The 75th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards premiered to a record-low viewership of 4.5 million. This may be partly due to trailing the NFL playoff between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Philadelphia Eagles and coverage of the Republican Iowa Caucus.
Despite a concerted effort to celebrate historic television shows, a Governors Award given to GLAAD, and Anthony Anderson being a better host than the Golden Globes’ Jo Koy, the show did not do much to surprise viewers tuning in.
Why did the telecast receive such low viewership? There are a couple of potential reasons. The Emmys were delayed significantly due to the actor’s strike, meaning the awards were not focused on “current” shows. The Golden Globes aired only a week before and the Critic’s Choice Awards were just a day earlier. Both of these award shows featured the same groups winning. On top of this, there is a larger trend of award shows across the board receiving declining viewership.
Photo by Frazer Harrison)
The Spoils Of Awards
The biggest winner of the night was HBO who lead the charge with the most nominations for any service. Their shows “Succession,” “The White Lotus,” “The Last of Us” and “Barry” combined for a total of 127 nominations.
The Succession cast swept the acting categories with Mathew Macfadyen, Sarah Snook and Kieran Culkin each winning for acting. “Beef” also garnered acting wins with Steven Yeun and Ali Wong winning for acting in a limited series.
It was great watching HBO’s Succession with six wins, Hulu’s “The Bear” with 10 wins, and Netflix’s “Beef” with eight wins, get their well-deserved recognition. Still, at a certain point, the awards felt like they reached a stalemate with only the same winners being announced, especially considering the show occurred so soon after the same shows had just won other awards.
Show highlights included singer Elton John officially becoming an EGOT winner, a very special “Weekend Update” segment from comedians Amy Poehler and Tina Fey and first-time wins for Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri.
In a nice twist of fate, on a day celebrating the life and contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Emmys enjoyed its most diverse winners list in years. Five of the 12 acting wins went to performers of color.
Niecy Nash-Betts, on her win for best supporting actress in a limited series, gave a rousing speech where she took the time to thank herself. Nash-Betts said, “I accept this award on behalf of every Black and brown woman who has gone unheard yet overpoliced, like Glenda Cleveland, like Sandra Bland, like Breonna Taylor.”
The Usual Snubs
By far the biggest snub of the night was “Better Call Saul.” The show has now become the most snubbed television show in Emmys history with 53 nominations and not a single win. This was Bob Odenkirk and Rhea Seehorn’s last chance to win with Odenkirk looking visibly upset when he lost for the seemingly last time. The 61-year-old gave everything, even surviving a heart attack, to his performance as a man who gives into his worst impulses after being beaten down by the world.
It seems unfathomable that a prestige show from AMC would lose so harshly when its predecessors “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men” used to be such critical awards darlings. Perhaps AMC didn’t run a good enough awards campaign. Maybe “Saul” was a little too slow in its approach. Or, maybe, awards voters decided to vote in packs. Either way, this loss will remain a stain on the Emmys record.
Similarly, Apple TV+ show “Ted Lasso” did not win anything during the telecast. The show won’t win anymore since it also ended. However, it may rest on its laurels because the football-focused comedy has won in the past.
Another snub has been Paddy Considine as King Viserys Targaryen in “House of the Dragon.” The only televised nomination for the show was a cursory Outstanding Drama Series nod. However, the show did receive a handful of craft nominations. Considine stole the hearts of audiences as the naive but well-meaning king. While the fantasy epic is only in its infancy, and will undoubtedly score wins in the future, the 50-year-old British actor will not as this character.
Author of “Dragon” source material “Fire & Blood” George R.R. Martin wrote in his blog, befittingly named “Not A Blog,” “My gods, his portrayal was magnificent. He earned a shelf of trophies for episode eight alone. We are living in a Golden Age of television, though. So much great work is being done on so many shows, it is hard to keep up. Keep watching. The best is yet to come.”
Indeed, the best is yet to come, even with giants like “Succession” and “Barry” taking a bow. Perhaps other shows may yet step out of their shadows.
