Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Linda Cardellini, Dead To Me
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Issa Rae, Insecure
Tracee Ellis Ross, Black-ish
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Mahershala Ali, Ramy
Alan Arkin, The Kominsky Method
Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Sterling K. Brown, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
William Jackson Harper, The Good Place
Daniel Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Tony Shalhoub, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Kenan Thompson, Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Alex Borstein, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
D’Arcy Carden, The Good Place
Betty Gilpin, GLOW
Marin Hinkle, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel
Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
Annie Murphy, Schitt’s Creek
Yvonne Orji, Insecure
Cecily Strong, Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Jeremy Irons, Watchmen
Hugh Jackman, Bad Education
Paul Mescal, Normal People
Jeremy Pope, Hollywood
Mark Ruffalo, I Know This Much Is True
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Cate Blanchett, Mrs. America
Shira Haas, Unorthodox
Regina King, Watchmen
Octavia Spencer, Self Made: Inspired By The Life Of Madam C.J. Walker
Kerry Washington, Little Fires Everywhere
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, Watchmen
Jovan Adepo, Watchmen
Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy Vs. The Reverend
Louis Gossett Jr. Watchmen
Jim Parsons, Hollywood
Dylan McDermott, Hollywood
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie
Uzo Aduba, Mrs. America
Toni Collette, Unbelievable
Margo Martindale, Mrs. America
Jean Smart, Watchmen
Holland Taylor, Hollywood
Tracey Ullman, Mrs. America
Outstanding Variety Talk Series
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah
Full Frontal
Jimmy Kimmel Live
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
The Late Show With Stephen Colbert
Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
A Black Lady Sketch Show
Drunk History
Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
The Masked Singer
Nailed It!
RuPaul’s Drag Race
Top Chef
The Voice
Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Competition Program
Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, Jonathan Van Ness-Queer Eye
Nicole Byer, Nailed It!
Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, Robert Herjavec, Kevin O’Leary – Shark Tank
Padma Lakshmi & Tom Colicchio, Top Chef
Amy Poehler & Nick Offerman, Making It
RuPaul, RuPaul’s Drag Race
Outstanding Animated Program
Big Mouth, “Disclosure The Movie: The Musical!”
Bob’s Burgers, “Pig Trouble In Little Tina”
BoJack Horseman, “The View From Halfway Down”
Rick And Morty, “The Vat Of Acid Episode”
The Simpsons, “Thanksgiving Of Horror”
Outstanding TV Movie
American Son
Bad Education
Dolly Parton’s Heartstrings: These Old Bones
El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie
Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. The Reverend
Outstanding Writing For A Comedy Series
The Good Place,” Whenever You’re Ready” written by Michael Schur
The Great, “The Great” written by Tony McNamara
Schitt’s Creek, “Happy Ending” written by Daniel Levy
Schitt’s Creek, “The Presidential Suite” written by David West Read
What We Do In The Shadows, “Collaboration” written by Sam Johnson and Chris Marcil
What We Do In The Shadows, “Ghosts” written by Paul Simms
What We Do In The Shadows, “On The Run” written by Stefani Robinson,
Outstanding Writing For A Drama Series
Better Call Saul, “Bad Choice Road” written by Thomas Schnauz
Better Call Saul, “Bagman” written by Gordon Smith Gordon Smith
The Crown, “Aberfan” written Peter Morgan
Ozark, “All In” written by Chris Mundy
Ozark, “Boss Fight” by written by John Shiban
Ozark, “Fire Pink” written by Miki Johnson
Succession, “This Is Not For Tears” written by Jesse Armstrong
Outstanding Writing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special
Mrs. America, “Shirley” written by Tanya Barfield, Written by
Normal People, “Episode 3" written by Sally Rooney and Alice Birch
Unbelievable, “Episode 1" Teleplay by Susannah Grant, Michael Chabon, and Ayelet Waldman
Unorthodox, “Part 1" written by Anna Winger
Watchmen, “This Extraordinary Being” written by Damon Lindelof and Cord Jefferson
57 Comments
Good on Catherine O’Hara. That’s a lot of Emmys; she wasn’t even nominated for most of those.
