Netflix, Queen's Gambit nab key technical prizes

LOS ANGELES • Fuelled by The Queen's Gambit and The Crown, Netflix dominated the competition at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards last weekend.

Netflix took home 34 Emmys at three separate ceremonies last weekend, while Disney+, the streamer's closest competitor, won 13 awards.

HBO and its streaming service, HBO Max, the perennial Emmys heavyweight, won 10 awards.

Each year, the Television Academy, which organises the Emmys, announces the winners for dozens of technical awards in the lead-up to the biggest prizes that are announced at the main event, the Primetime Emmy Awards.

This year's prime-time ceremony will take place on Sunday and will be broadcast on United States network CBS.

The Queen's Gambit, a limited series about a chess prodigy, won nine Creative Arts Emmys last weekend, more than any other series.

Its closest competitors, with seven awards each, were Disney+ Star Wars action adventure show The Mandalorian and NBC stalwart Saturday Night Live.

Although the Creative Arts Emmys are not quite prime-time material - they include awards such as best stunt performance, best hairstyling and outstanding lighting direction for a variety series - they still count in the Hollywood record books, and the leaderboard for the 73rd Emmy Awards is now officially under way.

The weekend ceremonies also handed out a few key acting awards.

The Queen's Gambit took the prize for best cast in a limited series. It beat a pair of acclaimed HBO series, I May Destroy You and Mare Of Easttown.

The Crown won for best cast in a drama, and Apple TV+ show Ted Lasso won for best cast in a comedy. Both are favoured to take more prizes at the main event.

Netflix's dominance all but guarantees it will win more Emmys than any other TV network, studio or streaming platform, making this year the first year it will beat its chief rival, HBO, to claim ultimate bragging rights.

Three years ago, in a first, Netflix tied HBO for top honours. Going into this year's Emmys ceremonies, HBO, aided by HBO Max, led all networks with 130 nominations, one more than Netflix.

Meanwhile, Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle's explosive American interview with talk show host Oprah Winfrey - nominated in the best hosted non-fiction series category - was beaten by actor Stanley Tucci's travel and food show Searching For Italy.

The 73rd Emmy Awards will effectively be a showcase for television achievement during the pandemic.

Because of production shutdowns and delays, the number of TV shows in the second half of last year and the first half of this year declined. Submissions for the top categories this year were down 30 per cent.

The ceremony, hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, will take place indoors and outdoors on the Event Deck at LA Live, near the Emmys' usual home at the Microsoft Theatre in downtown Los Angeles.

Attendance will be drastically reduced but, unlike last year's remote ceremony, most winners are likely to deliver their acceptance speeches in person.

NYTIMES, REUTERS