Netflix has earned Emmys bragging rights for the first time in its history.
The streaming giant on Sunday topped the winners after the statuettes were handed out between the Primetime and Creative Arts ceremonies with a total of 44 thanks, in part, to a complete sweep by The Crown in the drama categories. Netflix, after an eight-year wait, took home wins in two of the top three categories with victories for drama series (The Crown) and limited series (The Queen’s Gambit). Netflix tied and Emmys record for the most wins in a single year with its haul of 44. (CBS last collected 44 back in 1974.)
The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit also tied for the lead as the programs with the most wins (11), followed by NBC’s Saturday Night Live (eight) with Ted Lasso and The Mandalorian tied for third with seven each. Apple TV+ also took home its first series win for breakout comedy Ted Lasso.
As for the battle between Netflix and HBO, the latter — combined with HBO Max — finished a distant second with 19 wins across the Primetime and Creative Arts ceremonies. Disney+ finished third with 14, followed by Apple TV+ with 10.
Netflix entered Sunday’s Primetime telecast having already locked up its win over HBO/HBO Max. Heading into the ceremony, Netflix had a leading 34 wins to HBO/HBO Max’s 10 with 27 categories handed out Sunday. Of those, HBO/HBO Max nominated in 23 of them, making it impossible for the WarnerMedia outlets to come out on top. Netflix also had the most series nominations across drama, comedy and limited — one more than the combined HBO/HBO Max. Netflix had only topped the Emmy nominations total twice as the Ted Sarandos-led platform snapped HBO’s 18-year streak as the most-nominated outlet in 2018 and bested the cabler again last year with an all-time record for total nominations (160).
This was the first time that Netflix has sat alone at the top of the winners’ list, as the former DVD-by-mail outlet has only thus far managed to end the TV Academy’s biggest night in a tie with HBO in 2018 (with 23 apiece). Despite Netflix’s record nominations haul last year, HBO took home the bragging rights again (30 wins vs. 21).
Netflix entered the 73rd Primetime Emmys with 129 total nominations, second only to rival HBO, which, for the first time, combined with HBO Max and earned a grand total of 130 nominations. WarnerMedia submitted the premium cable network paired with its streaming counterpart to the TV Academy, which thus far has not policed how nominations are counted when it comes to platforms under the same corporate parent. Other rivals, like NBCUniversal and Disney, did not submit multiple platforms under one heading. THR research shows HBO collecting 94 vs. HBO Max’s 36.
If the nominations had been tallied the way they had been in the past — separating HBO and HBO Max — Netflix would have easily topped HBO proper to lead the pack for only the third time in its history. In a press release when the nominations were unveiled in July, WarnerMedia took a victory lap and celebrated its Emmys “lead” with 130 nominations, noting it was the 19th time in history that the “HBO brand” had “received the most nominations of any network/platform in a single year.”
The pandemic and last year’s industry-wide production shutdown without a doubt hampered HBO. Last year’s drama series winner, Succession, has been off the air for nearly two years. The third season debuts in October and would have been a front-runner this year had it been able to air within the eligibility period after collecting seven wins last year. Other favorites that missed out on Emmy love this year because of the pandemic included Barry, Insecure, technical favorite Westworld and Euphoria. Most, if not all of those, will be eligible next year along with the new seasons of HBO Max breakouts The Flight Attendant and Hacks. HBO and HBO Max also have full slates of new series including The Gilded Age, the untitled Lakers show and a Julia Child series, among others. (It’s unclear if Game of Thrones offshoot House of the Dragon will arrive in 2022, as had been previously expected.)
Here’s a rundown of wins by platform, including Creatives:
Netflix 44
HBO/HBO Max 19
Disney+ 14
Apple TV+ 10
NBC 8
Vh1 6
ABC 3
FX 3
Adult Swim 2
CNN 2
Fox 2
National Geographic 2
Showtime 2
Apple TV 1
Facebook Watch 1
IFC 1
Oculus 1
Paramount+ 1
Pluto TV 1
Quibi 1
YouTube 1
Here’s a rundown of programs with multiple wins (two or more):
The Crown 11
The Queen’s Gambit 11
Saturday Night Live 8
Ted Lasso 7
The Mandalorian 7
Love, Death + Robots 6
RuPaul’s Drag Race 5
Mare Of Easttown 4
Bo Burnham: Inside 3
David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet 3
Hacks 3
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver 3
Pose 3
WandaVision 3
David Byrne’s American Utopia 2
Dolly Parton’s Christmas On The Square 2
Genndy Tartakovsky’s Primal 2
Hamilton 2
I May Destroy You 2
Life Below Zero 2
Lovecraft Country 2
The Social Dilemma 2
Source: Hollywood
