Its Finally Time: My Reactions to the 2024 Emmys
Prologue: The Creative Arts Emmys Results
I will start this article that last night while watching the Creative Arts Emmys I saw the most significant win not only of this year’s Emmys but in the entire history of the Emmys. Nay, all awards show.
I speak, of course, of Jeopardy’s triumph for Best Game Show. Really compared to that, who really cares about just minor things about who wins Best Drama or Comedy?
Ok, I’m kidding of course but I won’t deny that the show’s win did bring me immense personal satisfaction: not only to hear acknowledgement of the work of Merv Griffin, Alex Trebek’s name mentioned, the tribute to Ken Jennings’s twenty year history and a shout out to Johnny Gilbert. And honestly after everything that fans have had to go through with Season 40 this was a great vindication of the show. (Or depending on how they look at it, a sign that the Emmys are meaningless.) I should also mention that I delighted to see Pat Sajak take the award for Best Game Show Host for his final year at the helm of Wheel of Fortune. It’s a fitting tribute to a man who helmed one of the most iconic shows in history for forty years.
Now earlier remarks aside I’m always glad to watch the Creative Arts Emmys ever year because they frequently give tribute to the people who almost never get full appreciation. And this year it had an added significance considering how much strife was involved in getting there to be a 2023–2024 Emmy season at all. I paid more attention to it in my column on the Emmys this past January but it’s worth going into greater detail here because there were many wins that I believe were significant if not for a pattern that will unfold an Emmy night itself but does show trends that have developed as well as facts I guarantee you the coverage of the Emmys starting Monday will definitely miss.
Let’s begin with something that is neither a surprise but must have been a running joke. When Eric Andre took his prize for Best Performance in Short Form Programming he said: “I’m so glad Shogun wasn’t nominated in this category.” Because Shogun had a night that would have been historic no matter which category it had been nominated. Perhaps it shouldn’t being a shot given how brilliant every single aspect of its technical quality was but it still won a record setting fourteen Creative Arts Emmys. The Game of Thrones comparison is in earnest now, as it managed to break the record Thrones set for most Creative Arts Emmys won in a season with 12. For those of you who still squabble at the fact that Shogun should have been considered a limited series, let me assuage your doubts on this score at least. It also broke the all-tome record set by John Adams back in 2008 when it one 13 Creative Arts Emmys. The question is now how big a mark will Shogun set after Monday.
So let’s talk about the awards Shogun didn’t win in Drama. It helped as you might expect that most of the awards it was eligible for fell in the definition of period and fantasy. That meant that other awards shows could win award in some categories. The Crown took awards for Best Contemporary Costumes and Contemporary Production Design. The Morning Show got on the Emmy board with 3 including contemporary hairstyling and makeup. And Mr. & Mrs. Smith managed to take two prizes including Best Stunt Performance and Best Guest Actress in a Drama, one of the few category Shogun wasn’t nominated in at all. Michaela Coel’s win was historic as she became the first African-American woman to win for both writing and acting. (She won back in 2021 for writing I May Destroy You.) Fallout managed to secure three technical Emmys as well. Only 3 Body Problem won nothing at all and has little chance of victory in Best Drama. The Gilded Age and Slow Horses also went empty handed but the majority of their races will be decided tonight.
I should also mention how thrilled I was to see Nestor Carbonell win for his incredible work as Rodrigues. I was a fan of his work long before his magnificent work as Richard Alpert on Lost and he was long overdue for a win. He was one of many winners tonight who I am overjoyed emerged victorious.
As was expected The Bear did very well, winning seven technical awards the majority of them either for ‘Fishes’ or ‘Forks’. The former led to the triumph of two veteran actors in two incredible performances. Jon Bernthal, who has been one of the powerhouses of TV since his performance on The Walking Dead finally won his first Emmy for his work as the troubled Michael. And Jamie Lee Curtis continued her remarkable late career renaissance by taking Guest Actress for her work as the Berzatto matriarch and, as she acknowledged in part in her acceptance speech, the source of almost all of the family’s pain.
But it was not entirely The Bear’s night creatively. Only Murders in the Building managed three prizes. The most significant was Original Music and Lyrics which managed an EGOT for Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. And intriguingly the other award Shogun didn’t win was Best Title Music which went to Palm Royale. The other major contenders: Hacks and Abbott Elementary went home empty handed — something I suspect may change by tomorrow.
Most of the late night awards were divided between Saturday Night Live which took five and Last Week Tonight With John Oliver. The latter did win Best Writing for variety series and made clear that, considering the subject matter it was ‘the most depressing show to win for comedy writing since The Bear.” This is the kind of thing you expect from someone who works with John Oliver.
When it comes to Best Limited Series Baby Reindeer like Shogun and The Bear, won Best Casting. That would seem to be a sure bet that Reindeer triumph. However it won only one other award last night. The biggest technical winner among Limited Series was Ripley which won for Sound Editing, Best Visual Effects in a Single Episode and Cinematography. Considering the three wins covering the two best technical episodes in perhaps all of 2024 (Sommerso and Lucio) the Emmys absolutely got it right. Feud also deservedly took a prize for Best Period costumes in a Limited Series and Lessons in Chemistry won for Music Composition. And while I care little for TV movie I can’t say I’m not thrilled that Quiz Lady took the prize, if for no other reason that Sandra Oh finally managed to get an Emmy of some sort.
There was also a lot of recognition of many performers who have gone without it despite many years of working diligently in television. It may have come from unexpected places but that doesn’t make it any less of an award. I was overjoyed to see Angela Bassett win an Emmy for her narration of the National Geographic documentary Queens. She was clearly overwhelmed that she had won one after so many years of being ignored. (And it counts the same as the ones your husband won, Angela; indeed one of Courtney’s triumphs was at the Creative Arts Emmys for Lovecraft Country.)
Similarly I care nothing for Reality TV but I would be lying if I saying if I wasn’t absolute ecstatic that Alan Cumming won for hosting Peacock’s The Traitors. Cumming has bestrode TV like a colossus since he made his official debut as Eli Gold on The Good Wife back in 2010. His going 0 for 4 is far from the Emmys greatest sin in regard to that show but as one of the most iconic forces in performing (Where’s his EGOT?) this is long overdue.
And considering that Jimmy Kimmel has spent so much time being shutout by the Emmys in so many ways I was overjoyed that he managed to take a prize for his work on The Oscars. I grant you he’s won twice before for his work with Norman Lear but the Oscars have been something he has left an imprint on for and has never managed to win for until now. He mentioned in his speech: “I have fewer Emmys than Derek Hough. I’m coming for you.”
It was also good to see David Letterman and John Mulaney take another prize for hosting non-fiction for My Next Guest. In the latter case Mulaney was shafted more than once by the Emmys, being ignored for his variety show and The Bear.
All in all, a good group of winners and nice recognition. I’m always glad to see the creative winners recognized even in ceremonies that aren’t cover because they might not get recognition anywhere else. Tomorrow, the culmination of my Emmy watch 2024.