'Mrs. Maisel' off to marvelous start at Emmy Awards
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Comedy “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” dominated the early awards at the Emmys on Monday, picking up four trophies for the Amazon (AMZN.O) television show about a 1950s housewife who turns to stand-up comedy.
Rachel Brosnahan was named best comedy actress, while Alex Bornstein, who plays her determined manager, won for her supporting role.
“Mrs. Maisel” also won the Emmys for comedy series writing and directing, positioning the exuberant show, which is also a front runner for best comedy series, for a triumphant night.
“Saturday Night Live” comedians Michael Che and Colin Jost got the ceremony for television’s highest awards off to a satirical start with jokes about diversity on screen, sexual misconduct in the entertainment industry and the dominance of streaming services like Amazon and Netflix (NFLX.O) over traditional networks.
Netflix this year notched up a leading 112 Emmy nominations, ahead of HBO (T.N) and NBC (CMCSA.O).
“I think we can keep TV going for another 5-6 years tops,” Jost quipped.
“We solved it!” sang a line-up of celebrities, giving themselves a tongue-in-cheek pat on the back for this year’s most diverse array of Emmy nominees in the 70-year history of the awards.
In a shock result, presumed front-runner Donald Glover, the star and creator of the surreal hip-hop-inspired FX (FOXA.O) show “Atlanta,” lost out in the comedy acting category to Bill Hader’s hitman-turned-struggling actor in HBO’s (T.N) showbusiness satire “Barry.”
“Barry” also brought honors for veteran Henry Winkler, winning his first-ever Emmy for his supporting role as a self-important acting teacher.
“I wrote this (speech) 43 years ago,” said the former “Happy Days” actor, who had been nominated six times previously. “If you stay at the table long enough the chips come to you.”
HBO’s crowd-pleasing medieval series “Game of Thrones” went into Monday’s ceremony with a leading 22 nominations, but awards pundits said it faced a strong challenge from streaming service Hulu’s bleak “The Handmaid’s Tale” for the best-drama series Emmy.
“Handmaid’s Tale” star Elisabeth Moss could also be a repeat Emmy winner.
Yet the drama actress field is particularly strong with contenders Claire Foy as the quietly formidable Queen Elizabeth in Netflix royal series “The Crown,” Keri Russell in her final turn as a ruthless Russian spy living as an ordinary American housewife in FX’s “The Americans,” and Sandra Oh, who could become the first woman of Asian descent to win a best actress drama series Emmy, in BBC America’s “Killing Eve.”
Additional reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis and Jill Serjeant; Writing by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Leslie Adler
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