On Emmys Night 2, the Television Academy proved that it was, in fact, DTF St. Louis.
During Sunday night’s ceremony, formally known as the Creative Arts Emmys, HBO’s limited drama series picked up four wins across craft categories with Outstanding Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, Outstanding Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie and Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. David Harbour and Linda Cardellini then added to the haul with their first Emmy wins, taking Outstanding Supporting Actor and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie, respectively.
The two nights, which honor the bulk of its craft awards that recognize cinematographers, editors, casting directors, production designers, sound teams, makeup artists, costume design, stunt coordinators—and now supporting and guest actors—will be combined into a broadcast airing on Hulu and FXX on September 12 ahead of the live NBC and Peacock Primetime Emmys broadcast on September 14.
And while the craft races don’t always provide a clear crystal ball for the televised Emmys, Sunday night did produce some surprising results that could potentially shake the table for once “safe” predictions.
Widow’s Bay had the strongest showing with eight wins. Unsurprising, considering that the Apple TV dark comedy horror series came into the fray with 19 nominations. But the word-of-mouth trojan horse held its own against the final season of Hacks and the cult-hit A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms as it picked up seven wins in the craft categories: Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series, Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (Half-Hour), Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half-Hour), Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation, Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation, Outstanding Music Supervision, Outstanding Music Composition and Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score). Betty Gilpin also won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.
Will being recognized across a variety of crafts instead of just one concentrated area carry over to a win for Outstanding Comedy Series toppling favorites like Abbott Elementary or Hacks, again, a show campaigning for its last season. Who’s to say? But these wins give the show a considerable awards-season story to take into the final stretch.
The heavily decorated medical drama The Pitt, nominated for a whopping 25 categories, picked up two below-the-line awards for Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup and Outstanding Casting for Drama Series. But even with its quiet night, Ernest Harden Jr. bested fellow fan-favorite nominees Colman Domingo and Jeff Hiller for his heartbreaking performance in The Pitt as Louie. Last year, The Pitt was nominated for 13 Emmys and took home five. We could see repeat wins for Noah Wyle and Outstanding Drama Series, nevertheless.
Then there was Spider-Noir, which had a bittersweet reason to celebrate. Just two days before the ceremony, Prime Video announced the series’ cancellation. The series spun a web to five Emmy wins, all in craft categories: Outstanding Cinematography for a Series (One Hour), Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode, Outstanding Title Design, Outstanding Stunt Coordination for Comedy Programming and Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour). Star Nicolas Cage, before the ceremony, has since responded to the cancellation, telling Deadline, “For me, one season is perfect, having said what I wanted to say with this dangerous, innovative, pop-art Spider-Man. Onwards, upwards, inwards.”
But it’s a wonder if Prime Video truly knows the meaning of “with great power comes great responsibility,” as a now-canceled series that collected five Emmys shows that voters were paying attention nonetheless. There is a small silver lining, however: perhaps Wonder Man star Yahya Abdul-Mateen II has a chance at winning despite Disney+’s cancellation of the series. The major difference here, though, is that Disney announced the series’ cancellation mere days before voting took place.
Elsewhere, Pluribus picked up four awards: Outstanding Period Costumes, Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More), Outstanding Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) and Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie; Fallout won two, Outstanding Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes and Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie, and A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms took Outstanding Stunt Performance.
For now, we will have to wait and see what the future holds.
The 78th Primetime Emmys will be held at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles and will be hosted by Mariska Hargitay at 5:00 p.m PT/ 8:00 p.m. ET on September 14.
