By Liv Barry
Elm Staff Writer
The Emmy Awards drew in 7.4 million viewers on Sept. 19, as viewers tuned in to celebrate the year’s best television.
Stand-up comedian Cedric the Entertainer hosted the night’s festivities, with celebrity presenters including Ken Jeong, Michael Douglas, Yara Shahidi, and the cast of last year’s big Emmy winner, “Schitt’s Creek.”
This year, Apple TV’s “Ted Lasso” dominated the Comedy/Musical category, raking in four of the 13 awards that the show was nominated for, including Best Comedy Series.
“Ted Lasso” actors Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein won Best Supporting Female in a Comedy or Musical and Best Supporting Male in a Comedy or Musical, respectively. Jason Sudeikis, the show’s creator and lead actor, won for Best Lead Actor in a Comedy or Musical.
In the Drama category, Netflix’s “The Crown” won a whopping seven of the 11 awards that it was nominated for this year, making history by sweeping the entire drama category.
Best Supporting Male, Best Supporting Female, Best Lead Actor, Best Lead Actress, Best Writing, Best Directing, and Best Drama Series were all awarded to “The Crown.”
Michaela Cole also made history on Sunday as the first Black woman to win an Emmy for Best Writing, delivering a moving speech to the audience at home.
“In a world that entices us to browse through the lives of others to help us better determine how we feel about ourselves, and to, in turn, feel the need to be constantly visible, for visibility these days seems to somehow equate to success,” Cole said. “Do not be afraid to disappear, from it, from us, for a while, and see what comes to you in the silence.”
Cole ended her speech by dedicating the award to all survivors of sexual assault, one of the main themes of her limited series, “I May Destroy You.”
Despite Cole’s historic win, there were no wins for any actors of color nominated.
“It becomes a numbers game after a while. When you have 44% of the nominees that are people of color and you have 0% that win, there’s something structural going on,” University of California, Los Angeles Dean of Social Studies Darnell Hunt said in an article for CNBC.
The night’s biggest upset was snub of the renowned Black actor Michael K. Williams, who passed away Sept. 6.
Williams, who was expected to win for his role in HBO’s “Lovecraft Country,” lost to “The Crown”’s Tobias Menzies.
Williams’ loss mirrors the late Chadwick Boseman’s snub at the Academy Awards this past spring, when Boseman — the frontrunner for the award for his performance in “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” — lost to Anthony Hopkins.
The lack of diversity in Hollywood awards shows like the Emmys and the Academy Awards have caused the public to lose faith in the yearly events.
“#OscarsSoWhite” was a hashtag created in 2015 by cultural commentator April Reign after the Academy Awards failed to award any of the acting accolades to the people of color nominated.
After this year’s Emmys ceremony, #“EmmysSoWhite” emerged to reflect people’s frustration with the ceremony.
Actress Yvette Nicole Brown, who worked with Emmys presenter Ken Jeong on “Community,” voiced her distaste on Twitter, saying, “Every chance they had to make history in a meaningful way, they passed on it. Just said, ‘Naw, son.’” The Emmys proved to be a big night for streaming giants like Netflix and Apple TV, but to the public, the awards show still left a lot to be desired.