It was television’s biggest night…that no one showed up for. It’s hard to host an award show nowadays, throw a pandemic into the mix and things can go real bad, real fast. Luckily for ABC, the 72nd Emmy’s went surprisingly…well, besides the viewership. Reports showed that 5.1 Million people tuned into last night's ceremony, down from 6.9 Million in 2019. Stats show that the 2020 Emmy's viewership reached an all-time low.
Jimmy Kimmel stepped in to host in a ceremony that premiered against an unprecedented back drop with no audience. As the host took the stage, they super-imposed 2019’s Emmy audience into the background so that the comedian’s jokes landed well instead of with silence.
Most of the ceremony was conducted in the Staples Center in Los Angeles and the interviews, awards and speeches were done via Web-Chat whether from a cast viewing party or from the winner’s individual homes. The Awards were distributed by presenters in Haz-Mat suits that looked like the below photo:
In a scenario where the Wi-Fi could shut off any minute, ABC managed to pull off a decently well-organized show. Let’s dive into the details.
“Schitt’s Creek” kicked off the evening taking home 6/6 Awards at the beginning of the night, earning Wins in Comedy Best Actor/Actress (Catherine O’Hara and Eugene Levy), Best Supporting Actor/Actress (Daniel Levy and Annie Murphy) and Best Writing and Directing (Daniel Levy in both categories) in a Comedy Series. The cast members had gathered together for a Cast viewing party in Canada and it was hard not to cheer for the enthusiastic crowd as they won their very first nominations and wins in their final season.
The Comedy Series premiered its final season last year on Pop TV, but the Series became popular when it hit the streaming service, Netflix, in 2018 and became as beloved of a show as “Parks and Recreation” or “The Office.” The consecutive wins for the series and actors/actresses was a bright spot in the grim year of 2020.
“Watchmen” also huge this year, taking home awards in Best Limited Series, Best Actress in a Limited Series (Regina King), Supporting Actor in a Limited Series (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) and Outstanding Writing in a Limited Series. The series was a timely adaptation that premiered in 2019 on HBO and explore prevalent issues still at large in our world today such as police brutality and racism under the direction of a superhero world.
While Netflix entered the Ceremony with the most nominations, leading the pack of all networks with 160 Nominations, for the first time beating out HBO which usually leads the pack, Netflix did not come out on top with Awards. HBO entered last night's ceremony with 107 nominations and pulled off the most wins, totaling 30, coming mostly from "Watchmen" and "Succession." Netflix was close behind with 21 wins and was followed by Pop TV with 10 with came from the "Schitt's Sweep." If we are judging only streaming services awards, Apple TV+ (2 Wins) and Hulu (1 Win) were at the bottom of the pack with just a few trophies.
"Schitt’s Creek" and "Watchmen" were the definite winners of the 2020 Emmy’s, but there were also plenty of snubs and surprises. Let’s break it down:
SNUBS
Paul Mescal (“Normal People”)
A real snub for me here, although I am still thrilled that Mescal’s performance was recognized by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. In his debut television role, Mescal played Connell in Hulu’s break-out Limited Series “Normal People.” Mescal’s care and attention to portraying the rarely seen male sensitivity definitely stood out among the other nominees. Ultimately, Mark Ruffalo ended up taking home the win for HBO Limited Series “I Know This Much Is True.”
“Dead To Me” – Comedy Series
Although I was thrilled with "Schitt’s Creek" back to back to back to back…(you get it) wins, I was hoping to see a little love given to Netflix’s “Dead To Me” with Christina Applegate and Linda Cardellini nominated in Lead Actress Categories.
Amazon Prime
Although the streaming service, Amazon Prime, went into last night with 47 nominations for its shows and performers, it was shut out from virtually all the major categories, leaving the ceremony with just 4 wins for the entire night.
SURPRISES
"Schitt’s Creek" - Comedy Series
Although my love for the show, knows no bounds, critics alike cannot deny that a Schitt’s Creek sweep that lasted an hour through the first part of the show was completely unprecedented and un-expected. The sweep of "Schitt's Creek" in every COmeday Category has never happened before in the history of The Emmy's. The series won the first six awards for the night, beating out veteran winners in the category like “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”, “The Good Place,” and “Insecure.” It was a well-deserved run for the senior season of the beloved Comedy Series.
Zendaya – “Euphoria”
Although I don’t want to put it in this category, because Zendaya gave one of the most memorable performances as Rue in the Gen-Z HBO drama, most people will be sorting her into this category in the next few days. Zendaya’s historic Emmy win marks her as the youngest Emmy winner in its long seventy-two year history and it is most definitely well-deserved. Zendaya beat out veteran winners and performers like Jennifer Aniston (“Morning Show”), Olivia Colman (“The Crown”) and Sandra Oh (“Killing Eve”). It was hard not to jump up and cheer when they showed her accepting the award from her living room with her family cheering behind her. Thrilled with this announcement.
In my opinion, last night's ceremony was the best Emmy's we have seen in the last few years, because it focused on the celebration of television whole-heartedly. The big difference between this years Award Show and pervious years is that there were no obnoxious musical numbers, no unnecessary skits, the Ceremony was just the un-interrupted celebration of television that audiences tuned in to watch in the first place.
Let's take a lesson for the upcoming Award Ceremonies and take notes, The Emmy's pulled off a huge feat and we should expect to see other Award Shows take note as virtual streamings will most likely become the norm for the next few years.
And that's the sitch.
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