People more knowledgeable: has any show ever swept all four acting categories like Schitt’s Creek has?
First time ever for a drama or a comedy.
Nope! “Limited Series or Movie”, yes, but no tv series has done it.And it is absolutely the first time a show has swept an entire category. It won every single comedy award.
That’s disappointing. Not only did D’Arcy Carden’s performance deserve more than any traditional role (not only the impersonation or her co-stars, but also all the emotions subtly expressed by a supposedly emotionless not-robot), but I also really dislike it when one show or film snatches all the rewards in all the categories.So, bleh.
D’Arcy was freakin’ phenomenal in that episode!And for that matter, Ted Danson does an excellent job as well throughout.-d
I think by being nominated most actors prove they’re worthy of the award, but yeah. It sucks for every other show that put in work got dissed because they wanted to give a major sendoff of Schitt’s Creek. And come at me (ya basic), but Schitt’s Creek is no The Good Place. It doesn’t even maximum Derek once.Once again, a great comedy gets upstaged by the Emmys wanting a sweep (like Amy Poehler not getting one over JLD’s 6th win)
I liked Schitt’s Creek fine but the last two seasons didn’t have any laugh out loud moments. I still enjoyed the show, but WWDITS had me cracking up several times in every episode this season. I just can’t believe Jackie Daytona didn’t sweep the awards.
Same re: D’arcy and Schitt’s running the board, but at the same time, if Schitt’s was going to do as well as it did, I would have been mad if Annie Murphy was the one that was left out. I think her performance was up there with O’Hara’s tbh.
I’m kind of surprised that Schitt’s Creek is cleaning up like this…I knew it was well liked but idk it didn’t seem like something that would win a ton of awards.
It was a last hurrah type deal since the show is over. I figured this would happen, but I expected The Good Place to at least get part of that “here’s your award since your show is over” goodwill.
“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”There’s a shocker, lol.
I’m not sure about the other wins. I love Schitt’s Creek but there are plenty of worthy comedies out there. That said, I think Annie Murphy absolutely deserves an Emmy for her work as Alexis. She has long been the best part of that show. A wonderful, loveable, and smart performance. She imbues Alexis with such humanity. It’s impossible to dislike her. And those mannerisms! (God, this page has been terrible with ads and pop-ups. What gives?!)
I’m glad for Schitt’s Creek too, but I also knew that it would be getting lots of awards, as do most successful shows on their last season —especially when that said show has not received a lot of awards.Next year will be Better Call Saul’s award frenzy.
There were other worthy comedies when Mrs. Maisel was sweeping the category in recent years too; I figure if the Emmy’s whole thing nowadays is to just pick one show to pile an armload of awards on, I have no big problem with Schitt’s Creek being this year’s beneficiary.
An Emmy for Megan would have been great!And I don’t even really care which Megan at this point: Amram, Markle, Mullaley …
Happy O’Hara and E. Levy won. Way to go SCTV!
It really bothers me that “The View from Halfway Down” didn’t win. I’d really love to know how many of the voters actually watch what they vote for.
concurred.i don’t watch rick and morty, so i can’t speak to that…
but dammit, that bojack episode deserves to go down as a milestone in history.
Either that or “Pig Trouble in Little Tina” if they wanted more lighthearted fare.I can see why someone that didn’t know BoJack may not have voted for that episode- there are a ton of Easter eggs (like everyone’s “last meals”) that would make it more rewarding for a repeat viewer, and the animated series category seems to be the only one that actually takes the episode into account and not the season (The Simpsons famously lost to Pinky and the Brain when they failed to submit “Mother Simpson” after all). In the non animated world, I’m bumming that HBC didn’t win for The Crown.
Seriously though. The fact that Bojack Horseman on the whole has been largely ignored by the Emmy’s for its run makes it all the more irritating.
