Emmys 2021: Netflix tops HBO with 44 wins

Powered by multiple wins for “The Crown” and “The Queen’s Gambit,” streaming giant Netflix reclaimed the top spot among all TV platforms on the 73^rd Emmy Awards presented Sunday.

The Las Gatos-based company swamped the competition with a total of 44 trophies.

The fourth season of its royal family drama “The Crown” won 11 awards, including best drama series. “The Queen’s Gambit,” starring Anya Taylor-Joy as a young chessmaster with addiction issues in the 1960s, also won 11 awards, including best limited or anthology series.

The wins pushed Netflix well ahead of second-place HBO, which finished with 19 trophies, down from its platform-leading total of 30 in 2020.

The tally for the WarnerMedia-owned premium cable network included programs launched on its streaming service HBO Max. The HBO Max hit “Hacks” — about a baby boomer Vegas hotel comic who hires a millennial writer — earned wins for comedy writing and directing, while its star Jean Smart walked off with a trophy for best actress in a comedy series.

Jean Smart accepts the award for lead actress in a comedy series for “Hacks” at the 73rd Emmy Awards.

(AP)

The top awards were presented in a ceremony held at the Event Deck at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles and telecast on CBS. The Creative Arts Emmy Awards winners included in the totals were presented on Sept. 12.

Newer entrants to the streaming landscape made gains as well, as Apple TV+, the subscription service operated by Cupertino-based tech behemoth Apple, saw its win total rise to 10, up from a single win in 2020, thanks to its breakout comedy hit “Ted Lasso.” The feel-good show about a relentlessly optimistic American college football coach taking over a British soccer league team won seven awards after capturing 20 nominations.

Overall, online video platforms accounted for more than half of the awards presented this year, further solidifying their status as the leading edge of creativity based on the voting by Television Academy members.

The Emmy Awards have helped build the stature of Netflix and others, as they have effectively used the honors as a marketing tool to gain awareness and ultimately subscribers.

“Ted Lasso” was recognized as best comedy series, while Jason Sudeikis earned wins as best actor in a comedy series and Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein took the supporting actor categories.

Hannah Waddingham accepts the award for best supporting actress in a comedy series for “Ted Lasso” at the 73rd Emmy Awards.

(AP)

Disney + also saw its win total rise to 14, up from eight in 2020. The Walt Disney Co. unit got a boost from its “Star Wars” franchise series “The Mandalorian” scoring a total of seven trophies and the Marvel Universe show “WandaVision” capturing another three.

Missing from the brigade of streaming winners were Amazon’s Prime Video and Disney’s Hulu, both of which were shut out.

Broadcast and cable networks, which have seen streaming competitors siphon off viewers of scripted programs in recent years, were once again an afterthought at the Emmy Awards.

NBC led the networks with eight trophies, all for its perennial multi-Emmy winner “Saturday Night Live.” The sketch variety show has won 81 Emmys over its 46-year run, the most of any program in history.

ABC had three wins, followed by Fox, which had two. CBS was shut out.

VH1, the ViacomCBS owned channel, had the most wins of any ad-supported cable network with five wins, all for “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” which earned its fourth consecutive win for reality competition show.