Cerermony - The 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Ceremony : What a great Ceremony

By Mulder, Los Angeles, 17 september 2017

The 69th annual Emmy awards aired Sunday night, turing in oe of Hollywood’s most placid awards shows in recent memory. There were a few surprise wins, a few moving speeches, a few breakthroughs, but mostly just a parade of awards which producers – thankfully – kept moving at a fast clip.

Host Stephen Colbert took his first turn at hosting duties and, after some early stiffness likely due to nerves, warmed up to the audience and the role. An early joke with former White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer played better in the room than on the Internet, where viewers and critics excoriated the bit, calling out Spicer as complicit in all the ills of the administration. The media who Spicer, as President Trump’s mouthpiece, blamed for fake news and biased reporting is hitting back at the bit hard. Article started popping up on the web before almost before Spicer even left the stage.

Aside from that rocky start the evening was mostly politics-free, a rarity in US awards shows these days. The producers did seem to keep the speech time short, which probably cut down on philosophizing, since most winners like to get through their list of thanks before making statement.

One of the earliest delights was a win by Donald Glover (Community) for outstanding directing of a comedy series for his show Atlanta. Glover was visibly moved; the award marked the first win by a black director in this category. He also went home with the award for outstanding lead actor in a comedy.

Most of the awards seemed to please the audience, which they should since it is the very audience who votes. But the spirit was perhaps less about unity of thought and more an acknowledgement of the very high quality of show on TV right now. Of course, as with all awards shows, a few productions were nominated again and again: Veep, Westworld, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Crown, Big Little Lies, The Night Of, Feud: Bette and Joan. But solid entertainment like Silicon Valley, Homeland, The Americans, and Fargo also popped up now and again.

Movie stars making the crossover to TV were a big theme of the evening. Nicole Kidman won for lead actress in a limited series for Big Little Lies. Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda were both nominated for lead actress in a comedy for Grace and Frankie. Thandie Newton (Westworld, Geoffrey Rush (Genuis) and John Turturro (The Night Of), Reese Witherspoon (Big Little Lies) Michelle Pfeiffer (The Wizard of Lies) and more graced the audience.

The best moment may have been the surprise appearance of 92-year-old actress Cicely Tyson to present the award for outstanding limited series alongside Anika Noni Rose. A standing ovation greeted the legendary actress who spoke of the equally legendary limited series about American slavery, Roots. “I’m so nervous, I don’t know why,” Tyson admitted as she faltered, prompting Rose to lean over and whisper in her ear. The deference and respect in every move by Rose made evident that she was still in the presence of a great talent. Enjoy these highlights, perhaps the best way to enjoy any award show!

Outstanding Comedy Series
Veep (HBO)

Outstanding Drama Series
The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu)

Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
Saturday Night Live (NBC)

Outstanding Limited Series
Big Little Lies (HBO)

Outstanding Television Movie
Black Mirror: "San Junipero" (Netflix)

Outstanding Reality-Competition Program
The Voice (NBC)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Donald Glover as Earnest "Earn" Marks on Atlanta (Episode: "The Big Bang") (FX)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Selina Meyer on Veep (Episode: "Groundbreaking") (HBO)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Sterling K. Brown as Randall Pearson on This Is Us (Episode: "Memphis") (NBC)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Elisabeth Moss as June Osborne / Offred on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Night") (Hulu)

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Riz Ahmed as Nasir "Naz" Khan on The Night Of (HBO)

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Nicole Kidman as Celeste Wright on Big Little Lies (HBO)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Alec Baldwin as President Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live (Episode: "Host: Melissa McCarthy") (NBC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Kate McKinnon as Various Characters on Saturday Night Live (Episode: "Host: Dave Chappelle") (NBC)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
John Lithgow as Winston Churchill on The Crown (Episode: "Assassins") (Netflix)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia on The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Offred") (Hulu)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Alexander Skarsgård as Perry Wright on Big Little Lies (Episode: "Living the Dream") (HBO)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Laura Dern as Renata Klein on Big Little Lies (Episode: "Once Bitten") (HBO)

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Atlanta (Episode: "B.A.N."), Directed by Donald Glover (FX)

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Offred"), Directed by Reed Morano (Hulu)

Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series
Saturday Night Live (Episode: "Host: Jimmy Fallon"), Directed by Don Roy King (NBC)

Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
Big Little Lies, Directed by Jean-Marc Vallée (HBO)

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Master of None (Episode: "Thanksgiving"), Written by Aziz Ansari and Lena Waithe (Netflix)

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
The Handmaid's Tale (Episode: "Offred"), Written by Bruce Miller (Hulu)

Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
Black Mirror (Episode: "San Junipero"), Written by Charlie Brooker (Netflix)