Emmys 2021: The Crown dominates, streamers get ahead, and three more talking points

Television’s biggest night took place in Los Angeles

Michaela Coel dedicates her win to all survivors of sexual assault

The 2021 Emmys took place on Sunday, with attendees joining from Los Angeles and London as the ceremony returned to an in-person format.

Only a limited amount of nominees were invited to attend, and all had to present proof that they were vaccinated against Covid – as well as negative tests – in order to gain access to the event.

Actor and comedian Cedric the Entertainer was on hosting duties. Heading into the evening, The Crown and The Mandalorian were leading this year’s nominations.

During the ceremony, The Crown, The Queen’s Gambit and Ted Lasso won the evening’s top awards. Mare of Easttown also scored several high-profile wins, including Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie for Kate Winslet.

Here are the main talking points from the 2021 Emmy Awards:

Powerful women

Wonderful women stole the show at this year’s ceremony, from Kate Winslet’s speech about her detective in Mare of Easttown being a “middle-aged, imperfect, flawed mother who made us all feel validated”, to Michaela Coel dedicating her win to “every single survivor of sexual assault”. A big shout-out to Olivia Colman too, who we’re pretty sure got bleeped out for shouting “Michaela Coel, f*** yeah!” (or similar) in her own acceptance speech. (EH)

Covid concerns

The coronavirus pandemic, as it has become known to do, wormed its way into many speeches over the course of the night. Seth Rogen criticised the event’s perceived lack of Covid measures, calling it “insane”, while host Cedric the Entertainer joked that the vaccine did not lead to his testicles becoming swollen, in a reference to Nicki Minaj’s comments this week. Ewan McGregor and Kate Winslet, meanwhile, were among the winners to thank their shows’ crews for keeping them safe during filming. (EH)

All-white winners in major categories

Despite calls and efforts to get major awards shows to reward the work of actors of colour, white actors won all 12 major acting awards during Sunday’s ceremony. This applies to the lead and supporting actor and actress trophies in the Drama, Comedy, and Limited or Anthology Series or Movie categories. This despite the fact that – as reported by The Hollywood Reporter – performers of colour made up 44 per cent of this year’s nominees. (CM)

The Crown wins big

Netflix’s British royal saga was crowned Outstanding Drama Series in one of its many wins of the evening. With seven trophies, it emerged as the top programme of the 2021 Emmys. Many of its stars won acting awards, including a tearful Olivia Colman, a giggling Josh O’Connor, Tobias Menzies and Gillian Anderson. Its director Jessica Hobbs also triumphed, as well as creator Peter Morgan. (CM)

A great night for streamers

The Crown, a Netflix series, won Outstanding Drama Series, one of the evening’s top three awards. Outstanding Comedy Series went to Ted Lasso, an Apple TV+ programme, while The Queen’s Gambit, another Netflix show, won Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. In other words: streamers ruled television’s biggest night, and the streaming wars aren’t going to ease off any time soon. (CM)

Follow the ceremony as it happened with out live blog:

Key Points

• All the winners as they’re announced
• Kerry Washington pays tribute to Michael K Williams
• Gillian Anderson confuses viewers by accepting award in American accent

[19 September 2021 11:50 · Jacob Stolworthy]

Hello, and welcome to The Independent’s Emmys 2021 live blog!

[19 September 2021 12:49 · Jacob Stolworthy]

So, who is gonna win this year’s awards? You can find all of our predictions – as well as the ones we want to win – here

[19 September 2021 13:38 · Jacob Stolworthy]

From Richmond to LA: Ted Lasso fans will no doubt like to see the cast having a moment on the red carpet

[19 September 2021 14:10 · Jacob Stolworthy]

Tonight could see Michael K Williams win a posthumous Emmy for his supporting role in Lovecraft Country.

(Getty)

[19 September 2021 14:30 · Jacob Stolworthy]

In case you’re wondering which network is leading the nominations tally, it’s HBO with 130.

They have just one more than Netflix, who could take home the Best Drama trophy for the first time thanks to The Crown.

[19 September 2021 14:55 · Jacob Stolworthy]

Speaking of The Crown, it could sweep tonight if voters go for favourites Gillian Anderson (Margaret Thatcher), Emma Corrin (Princess Diana) and Josh O’Connor (Prince Charles).

[19 September 2021 15:25 · Jacob Stolworthy]

WandaVision won at the Creative Emmys last week – and became the first Marvel TV show to do so. Could it win some trophies tonight?

[19 September 2021 15:55 · Jacob Stolworthy]

A lot of people are also hoping Kate Winslet wins an award for Mare of Easttown.

[19 September 2021 16:25 · Jacob Stolworthy]

Something to be worried about: The Underground Railroad – easily one of the year’s best tv shows – winning nothing.

[19 September 2021 17:00 · Jacob Stolworthy]

A win for Pose star MJ Rodriguez, who is the first transgender woman to earn an Emmy nomination, would be a historical moment