2021 Emmy Awards: what to watch out for

Finally, this should be the year a streaming platform triumphs at the Emmys.

Tech companies turned the entertainment industry upside down years ago, but they’ve had mixed results with members of the Television Academy voting for the winners.

That will likely end on Sunday when the envelopes are unsealed at the 73rd Emmy Awards, which air on CBS – and, rightly so, airs live on Paramount +.

“The Crown”, Netflix’s lush drama chronicling the British royal family, is the overwhelming favorite to win one of the night’s biggest prizes – best drama – thanks to its fourth season, which took viewers to the 1980s as he portrays Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s relationship.

Seven of the show’s cast landed acting nominations, including Josh O’Connor (Prince Charles) for Best Actor and Emma Corrin (Princess Diana) and Olivia Colman (Queen Elizabeth II) for Best Actress. Gillian Anderson (Margaret Thatcher) and Helena Bonham Carter (Princess Margaret) are among the nominees for Best Supporting Actress.

“The Crown” has already won four Emmy Awards in the first batch of awards at last weekend’s Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which recognize achievement in technical categories.

Netflix has gained a huge lead over its TV and streaming rivals at the Creative Arts Emmys, while guaranteeing that it will win more awards than any other studio, streaming platform, or TV network.

A better dramatic victory for “The Crown” would also be a significant first for Netflix. The streaming service has never won a Best Series award, despite 30 nominations for Best Dramas, Comedies and Limited Series from 2013 to 2020. Only one streaming service, Hulu, won the award for Best Drama, a award given to “The Handmaid’s Tale” four years ago.

It would be a fitting victory in a ceremony that recognizes the best shows that have aired or streamed amid the pandemic. Over the months of staying home last year and early this year, people have increasingly turned away from cable and embraced streaming video entertainment, accelerating a trend already underway.

While “The Crown” is the favorite, keep an eye out for spoilers in the best dramatic race. “The Mandalorian,” the Star Wars action-adventure show on Disney +, won seven tech awards last weekend, and TV Academy voters love each other’s popular, action-packed entertainment , as evidenced by “Game of Thrones” winning category best drama has tied four times.

One show with an exterior shot is “Bridgerton,” the popular Netflix bodice ripper from super producer Shonda Rhimes. FX’s “Pose”, nominated for its emotional final season, has the best chance of upsetting any of the nominated cable or network series.

‘Ted Lasso’ and Jason Sudeikis are the favorites.

It looks like Apple’s streaming service, which isn’t quite two years old, is on the verge of snagging its first big Emmy win, thanks to a football coach throwing aphorisms and fish out of the box. the water.

Apple TV + wellness comedy, “Ted Lasso,” is the favorite in the comedy category. Nominated for its rookie season, which premiered in August 2020, the show already won best cast in a comedy last weekend. The winner of this award has won the award for best comedy six years in a row. “Ted Lasso” also cleaned up at the Television Critics Association Awards earlier this month, winning Best New Series, Best Comedy, and Best Overall Show.

Former “Saturday Night Live” mainstay Jason Sudeikis is set to win several Emmy Awards, including Best Screenplay and Best Actor in a Comedy Series. These would represent his first Emmy victories.

A long-standing contender for Best Comedy is the HBO Max series “Hacks,” starring Jean Smart, who is also likely to win his fourth acting Emmy for his role as a Joan Rivers-style stand-up comedian.

When it comes to comedy this year, broadcast and cable networks are looking outside: they only got one nomination in the category, from ABC “black-ish”, its lowest combined total. in Emmy history.

Cedric the Entertainer hosts a potentially boozy ceremony.

The Emmys will be a face-to-face event for the first time in two years, but it won’t measure up, in terms of crowd size or show, to Before Time. Instead of taking place at the 7,100-seat Microsoft Theater, the ceremony will take place in a tent in downtown Los Angeles, in the presence of a few hundred people.

Most of the nominees will be seated at tables, with food and drink, Golden Globes-style, a touch of glamor that the show’s producers say will boost ratings that have hit a new low last year. Some actors and production teams plan to meet remotely. The nominees for “The Crown” will be ready to celebrate at a party in London, similar to the one “Schitt’s Creek” hosted last year in Toronto.

Cedric the Entertainer, stand-up comedian and star of CBS sitcom “The Neighborhood,” will host. He suggested he wouldn’t go for the kind of slashed political commentary that featured in the onstage comments of recent Emmy hosts Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Michael Che and Colin Jost.

“I want to bring a familiarity that comes with my stand-up brand,” he told The New York Times. “I am someone you know. I’m your cousin or your uncle, and we’re here to celebrate.

The downsizing ceremony reflects the shrinking situation of the television industry over the past year. Due to production delays during the pandemic, the number of shows submitted for top drama and comedy races has dropped by 30%.

Michael K. Williams could win.

Michael K. Williams, the beloved star of “The Wire” who was found dead on September 6, is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama for the recently canceled HBO series, “Lovecraft Country.” If he wins – and he’s a slight favorite over “The Crown “‘s Tobias Menzies – it won’t be because Emmys voters wanted to present him with the award posthumously. The Emmy voting period ended before Williams’ death.

A victory for Mj Rodriguez could be one of the biggest moments of the evening. Rodriguez’s performance as Blanca Evangelista in FX’s “Pose” earned her a nomination for Best Actress in a Drama Race, the first time a transgender person was in contention for the award. To succeed, Rodriguez would have to beat Corrin, the favorite for her role as young Princess Diana in “The Crown”.

“The Queen’s Gambit” vs. “Mare of Easttown”

As usual, the tightest race of the Emmys will come down to the best limited series.

A few months ago, Netflix’s “The Queen’s Gambit” seemed like a safe bet, especially after winning limited series honors at the Golden Globes and Critics’ Choice Television Awards.

But there are signs the race has turned to a stalemate. At the Television Critics Association Awards on September 15, HBO’s gritty thriller “Mare of Easttown” took home Best Limited Series honors, and Michaela Coel, the creator and star of another HBO limited series, “I May Destroy. You ”, won the award for best performer. in any TV series.

The best actress in a miniseries will be a showdown, pitting Coel against Kate Winslet, who played the tired sleuth of “Mare of Easttown,” and Anya Taylor-Joy, who played the chess prodigy in “The Queen’s Gambit. “.