HBO’s “Euphoria” and “The White Lotus,” as well as Netflix’s “Stranger Things,” lead the early Emmy tally heading toward TV’s big night: All three series landed five trophies during the Creative Arts Emmys, dispensed on two consecutive nights over Labor Day weekend, and are in the hunt for more high-profile prizes Sept. 12 when the 74th annual Primetime Emmy ceremony gets underway on NBC.
Variety special “Adele: One Night Only” and docuseries “The Beatles: Get Back” also scored five trophies, though they won’t figure in the Primetime Emmy ceremony. Those wins, along with the Super Bowl LVI Halftime Show’s victory for variety special (live), led some to quip that the Creative Arts Emmys felt more like the Grammys.
Also notable: Former president Barack Obama landed his first Emmy win, as narrator (for “Our Great National Parks”), while Netflix became the first streamer to take the animated program Emmy, with “Arcane.” And “Chip ’N Dale: Rescue Rangers” became the first animated victor in the TV movie category.
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In bittersweet news, Chadwick Boseman won a posthumous Emmy for character voice-over performance (for “What If …”). And the team for “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee” won for outstanding short form nonfiction or reality series, just a few weeks after TBS canceled the show.
Bear in mind that success in artisan categories doesn’t necessarily equate to trophies at the Primetime ceremony. “Stranger Things,” for example, did well over the weekend but is up for only the outstanding drama statuette (and not any acting, directing or writing Emmys).
There are nonetheless new clues to consider before filling out ballots for office Emmy pools. Here are what some of the more notable wins at the Creative Arts awards might say about the Primetime Emmy telecast:
The comedy race is wide open. Last year’s winner, “Ted Lasso,” has been considered the front-runner all season, but “Barry” and “Only Murders in the Building” landed three Creative Arts Emmys, with Nathan Lane triumphing as comedy guest actor for the latter, and “Hacks” was close behind with two, including Laurie Metcalf’s victory for comedy guest actress. (“Ted Lasso” didn’t get any.) And then there’s “Abbott Elementary,” which won the casting for a comedy series trophy this year. That category has predicted the comedy series winner every year since 2015.
Does “Squid Game” have momentum? Going by its drama casting win, “Succession” is still expected to score another drama series Emmy. But “Squid Game” has become more of a contender following its four wins at the Creative Arts Emmys, including guest drama actress (Lee You-mi).
The variety talk and competition category streaks look likely to continue. If you thought “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” would end its six-year streak as outstanding variety talk show, or “RuPaul’s Drag Race” might be vulnerable after four years on top of the reality competition category, think again. “Last Week Tonight” won the writing for a variety series award again this year, a category it has dominated since 2016. And RuPaul was once again named outstanding host for a reality or competition program. That means Charles has beaten his own record for the most Emmy wins by a person of color (12 overall).
Could variety sketch be one of the few categories with a new winner? TV Academy voters weren’t big on mixing things up this year. Besides the status quo listed above, “Queer Eye” won its fifth consecutive structured reality award, and “Carpool Karaoke: The Series” won its fifth straight short form award. But variety sketch is fifty-fifty: It’s either Lorne Michaels’ “Saturday Night Live” or Robin Thede’s “A Black Lady Sketch Show.” Last year, “SNL” won. But this year, it could be more vulnerable. Not only did the long-running series experience its smallest number of nominations in recent years, but “A Black Lady Sketch Show” did well at the Creative Arts, picking up variety series directing (over “SNL”) and variety picture editing.
All will be revealed in less than a week. Kenan Thompson hosts this year’s Emmy telecast, which starts at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Sept. 12, live on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
[Photo: Colman Domingo won an Emmy for his guest performance on “Euphoria.”]