Surprises, sure things and Trump joke at Emmys
The Emmy Awards had its share of surprises, sure things and Donald Trump jokes. One consistent theme was the continued creative erosion at the top broadcast networks, now merely an afterthought on television's biggest night.
“Game of Thrones” won best drama for the second year in a row on Sunday, and became prime-time television's most-honored show ever. Fellow HBO series “Veep” was named top comedy for the second straight year and that show's star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, won best comedy actress for the fifth straight time and a record-setting sixth time in her career.
Other big winners included actors Jeffrey Tambor, Rami Malek and Tatiana Maslany, along with most everyone associated with the FX miniseries, “The People vs. O.J. Simpson.”
Of the 27 awards handed out in prime time, six apiece went to HBO and FX. Streaming services Netflix had three and Amazon two.
The Emmy broadcast rotates each September among the four biggest broadcast networks — ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox — and is designed to drum up excitement for the beginning of the fall season. Yet you'd hardly know those networks exist from watching Sunday's awards. They accounted for four of the 27 awards, and only one for a prime-time scripted series. The most-watched network, CBS, was shut out.
Other trophies were sprinkled among USA, BBC America, AMC and Comedy Central — a stark illustration of the changing nature of television.
“Games of Thrones,” the fantasy saga based on George R.R. Martin's novels, received 12 awards Sunday and at last weekend's technical arts ceremony. That makes 38 total in the series' history, passing “Frasier” as the most-honored prime-time series ever.
Yet the series' top actors went home empty-handed. Malek, of USA's thriller “Mr. Robot,” and Maslany of “Orphan Black” won the top acting trophies for drama series.
The top comedy acting awards were more predictable. Host Jimmy Kimmel even jokingly handed an Emmy to “Transparent” star Tambor at the outset of the show; he later got one for real.
An emotional Louis-Dreyfus noted that her father had passed away only a few days before. Still, she took time in her acceptance speech to note the uncomfortable resemblance of the current political scene to the fictional one in “Veep.”
“I think that 'Veep' has torn down the wall between comedy and politics,” she said. “Our show started out as a political satire but it now feels more like a sobering documentary.”
The presidential campaign was foremost in many minds. Former candidate Jeb Bush had a cameo in Kimmel's opening skit, Emmy winner Courtney B. Vance voiced support for Hillary Clinton and Kimmel jokingly called out producer Mark Burnett, seated in the audience, as the man responsible for Donald Trump. Burnett cast Trump in the series “The Apprentice,” which broadened the New York businessman's appeal.
