2021 Emmy Awards: 7 things to know before the ceremony

The small screen stars are gearing up for the Emmy Awards, later to be held in Los Angeles.

The ceremony comes after a year of increase in viewership caused by lockdown restrictions around the world.

The Crown and The Mandalorian top this year’s nominations, while Ted Lasso and The Queen’s Gambit are also expected to perform well.

Cedric the Entertainer will host the ceremony, which many nominated stars will attend in person.

Here are seven things you need to know before the ceremony.

The three big winners of last year’s Emmy Awards are missing this year.

That’s because Succession got a year off during the pandemic, Schitt’s Creek ended after its sixth season, and Watchmen had no plans to continue after its first series.

This has left room for many new TV shows to make their mark. In fact, four of the best comedy nominees this year have been honored for their first season – Ted Lasso, The Flight Attendant, Hacks and Emily in Paris.

Ted Lasso in particular is a big favorite, having made history with the most nominations for a new comedy. You can measure the love for the series by the fact that so many of its cast have also been nominated individually.

The series’ four nominees for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy (Brett Goldstein, Brendan Hunt, Nick Mohammed and Jeremy Swift) mean Ted Lasso has tied a record set by Modern Family.

Williams, who had previously been nominated for Emmys but had never won, is up for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama at Sunday’s ceremony for his portrayal of Montrose Freeman in Lovecraft Country.

Posthumous Hollywood wins aren’t as common as you might think. Just five months ago, Sir Anthony Hopkins won the Oscar for Best Actor, a trophy widely expected the late Chadwick Boseman.

If Williams wins, he will only become the seventh posthumous winner in the 73-year history of the Emmys, after Ingrid Bergman, Audrey Hepburn, Raul Julia, Diana Hyland, Marion Lorne and Alice Pearce.

During Friends’ 10-year run, Cox was the only member of the Top Six not to receive an Emmy nomination for his performance.

Which is confusing. As Ross’s sister, Chandler’s wife and Rachel’s best friend, Monica was the focus of the series.

“When every member of the cast was nominated except me, it definitely hurt me,” she said earlier this year. “I was happy for everyone, and then when I finally said, ‘Oh, am I the only one?’ It hurts.”

This year’s Emmys changed that – albeit only on a technical level. Cox has a nomination because she is listed as one of the executive producers of Friends: The Reunion.

“Honestly, I’m so happy the reunion has been recognized because I think it’s great,” she told Entertainment Weekly. “[Director] Ben Winston did a great job and all his crew. “

Tellingly, however, she added, “It’s not exactly the Emmy I was looking for. I’m being honest with you.”

The tea leaves are not pretty. Three of the four awards for which Friends: The Reunion was nominated went to the Creative Arts Emmys last weekend and he lost all three. But he could still win an outstanding pre-recorded variety special on Sunday.

Friends is not the only televised meeting nominated in this category. Last year’s West Wing special, which encouraged people to vote in the 2020 U.S. election, was also recognized.

We are really starting to feel sorry for Emily in Paris. The hugely successful but critically-criticized television series was already put to the test when it was nominated for the Golden Globes in February.

At the time, there had been a backlash on social media, and even one of its writers said she couldn’t figure out how he got nominations when I May Destroy You didn’t. done (although they are not actually eligible in the same categories).

Still, while Emily in Paris may have been a bit trashy and cliched with clichés, some reviewers have noted that it gives us a fun escape during a difficult time.

“This is by no means a good show,” said Kristen Baldwin of The Awardist. “It’s entertaining, but it’s not good. So to see him face off against comedies like Hacks or Pen15, which are incredibly original and entertaining, is really shocking.

“But what I’ll say is I think Emily in Paris served a purpose at a very specific and vulnerable time for us as a people. [In] October 2020, during several months of the pandemic, we all badly needed his silliness and it kept us entertained at the time. “

Not because we think Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical is not worthy of recognition, but because of the shortcomings that allowed it to be nominated.

Let us first clarify what it is. This is a recording of the Broadway play that was filmed in 2016, when Miranda, Leslie Odom Jr and Anthony Ramos were still in the cast.

It was originally intended to be released in theaters for people who, for geographic or financial reasons, had not been able to see the show live.

After the pandemic hit, it became an exclusive release for the Disney + streaming platform. And despite the age of the recording, the fact that it didn’t debut on a streaming service until July 2020 means it technically fell into this year’s Emmy eligibility window.

Is it a movie? No. Is it a television series? No. Was it filmed last year? No. But he could still win prizes.

Zoey’s and Lovecraft Country’s Extraordinary Playlist have both been canceled in recent months, but the timing of the two announcements has drawn different reactions from the Emmys.

HBO wisely waited for the close of the nominations vote to announce that Lovecraft Country was canceled, and the series was rewarded with 18 nominations.

Zoey’s extraordinary playlist, on the other hand, was canceled while the vote was still in progress and only got five nods.

That may not have been the only factor in their mixed fortunes. But it’s fair to say that canceling a show while voting sends a message to the Academy that if the network can’t even care anymore, why should they?

That said, the Emmys aren’t always swayed by news of cast cancellations or departures.

The previously announced exit of Bridgerton’s Regé-Jean Page hasn’t hurt his prospects of Emmy as he’s nominated for lead actor in a drama. If he can fend off Josh O’Connor from The Crown, he has a good chance of winning the award at home.

HBO’s tally of 130 nods is just one ahead of Netflix’s 129.

But Netflix might just have the edge when it comes to the higher night category. Surprisingly, the world’s most popular streaming service has never won Best Drama Series.

Even The Crown never won the trophy. Still, if there was a year that was going to change, it probably would be this one.

Her fourth series was the most explosive and eventful to date, thanks in large part to the introduction of Margaret Thatcher and Princess Diana. It could help The Crown take home best drama, as well as acting awards for the actresses who played them, Gillian Anderson and Emma Corrin.

In fact, it could sweep the acting categories if Josh O’Connor and Tobias Menzies are also recognized for their acclaimed performances as Prince Charles and the late Duke of Edinburgh respectively.

The Emmy Awards take place Sunday in Los Angeles at 8:00 p.m. ET (1:00 a.m. BST).