The miniature statutes given at the Emmy Awards on Sunday can be an outsized boon to egos, careers and .
Will B次元官网网址淭he MandalorianB次元官网网址� bow to B次元官网网址淭he CrownB次元官网网址� as best drama series? Can the feel-good comedy B次元官网网址淭ed LassoB次元官网网址� charm its way into freshman glory? Will Jean Smart be honored as best comedy actress for B次元官网网址淗acksB次元官网网址�? (She will.)
But thereB次元官网网址檚 oh-so-much more at stake when the TV industry B次元官网网址� or a pandemic-constrained slice of it B次元官网网址� gathers to honor itself at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards.
The ceremony (8 p.m. EDT, CBS) is a snapshot of a business morphing into its 21st-century form; who we see or donB次元官网网址檛 see on the small screen, and the rapid splintering of TV and its viewers.
The obvious winners and losers are those to be revealed in 27 categories during the s. But thereB次元官网网址檚 more at stake than personal victories, and yardsticks of success or failure beyond trophies.
HereB次元官网网址檚 some of the outcomes and trends to watch for, both up close and wide-angle.
ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT
Streaming services are poised for a triumphant night that will cast further shade on the status of broadcast networks, including the big three ABC, CBS and NBC, and once-dominant cable channels such as HBO and Showtime.
B次元官网网址淭his is the year that the streamers will officially conquer Hollywood,B次元官网网址� likely winning best drama and comedy series honors for the first time, said Tom OB次元官网网址橬eil, editor of the Gold Derby predictions website and author of B次元官网网址淭he Emmys.B次元官网网址�
Premium cableB次元官网网址檚 encroachment on turf once owned by broadcasting was gradual: HBO launched in 1972 and waited two decades for its first best series Emmy nod, earned by Garry ShandlingB次元官网网址檚 comedy B次元官网网址淭he Larry Sanders Show.B次元官网网址� It wasnB次元官网网址檛 until the 2000s arrived that B次元官网网址淪ex and the CityB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淭he SopranosB次元官网网址� earned best series prizes.
In contrast, streaming is racing ahead with Ferrari-like speed, especially as the services multiply and shell out big bucks for shows aimed at winning over paying customers.
In 2017, HuluB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he HandmaidB次元官网网址檚 TaleB次元官网网址� became the first streamed series to win the best drama Emmy. The next year, B次元官网网址淭he Marvelous Mrs. MaiselB次元官网网址� scored a matching victory on the comedy side for Amazon, which won again in 2019 for B次元官网网址淔leabag.B次元官网网址�
Victory is possible for either NetflixB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淭he CrownB次元官网网址� or the Disney+ series B次元官网网址淭he Mandalorian,B次元官网网址� which . For Netflix, which launched its on-demand service in 2007 and fielded the first drama series nominee, B次元官网网址淗ouse of CardsB次元官网网址� in 2014, patience would finally be rewarded.
For Disney+, the victory would be swift and sweet: it launched in November 2019. Apple TV+, which arrived the same year, could win its first top series award with B次元官网网址淭ed Lasso.B次元官网网址� If that happens, streamingB次元官网网址檚 prominence would be solidified with the one-two punch in the comedy and drama categories.
ROOM AT THE TABLE
The push for diversity has moved at a grindingly slower pace than the digital revolution, but this yearB次元官网网址檚 slate of nominees was unimaginable just a few years ago.
Of the 96 acting nods for drama, comedy and miniseries, nearly 44% B次元官网网址� a total of 42 nominations B次元官网网址� went to people of color. According to 2020 Census figures, white Americans make up just under 58% of the population.
Among this yearB次元官网网址檚 groundbreakers: , and Bowen Yang of B次元官网网址淪aturday Night Live,B次元官网网址� the first Asian American to compete for best supporting comedy actor.
The top drama acting categories are particularly inclusive, and strikingly so in comparison to a decade ago when all of the 12 nominees for best actor and actress were white, with Kyle Chandler (B次元官网网址淔riday Night LightsB次元官网网址�) and Julianna Margulies (B次元官网网址淭he Good WifeB次元官网网址�) the winners.
