Huge Surprises at the Emmys
by EG
If you were expecting this year's Emmy awards to deliver more of the same old thing, you were probably disappointed. The winner in several major categories signaled that TV's old pecking order has been irrevocably altered.
The Handmaid's Tale made a splash at Sunday's Primetime Emmy Awards, nabbing Hulu its first Emmy with multiple wins including best drama, best lead actress, best supporting actress and best writing for a drama series. Hulu (with 18 nominations) has now beat Netflix and Amazon as the first streamer to win an Emmy for drama series.
"Go home, get to work, we have a lot of things to fight for," said showrunner Bruce Miller while accepting the best drama win which beat out contenders including Better Call Saul, House of Cards, Stranger Things, Westworld, The Crown and This Is Us.
Elisabeth Moss accepted the golden statue for lead actress in a drama series and let two F-bombs fly in her acceptance speech. She thanked director and cinematograpaher Reed Morano for teaching her "what it means to be balls to the wall" and he mother for teaching her to be "kind and fucking badass."
Ann Dowd thanked the streamer for allowing her to be part of the adaptation Margaret Atwood's dystopian novel.
"I know it’s an actors dream and I’m grateful to you," said Dowd during her acceptance speech. "I’ve been acting for a long time, and that this should happen now, I don’t have the words, so thank you."
Morano called show's lead actress Elisabeth Moss her "ultimate inspiration." She added, "This is as much her as it is me. And the whole cast, everybody you are amazing." She also thanked Emmy winner Bruce Miller for writing "the most disturbing stuff."
Miller, after accepting the best writing award, commented on the show's relation to today's political climate. "I think nowadays people are worried that they live in a society where there are big things happening and government does things that they can't affect," he said backstage. "Certainly you get a little inspiration if you look at a character like Offred who is living in such a terrible, oppressive, horrible situation and yet still finds ways to rebel and ways to live."
Miller also spoke about how real-life politics have influenced the show. "We don't look at the politics of the day and try to bend the story. We really try to follow Offred in Gilead going through the challenges she's going through, but we're a very plugged-in group of writers — actors as well, producers as well. I don't think you can help but have it affect you," he said.
After earning 13 nominations, the acclaimed adaptation of Margaret Atwood's best-selling 1985 novel came into the telecast with three Creative Arts Emmy wins already under its belt, including best guest actress in a drama series for Alexis Bledel.
Read the rest of the story at The Hollywood Reporter.
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