SINGAPORE - At the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, streaming service Netflix raced to the top of the studio charts.
Its biographical series about the British royals, The Crown, nabbed awards in every major category, including best drama series, best drama actress (Olivia Colman) and best drama actor (Josh O'Connor) as well as for supporting actor and actress in a drama series (Tobias Menzies and Gillian Anderson respectively).
The drama's windfall of 11 wins (including for non-telecast categories) comes after four years of nominations marked by sporadic victories. The event was held on Sunday (Sept 19) night in Los Angeles (Monday morning in Singapore).
As critics have noted, Emmy voters - like millions around the world - turned to comfort viewing last year to soothe the emotional turmoil wrought by the pandemic.
Shows with escapist content - such as The Crown, the miniseries The Queen's Gambit and the feel-good comedy series Ted Lasso - went home with the most awards in the major categories.
Prestige shows with social and political themes were largely overlooked. The critically acclaimed Lovecraft Country, a horror series that explores the American racial divide, and I May Destroy You, a series that deals with sexual assault, went home with only two wins each.
The Crown's sweep of all seven drama categories - making it the first show to do so - has been attributed to its frank, often unflattering depictions of real-life figures, with some pundits calling it a "trolling" of the British royals.
Season 4 put a focus on Queen Elizabeth (Colman) and Prince Philip (Menzies) and the family searching for a bride for the heir, Prince Charles (O'Connor), before choosing Lady Diana Spencer (Emma Corrin).
The season also featured a much-praised portrayal of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher by American actress Anderson.
The Crown's Netflix stablemate, the chess drama The Queen's Gambit, also ended the night with 11 wins, including best limited series. Netflix's 44-Emmy haul, its largest to date, also helped it beat traditional rival HBO for the first time.
The older cable and streaming giant, home to Lovecraft Country, I May Destroy You and crime drama limited series Mare Of Easttown, was the runner-up studio of the night with 19 wins.
The Apple TV+ sitcom Ted Lasso, about an American coach (played by Jason Sudeikis, winner of best actor, comedy series) hired to jolt a British football team out of its doldrums, was the other major winner of the night with seven awards.
The show earlier made history by bagging 20 nominations, the most ever earned by a newly launched comedy series.
The Ted Lasso plaudits are a milestone for Apple TV+, even though its 11 wins last night were topped by rival service Disney+ with 14 wins.
Both were launched around the same time in late 2019, but as Apple TV+ lacked Disney's deep library of content that includes Star Wars, Marvel and Disney, it was forced to create original shows - among them Ted Lasso.