I’m SHOCKED that it didn’t win. It’s a shame, those writers deserve some credit for ending the show so well.
Eh, I’m not shocked, but it’s still disappointing. Think the snub that upset me the most was Carrie Coon not getting a nomination for S3 of The Leftovers. Still can’t believe that shit.
Yes, she did. I thought Carrie and Ann Dowd were the best thing about Leftovers. I love Justin Theroux but he wasn’t as mesmerizing as the women in that show were.
No wins for The Good Place? *gasp*THIS is the Bad Place.Another showcase of the Emmys forking up royally- Ted Danson and D’arcy Carden deserve those awards. Schitt’s Creek, while good, is NOT better than a sitcom that redefined the genre. Anyone taking bets on when a Mike Schur show will finally win an Emmy?
I didn’t realize “animated program” was for an individual episode, I just thought it was for the show in general. While it’s debatable that “vat of acid” was more deserving than “the view from halfway down,” I can see why it won. It was the one episode this season I actually watched twice, and was probably the high point of the season for Rick and Morty.
I was particularly happy that Watchmen and Succession did well. Those are two shows I utterly adored and was actually surprised how many nominations and wins they got. Jeremy Strong winning was a surprise, but he really is the heart and soul of succession. He dedicated his award to Cox, which is such a classy thing to do.
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II was my favourite win, since his entire performance was such a beautifully casual slow burn. That one was an incredibly well deserved win. Very little of that helps my anger that Bojack horseman lost though.
Rick and Morty winning for that episode in particular has very strong “Which one of these is the cartoon everyone talks about? I’ll just vote for that one since I’ve heard about it” vibes.
Happy for the Watchmen and Succession sweeps. I like Schitt’s Creek but I don’t think it deserved to go 7 for 7. I was personally pulling for William Jackson Harper (Good Place) and Betty Gilpin (GLOW) in the Supporting categories. As for directing, I didn’t really have a specific horse in that race but I don’t think directing is something Schitt’s Creek has every been particularly well-known for.
Harper and Gilpin are great choices.
Gilpin: “Do you want to hear me play my invisible flute?”
man, betty gilpin has gotten a raw deal every year, and it’s so unfortunate because she is stellar. maybe she’ll finally grab an award if/when they ever release a season 4.
we are samesies. Betty Gilpin was freaking EXCELLENT in this most recent season of glow. I love Annie Murphy, and could make a case for her all day. But if I had to pick the best? It’s Betty by a longshot.
Hell yeah, I’m so glad Julia Garner won. Didn’t think she had a chance, and since Rhea Seehorn wasn’t nominated, she’s the most deserving one out of the bunch. Ruth Langmore is an absolute fucking force of nature.
Jay Mohr from “Action”:Ooh! Emmy! 😁
So glad that Watchmen won their award, especially with best limited series, best actress and supporting actor, and that best episode of last year with “This Extraordinary Being.”Also, surprised that Shitts Creek got the rare and historic sweep. I seen the first 5 seasons, can totally get the acclaims for the show as it can be very funny and heartwarming at the right times. Will have to watch 6th season when it come out on Netflix (hopefully soon!)
How in the hell did Jeremy Irons get an Outstanding Lead Actor nomination? Everyone knows they just secretly filmed his daily life
Jeremy’s … iron.
Genuine Class.
BoJack deserved any Emmy. This last season has given me the feels, and I needed it.
Schitt’s Creek sweeping awards instead of the Good Place is just what I needed to convince myself that everyone in America is a fucking moron.
I’ve watched about half of season 1 of Schitts* , and ..the thing is the performances are brilliant, but the script isn’t actually funny , nothing much happens, the characters just fart about and the only reason it’s watchable is the cast . Which is great until you look at What we do in the Shadows which has an amazing cast , and writing , and shows how a comedy CAN be.( *maybe it gets better after season 2 ..I mean its pleasant enough to keep watching)
It gets much better. I didnt care for season 1 but hung in there because I’m Canadian. Really gets great by season 3.
ah ok !good to know
i started watching because of catherine o’hara; i stayed for catherine o’hara. i’m glad she got the industry recognition for it.everything else….well, it’s fine, i guess.