That was 2011, this is now. Black men make up a majority of the lead drama actor nominees, four of six, including past winners Sterling K. Brown for B次元官网网址淭his Is UsB次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淧oseB次元官网网址� star , in 2019.
Half of the six best-actress contenders are women of color. Jurnee Smollett (B次元官网网址淟ovecraft CountryB次元官网网址�) and Uzo Aduba (B次元官网网址淚n TreatmentB次元官网网址�) are Black, and Rodriguez is Afro Latina.
If the final test of inclusivity is who wins, the story could be different. B次元官网网址淭he CrownB次元官网网址� stars Josh OB次元官网网址機onnor and Emma Corrin are considered frontrunners for their portrayals of ill-fated royal mates Charles and Diana.
PANDEMIC, PART 2
Constraints can breed inventiveness.
Last yearB次元官网网址檚 all-virtual ceremony included a defining lockdown moment: Hazmat-suited trophy couriers who loitered outside nomineesB次元官网网址� homes until their categories were called, either handing over the award or taking it disappointingly away.
B次元官网网址淪omebody mentioned (the idea) in a meeting as kind of as a joke, and then it was constantly needling away at us and we decided that it could be a great way to do it,B次元官网网址� recalled Guy Carrington, a producer for the 2020 Emmys.
This year, about 500 nominees and guests will gather under a glammed-up tent in downtown L.A., with COVID-19 precautions including a vaccine requirement and testing. There are big names among the presenters, including Angela Bassett, Michael Douglas, Dolly Parton and Awkwafina, but at least one star, Jennifer Aniston, was candid about staying away because of virus concerns.
Reginald Hudlin and Ian Stewart, executive producers for the telecast, said they approached the reduced attendance as an opportunity.
Instead of being confined in a theater seat, guests will be at tables and part of what sounds like an oversized dinner party B次元官网网址� with drinks and snacks allowed B次元官网网址� and encouraged to mingle.
B次元官网网址淭o have the industry come out and sit together and see each other, it is a celebration,B次元官网网址� said Stewart.
HELLO, IS ANYONE OUT THERE?
Ratings for awards show, from Oscars to the Grammys, have been steadily declining in recent years and hit new depths during the pandemic. Despite honoring the TV shows that kept us company through COVIDB次元官网网址檚 darkness, the Emmys werenB次元官网网址檛 exempt.
After hitting a record-low viewership of just under 7 million in 2019, last yearB次元官网网址檚 telecast tumbled further to 6.1 million viewers, according to Nielsen.
Part of it is simply awards overload, with upstart, dime-a-dozen ceremonies taking the luster off the major ones, including the 94-year-old, grande dame Oscars and the Emmys, which turn 73 on Sunday.
Then thereB次元官网网址檚 the showsB次元官网网址� sheer length. A leisurely, three-hour telecast, commercials included, was expected and tolerated in the old TV world. In the new one, viewers are more inclined to check out an eventB次元官网网址檚 highlights online and at will.
But as Hudlin sees it, social media can give as well as take.
B次元官网网址淚f you deliver a show that works, if people say, B次元官网网址極h, are you watching the Emmys thing? ItB次元官网网址檚 kind of cool,B次元官网网址� all of a sudden people start tuning in because youB次元官网网址檙e talking about it like, B次元官网网址榊o, this is crazy,B次元官网网址橞次元官网网址� Hudlin said. B次元官网网址淪o we like to keep it crazy.B次元官网网址�
Details were under wraps, but there will be music: Reggie Watts, band leader for B次元官网网址淭he Late Late Show with James Corden,B次元官网网址� is the nightB次元官网网址檚 DJ.
The eventB次元官网网址檚 producers also recognize that niche shows on cable and streaming may be unfamiliar to many viewers, especially those who favor network shows such as ABCB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淕reyB次元官网网址檚 AnatomyB次元官网网址� or CBSB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址淭he NeighborhoodB次元官网网址� B次元官网网址� the latter starring Emmy host Cedric the Entertainer.
B次元官网网址淲e have gone to a lot of those mainstream, well-known actors, actresses and people in the industry to be presenters so that we do reflect popular television,B次元官网网址� Stewart said.
B次元官网网址擫ynn Elber, The Associated Press
