Awards night has come and gone, and the winners can sit back and count their statuettes presented at the 69th Primetime Emmy awards. Already a significant portion of the ceremony was starkly different, due to the complete absence of a particular fantasy drama series from HBO that has dominated the Emmys for the past six years or so. Indeed, without “Game of Thrones” in the running for any category (due to premiering it latest season too late to qualify for nomination), it was time for the other main high-budget shows to triumph. And while Home Box Office managed to gain most of the major awards still, the Emmys this year belong to “The Handmaid’s Tale” from Hulu, a milestone in itself.
‘Handmaid’ makes history
Hulu’s dystopian future series “The Handmaid’s Tale” has prospered greatly from the lack of any “Game of Thrones” among the major Emmy category nominees. Thanks to that it was able to win “Outstanding Drama Series,” overcoming HBO’s “Westworld,” NBC’s “This is Us,” AMC’s “Better Call Saul,” and no less than three Netflix shows. It also earned the accolade of being the first exclusively web television series to win “Outstanding Drama,” a notable victory over broadcast and cable networks.
Following the lead of the show itself, other major categories were swept up by Hulu’s pride and joy. “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series” went to Elizabeth Moss for her role as June Osborne or Offred, the eponymous Handmaid of the show.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” also won “Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series” (Ann Dowd as Aunt Lydia), along with “Outstanding Directing” and “Outstanding Writing,” both for the pilot episode “Offred.” This momentous moment for a full TV show was tied only by HBO with the limited series “Little Big Lies.”
HBO victories and Trump moments
While “The Handmaid’s Tale” was busy making history for Hulu, Home Box Office is proving that it could still win big at the Primetime Emmys even without “Game of Thrones.” Its limited series “Little Big Lies” managed to tie the number of awards won by Elizabeth Moss’s show at five, including “Outstanding Limited Series.” Of the ten statuettes the network is bringing home, they also include “Outstanding Comedy Series” (“Veep”) and “Variety Talk Series” (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”).
In the same fashion as the other major awards ceremonies that preceded it this year, the 69th Primetime Emmys took a few shots at President Donald Trump as is fashionable in Hollywood lately. Host Stephen Colbert even brought in a surprise appearance from former White House press secretary Sean Spicer aping his own number-count of the Trump inauguration crowds, this time for the awards night audience.
And Alec Baldwin did bring home “Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series” for playing Trump on “Saturday Night Live.”
As the last of the awards were presented, “The Handmaid’s Tale” show-runner Bruce Miller exhorted everyone to “go home and get to work.” The Hulu series has been renewed for a second season on Hulu in 2018.
