So, those Emmy Awards – wait, where could you see them again? Oh yes, NBC, in the US you need a cable connection for that; or a TV package like Youtube TV. Or a streaming provider like Disney+, which owns the Hulu platform, which includes live channels like NBC. Or NBC’s own streaming service Peacock. It’s complicated, and that’s why the 74th Emmys are symbolic of the state of the entertainment industry: It’s a party in chaos, and one that they don’t necessarily celebrate want – but got to.
How fitting was it that Oprah Winfrey, the undisputed queen of US TV, wanted to throw a party to start with – and for that got what was probably the most embarrassed applause of her career and from Emmy-winner Michael Keaton (best actor miniseries for dope sick) was told: “My face hurts from all the fake laughter.”
Anyone who finds a platform that doesn’t have a proliferating winning production should get in touch
It’s like TV zapping back then, except that now you’re not annoyed about the offer, but about yourself: Where are the series that everyone is always raving about and that you can watch when you want and where you want? goodness gracious again.
What all providers are trying to do is lure viewers with recommendations, and that’s why they’ve recently not only plastered the giant billboards in Los Angeles with Emmy-nominated shows, but also blasted their platform homepages with Emmy categories. It might get worse now. Anyone who finds just one platform now, after the award, that Not proliferates on the start page with a winning production, please get in touch.
So, the winners: Ted Lasso (Comedy series), The White Lotus (best short series), Succession (Drama).
Best Actor: Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game), Amanda Seyfried (The Dropout), Zendaya (euphoria), Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso), Jean Smart (hacks).
Supporting Actor: Sheryl Lee Ralph (Abbott Elementary), Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso), Jennifer Coolidge, Murray Bertlett (both The White Lotus), Matthew Macfayden (Succession), Julia Garner (ozark).
“Hundreds of series are produced – and then only five get an award,” said presenter Kenan Thompson. That was the sword of Damocles hanging over the event in downtown Los Angeles: Winning the Emmys isn’t cause for joy, it’s cause for relief.
Happy about an Emmy? More like relief. Singer Lizzo with presenter Kenan Thompson.
(Photo: PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP)
The gold rush mood has turned into one in which people are trying to preserve the claims. That’s why it’s counted: twelve trophies for pay-tv group HBO, four for Apple TV, three for Netflix, two for Hulu, one for Amazon Prime and a total of three for traditional TV. It costs $123 a month to see the 25 winners; which is why, in the cancel-at-anytime age and times of massive inflation, it’s all the more important to have award-winning productions on your platform that many people are dying to see. Winner therefore: HBO.
It’s fantastic productions that have been honored – and there were fantastic moments on this evening: Sheryl Lee Ralph, for example, who was recognized for her wonderful role as an elementary school teacher in Abbott Elementary was honored, did without an acceptance speech, but sang “Endangered Species” by Dianne Reeves. Entertainer Lizzo, in the greatest awards gown since J-Lo at the 2000 Grammys, following her win for the terrific talent show Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls said, “These women need a platform – women as bold, black and beautiful as I am.” Geena Davis, honored for her contributions to the industry: The actress initiated a study on equality in Hollywood, which collects data on whether the industry is actually inclusive.
What happened to the promise of quality storytelling whenever the customer wants to see it?
However, this award is always an opportunity to take a look at the industry, and the Washington Post: “Streaming is in an existential crisis, viewers are noticing that.”
That means: The Emmy Awards are currently the most important event in the entertainment industry – but not because art or at least mass suitability would be appreciated; it’s about finding a way to stand out in the ocean of mediocrity and often below-average into which the industry has drifted, which is now doing exactly what it’s been doing on TV for decades: telling people what they should watch .
What happened to the promise: quality storytelling whenever the customer wants to see it, without advertising, without additional tiers for profit? at Ted Lasso and other series, there are now fixed transmission times again, Netflix wants to introduce advertising, and of course this search for the evening program does not take so long because there is too much good – there is simply too much. “The promise was wishful thinking or a lie,” says Adam Conover, creator of the series Adam Ruins Everything: “We are moving in a direction where it will be worse than before – for everyone, including the spectators.”
Maybe you have to stop seeing such events as an honor, but as a guide for the next TV evening – because series that you should definitely see actually won. So: take out a subscription, look away from everything that’s worthwhile – and take out the next short subscription after a month. With good planning, you could see all the Emmy winners for $123 a year.