My wife and I started watching it after hearing all the hype and she wouldn’t stop talking trash about the first season. “How could anyone think this is good?”It is now one of her favourite shows. Stick in there
I watched the first 3.5 seasons of Schitt’s Creek and I think you are right – the show gets by on the charm of its cast (and in spite of Chris Elliot, who I used to love). Aside from a few things with Catherine O’Hara, the comedy is basically the quirky characters displaying their quirks – charming but not really funny. I also agree with you on WWDITS – that show is so effing funny. That is a best comedy, no question.
It’s the epitome of a show that gets better as it goes on. While all the pieces are there for Season 1, the Roses are still too nasty for you to really like them and get into it. In future seasons they adjust and you get to see them grow as people and develop actual humanity (or a version thereof).
… also see Trump Trains on land and sea.
I mean I think the fact that it ended on a high note and consistently got better is what the voters are rewarding. I truly love tgp, and obsessively rewatched so many of its s1 and s2 episodes, but its big swings meant it had a lot more unevenness, though its best episodes were truly amazing. Honestly I was surprised William Jackson Harper or D’Arcy finally got recognized, since the voters are terrified of genre outside of hbo.I think everyone was in a mood for positivity and consistency and Schitt’s Creek is all those things, not high concept like tgp (lower need for canon knowledge), and peaked right during shelter in place when everyone was desperate for distraction. There were equally or sometimes more deserving winners in some categories but I’m not pressed about it. I think the backlash against over-rewarding a shitty ending season for GoT probably also influenced the over-rewarding of an actually good ending, and tgp never got as visible as Schitt’s Creek got this year.
Well that sucked.
Yes, Watchmen was great, but Unbelievable was also this year, and to see Kaitlyn Dever not win – let alone even be nominated – is a heartbreaker. She carried the entire emotion crux of that series on her shoulders.
No love for Andre Braugher, I guess.
It’s interesting that both actors who played Dr. Manhattan in live action both won Emmys in the same night.
I’m disappointed to see What We Do In The Shadows didn’t win anything— Season 2 was as good, if not better than Season 1 (and that’s a hard thing to pull off). It’s also a show that isn’t talked about nearly enough, and award clout could certainly help. (I feel the same way about Los Espookys, which I felt deserved to be nominated at least once, but wasn’t.)I probably won’t be getting into Quibi. I actually like the concept, at least in theory, but the only thing they really had that I was interested in was their adaptation of Junji Ito’s Tomie. Not only is that taking forever to be released, but I don’t think there will be anyone Japanese in the cast (which is baffling, because it’s based on a manga set in Japan, written/illustrated by a Japanese author, with an entirely ethnically Japanese cast). If that changes, I might check it out. I’m always willing to be proven wrong.
I was personally gobsmacked by Schitt’s Creek’s sweep, but very excited about it. (I also love The Good Place and would have been just as happy if they had won) In particular seeing Annie Murphy get her trophy. The things she does as Alexis absolutely should not work and yet always do. But anyway, couldn’t happen to a bunch of nicer Canadians, I say.I was really bummed that everyone dressed up, though. My god, people! You’re in your house (unless you’re lucky enough to live in a country that didn’t completely fuck up its coronavirus response, aka Canada)! Put some PJs on!
I was personally gobsmacked by Schitt’s Creek’s sweep, but very excited about it. (I also love The Good Place and would have been just as happy if they had won) In particular seeing Annie Murphy get her trophy. The things she does as Alexis absolutely should not work and yet always do. But anyway, couldn’t happen to a bunch of nicer Canadians, I say.I was really bummed that everyone dressed up, though. My god, people! You’re in your house (unless you’re lucky enough to live in a country that didn’t completely fuck up its coronavirus response, aka Canada)! Put some PJs on!