By Daniel Arkin - NBC News
The Crown
,
Ted Lasso
and
The Queen's Gambit
took top honors at the 73rd Emmy Awards on Sunday, putting the finishing touches to a ceremony in which political speeches were largely avoided and in which no performers of color were recognized in the top 12 performance categories.
The big winner of the night was
The Crown
, a portrait of the British royal family that won seven awards, including the best first-time drama series for Netflix, the home of the streaming series.
Apple TV comedy
Ted Lasso
came in second in Sunday's final tally of accolades, topping lukewarm criticism for its second season and picking up four awards, including Best Comedy Series and Acting Actor Jason Sudeikis. .
[Michelle Obama premieres a children's television series about cooking]
The ceremony, presented by Cedric the Entertainer, lasted for more than four hours and attracted social media attention both for what it seemed to exclude and for its actual content.
Here are some of the top nightly news for the television industry.
No awards for artists of color
The list of nominees for this year's Emmys was varied, with performers like Mj Rodríguez and Billy Porter from
Pose
, as well as
Bridgerton
star
Regé-Jean Page and the late Michael K. Williams.
However, throughout the night no actor of color was awarded in the performance categories.
The winners of the 12 main performance categories were white.
The absence of artists of color was especially notable
, given the intense scrutiny of Hollywood award galas in recent years for issues of diversity and representation.
[This is how José Díaz-Balart says goodbye to the 6:30 pm newscast to assume a new role in Noticias Telemundo and MSNBC]
The racial makeup of this year's group of winners may be due to the series that garner the most attention, such as
The Crown
,
Ted Lasso
,
Mare of Easttown
,
Hacks
and
The Queen's Gambit
.
Although there are actors of color on these popular shows, they feature predominantly white performers.
'Ted Lasso' dominates comedy
The second season of
Ted Lasso
has received what could be charitably described as a mixed response from viewers and critics.
However, the reaction to the success of Apple TV + has not stopped the series from reaching the Emmys, and voters at the Television Academy have been swayed by its relentless optimism.
The series, a story about an American football coach who is hired to run an English football club, took home the top comedy award and collected awards for Sudeikis (lead actor in a comedy series), as well as supporting actors. Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein.
Hannah Waddingham, third from left, Jason Sudeikis, Juno Temple and the 'Ted Lasso' crew pose for a photo at the 73rd Emmy Awards at the JW Marriott at LA LIVE in Los Angeles, California on Sunday 19 September 2021 Danny Moloshok / Invision for the Television Academy / AP Images
Ted Lasso
was so ubiquitous that Stephen Colbert, accepting the live variety special award, joked that he was thankful that Sudeikis and company were not nominated in the category for a chance to win.
Hacks
, the HBO comedy about the relationship between a veteran Las Vegas comedian (Jean Smart) and a young writer (Hannah Einbinder), was not far behind.
Smart won her fourth Emmy for her lead performance, and the series was acclaimed for her writing and directing.
Little politics
During the term of former President Donald Trump, presenters and award winners frequently used their minutes in the spotlight to target the former Republican president with direct criticism or allusions to the issues that define his presidency.
But this year, Emmys attendees have largely shied away from political humor and clichéd speeches that had become hackneyed.
The night was sparse in explicit mention of President Biden's Administration, the new Texas abortion law and other headline-grabbing topics.
[Actor Pablo Lyle faces a new lawsuit for the death of the man he hit after a traffic argument]
But there were some notable exceptions.
"May this moment resonate with women around the world, across this country and around the world, from Texas to Afghanistan. Let them know," said Debbie Allen as she accepted the Governors' Honorary Award.
"And also with the young people, who have no vote, who cannot even get vaccinated, they are inheriting the world we leave them. It is time to reclaim their power, reclaim their voice, tell their stories. That will make us a better place. It is your turn, "he added.
Star Sarah Paulson made a stinging joke about the gender pay gap in the entertainment industry and Colbert mocked California for spending millions of dollars on a campaign to impeach Governor Gavin Newsom.
And the pandemic?
The award galas that have rolled out on the red carpet during the coronavirus pandemic have been peculiar experiences.
Last year's edition of the Emmys, presented by Jimmy Kimmel, was largely virtual and had no studio audience.
This year's Emmys were for many home viewers a return to a familiar format, for better or for worse.
The crowd of nominees, guests and other television industry figures appeared to be huddled inside a tent with no mask in sight.
[19-year-old actor Matthew Mindler was found dead and confirmed to be a suicide]
Seth Rogen, presenting the first prize of the night, winked at the look of the environment, saying, "There are too many of us in this small room."
"They told me this would be outside. Why is there a roof? What are you all doing?" Rogen added.
In the run-up to the gala, the Emmys producers insisted that vaccinations and a negative COVID-19 test be required of all attendees, and the television academy limited the number of attendees allowed in the room to about 600, according to Variety.
In memoriam
The annual In Memoriam segment honored a wide range of entertainment industry luminaries who passed away last year, including talk show host Larry King, the host of
Jeopardy!
Alex Trebek, actor Ed Asner and Hollywood legend Cicely Tyson.
But there were especially emotional celebrations from two recently deceased television greats: Michael K. Williams (nominated for his supporting role in
HBO's
Lovecraft Country
) and Norm Macdonald.
[The antiNobel awards discover why men wear beards, how to transport a hippopotamus and what to do with cockroaches on a battleship]
Williams, a modern television icon who played Omar Little on
The Wire
and appeared in other acclaimed dramas, was the last person to appear in the In Memoriam video.
Kerry Washington, presenting the award for best supporting actor in a drama series, praised his "excellence" and "art."
Macdonald, a former
Saturday Night Live
(SNL)
cast member
and deadpan comedian, also received special recognition. SNL creator Lorne Michaels brought it up in his acceptance speech, while John Oliver implored viewers to watch clips of Macdonald on YouTube, "because it doesn't get better than that."
