One of the big winners in this year’s Emmy awards, hands down, is “The Handmaid’s Tale.” The drama series, which is a TV adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s “dystopian” novel, won a total eight awards including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress for Elizabeth Moss, Outstanding Directing for Reed Morano, Outstanding Writing for Bruce Miller, and Outstanding Supporting Actress for Ann Dowd.
The Hulu program also made history as the first ever show from a streaming service to receive the Emmys Best Drama honor.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” already won three Creative Emmy awards prior to the primetime ceremony including Outstanding Guest Actress for Alexis Bledel, Outstanding Production Design and Outstanding Cinematography (Single-Camera Series).
A lot to fight for
During her acceptance speech, Moss addressed her mother telling her she is “brave and strong, and smart” and then went on to say it was her who taught Moss that "you can be kind and an f—ing badass.”
Bruce Miller, who won for Outstanding Writing, gave simple parting words that reflected the political tone of the awards, “Go home, get to work. We have a lot...to fight for.”
“The Handmaid’s Tale” bested other strong contenders in the Drama category which included “This is Us,” “The Crown,” “Stranger Things,” “House of Cards,” “Westworld”, and “Better Call Saul.”
Other winners
Other winners in the Drama field are Sterling K. Brown, Outstanding Lead Actor (“This is Us”) and John Lithgow, Outstanding Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Netflix’s royal drama series, “The Crown.”
Claire Foy, who won both the Golden Globe andScreen Actors Guild's Best Actress honors for her role as Queen Elizabeth II, was edged out this time by Elizabeth Moss.
This is also the first time that Moss won the Emmy after seven previous nominations.
No 'Game of Thrones'
“Game of Thrones,” which won the Outstanding Drama Series last year is not eligible for this year’s Primetime Emmy awards since it premiered past the deadline set by the TV Academy in order to be considered.
GoT season 7 had its opening episode last July 16, 2017, while the Emmy deadline was May 31, 2017.
“Game of Thrones” will be eligible again next year.
HBO also won big
Even without GoT, HBO was also a big winner at the "69th Primetime Emmy Awards" getting the Outstanding Comedy Series for “Veep” and Outstanding Limited Series for “Big Little Lies.”
“Veep,” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus also made history by winning her sixth Outstanding Lead Actress (Comedy) trophy. She tied the record for most Primetime Emmy wins by a single performer. The actress described her character as the role of a lifetime and an adventure of utter joy.
