Kenan Thompson, presenter of the 2022 Emmy Awards gala, said it at the beginning of the ceremony: “Tonight we celebrate the hundreds and hundreds of series that have been produced this year and we will only award five of them.”
There weren't five, there were 10, but the idea was not misguided.
In a scenario in which the number of programs that are released each year is as incomprehensible as it is absurd, the mere idea of some awards, even ones that have dozens of categories such as the Emmys (the 25 that were awarded in the early hours of Tuesday several tens more that are granted outside the ceremony), is so reductionist that it could be said that it does not make sense.
The current television era, marked by the number and variety of productions released each year, means that many award-winning titles remain not only without awards,
but even off the radar entirely.
On the other hand, some chosen ones even manage to monopolize several awards in some prizes that give prestige and, above all, publicity to the winners.
The five statuettes that The White Lotus
(HBO Max)
collected last night are possibly the best
marketing campaign
that HBO could dream for the second installment of this social satire, whose premiere will arrive this fall.
The series' victory over the contrast between guests and workers at a luxury hotel in Hawaii is remarkable for several reasons.
On the one hand, it was the only one in its category, best miniseries, which was not based on a true story, so fashionable in recent years for short fiction by chapters.
On the other hand, it competed as a miniseries, that is to say, a closed story, when its second season is about to be released which, although it will narrate a different story, set in another hotel (this time, in Sicily) and with other characters, will recover the character brought to life by Jennifer Coolidge, brand new Emmy winner for best supporting actress.
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The 2022 Emmy Awards red carpet
From HBO —the king, once again, at the Emmys— is also
Succession
, the best drama of the course and which, with its third installment, repeats the award it already won in 2020 for the second.
Jesse Armstrong's series has established itself as the heir to those great dramas that garner critical acclaim thanks to brilliantly crafted scripts, characters that viewers love to hate, and production (those mansions and castles where they shoot, those yachts, that luxury, that soundtrack) top notch.
01:00
Trailer for the third season of 'Succession'
Brian Cox, in the third season of 'Succession'. Video: HBO
What neither Succession
nor HBO
possibly had was that
The Squid Game
(Netflix) was going to keep two of the prizes that seemed destined for the first.
The Emmys have recognized the worldwide phenomenon of Netflix, the extremely popular South Korean series that managed, thanks to word of mouth, to jump from the screen to real life to become a sociocultural phenomenon that broke barriers.
He showed that there is still room for surprise, both at the Emmys (he won the award for best direction and best leading actor; it is the first time that an actor from a non-English speaking series has achieved it in history) and in the life.
Who would have imagined a year ago that today we would be talking about a South Korean series sneaking into the Emmys?
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Photo gallery: The images of the gala
It is curious that, in the great festival of television, in some awards that are broadcast on the television of a lifetime, the open channels are a mere guest, a redoubt reduced to the minimum in terms of awards .
This year, however, the open networks had
Colegio Abbott
(in Spain, on Disney +) as a great standard-bearer.
The comedy about the day-to-day life of the teachers of an American public school has been one of the great audience successes of the season in the United States.
His proposal takes the best of lifelong comedy and refreshes it: the classic mockumentary format perfected, among others, by
The Office
and
Modern Family
, adds a slight acid humor that fits in very well with the public and acts as an alternative proposal to the niche comedies with a dramatic touch that populate the platforms.
Colegio Abbot
has collected the award for best supporting actress and best screenplay.
And, although it was nominated as the title with the most ballots to surprise and be crowned in the queen category, in the end the second season of
Ted Lasso
(Apple TV +) was reaffirmed as the favorite proposal of the voters with its four awards.
Both completed the triumph in the comedy categories of optimistic stories and with characters willing to fight against any adversity with large doses of will, comforting and kind stories that have risen with the pandemic.
02:08
Trailer for the second season of 'Ted Lasso'
Jason Sudeikis, star of 'Ted Lasso'. Video: Apple TV
Instead of continuing to review the winners (that Zendaya, Jean Smart or Julia Garner have won again for their roles in
Euphoria, Hacks
and
Ozark
, respectively, has not surprised anyone), it is more interesting to look at those who have left empty tonight.
None of the Kills in the Building Only
options
(on Disney+) have been converted to a prize.
The series, which was competing for its first season and which was driven by the recent broadcast of its second installment, has not managed to transform any of its options into an award.
The same harsh fate has suffered
Separation
(Apple TV +)
the
science fiction
thriller starring Adam Scott that delves into a company where an operation allows its workers to totally separate their lives inside and outside of work.
Watching the Emmy red carpet broadcast, he is surprised that he did not get any awards when his title was one of the most repeated by the attendees as one of the favorites.
More series without prize last night?
Yellowjackets
(Movistar Plus+),
whose best asset was actress Melanie Lynskey (Zendaya won in her category).
He also did not win any awards, and it hurts a lot,
Better Call Saul
(Movistar Plus +)
,
which was presented for the first part of its final season.
Although she will have a new opportunity next year with the last chapters, it will be difficult for academics to remember her then, but stranger things have been seen.
It also hurts to ignore the wonderful third season of
Barry
(HBO Max), a series that has been improving year after year and that in its most recent installment has played halfway between comedy and drama in its darkest installment.
But, you know, it never rains at the awards to everyone's liking, nor is it possible to recognize all the good things there are.
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