This past September, ABC aired the 76th annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which were hosted by Eugene and Dan Levy, the first ever father-son duo to host the Primetime Emmy Awards. The Emmys were held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, California. This is the second Emmy Awards ceremony that took place in 2024, since the 75th Emmy Awards were held in January due to the 2023 labor strike.
In the current television award show climate, streaming services and cable networks are dominating the awards when it used to be only network television channels such as CBS, NBC, Fox and ABC. However, FX secured the most awards with 33 wins, while Netflix had the most Emmy nominations with 107.
What really stood out at this award ceremony was the representation of the LGBTQ+ community. For instance, Nava Mau, who identifies as transgender, was up for her first ever Emmy Award nomination for the Netflix miniseries “Baby Reindeer.” Additionally, Holland Taylor, wife of Sarah Paulson, was up for her ninth Emmy nomination, this time for her role on “The Morning Show.” Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer, who both identify as gay, were nominated for awards such as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
During the ceremony, co-host Eugene Levy stated, “I’m particularly proud of my streamer, Apple TV+, which continues to proudly and visibly align itself with the LGBTQ community.” Apple TV+ has not just provided entertainment for many, but also showcase the LGBTQ representation on many of their shows.
While the cameraman was highlighting the award nominations for “Reservation Dogs,” lead actor D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai was seen with a bloody red handprint smeared across his mouth. According to Yahoo, Woon-A-Tai donned the handprint on his face in order to raise awareness for missing and murdered Indigenous women. At first, when watching this, I was very curious as to why Woon-A-Tai splashed bloody red paint on his mouth, but it was apparent he was trying to represent his culture and the alarming situation its people are currently experiencing — Indigenous women are being taken hostage and eventually murdered.
On the red carpet, Woon-A-Tai told GoldDerby.com, “We just find that there is a really big epidemic in the United States and Canada, where our sisters, our relatives, our two-spirited relatives are going missing at an alarming rate and a lot of people are doing nothing about it.” I agree with this sentiment because people from different backgrounds all deal with the same issues. Young people are suddenly abducted by predators who have nothing better to do than to manipulate young people. What I got out of D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai’s message was to always look out for others and be aware of your surroundings.
The FX historical drama series, “Shōgun” won four Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Drama Series, and Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series. “Shōgun” took home two acting Emmys, as Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai won for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Drama Series for their respective roles on the show.
Apple TV+ claimed the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series, with Billy Crudup accomplishing his second Emmy win for “The Morning Show.” He had previously won the same award in 2020. Netflix won an acting Emmy, as Elizabeth Debicki won her first Emmy in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her performance on the Netflix series, “The Crown.” She was previously nominated the prior year, but lost to Jennifer Coolidge for her role in the HBO series, “The White Lotus.”
Moving onto the comedy category, FX’s comedy-drama series “The Bear” was highly anticipated to win Outstanding Comedy Series. However, in a shocking upset after being nominated twice in the category, HBO’s “Hacks” came out on top, winning the award for its third season. Despite the loss, “The Bear” didn’t leave the Emmys empty handed. “The Bear” nearly dominated the acting awards, with Jeremy Allen White, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Liza Colón-Zayas taking home Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series, Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series and Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series, respectively.
When watching the Emmys last night, Colón-Zayas gave a heartfelt speech celebrating her fellow nominees and when ending her emotional speech said, “all the Latinas who are looking at me, keep believing and vote. Vote for your rights. Thank you. Thank you. Gracias.”
