A dysfunctional family saga Continuity won the top award for best drama on Monday at the Emmy Awards, television’s biggest night of the year, as Squid game made history when Lee Jong-jae was named Best Actor, a first for a non-English-speaking performer.
The South Korean social satire about losers and criminals competing for money in twisted versions of school games was also in contention for the top prize, but the Netflix hit beat out HBO’s latest award.
Accepting the award for best drama, Continuity creator Jesse Armstrong noted that it was a big week for succession – a reference to the death of Queen Elizabeth II and her son’s ascension to the British throne.
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“Obviously (there is) a bit more voting involved in our victory than Prince Charles,” he quipped.
Continuitythe Shakespearean drama about a family who betrays each other for control of a media empire led the nominations ahead of Monday’s gala with 25 nominations, winning a total of four awards.
Other big winners on the night were fellow stablemates HBO White Lotuswhich won a total of 10 Emmys, including Outstanding Limited Series and Apple TV+ Comedy Favorite Ted Lassoagain with Best Comedy and Best Actor winner Jason Sudeikis.
Lotusthe stylish satire of wealth and hypocrisy, set at a luxury Hawaiian resort, won two acting awards, as well as awards for directing and writing, among other technical awards.
However, the limited series is limited to award contenders for one season White Lotus slightly violates the rules by being reassigned to the second round.
It bested the competition in the limited series category with shows including four real-life scandals Illnessa hard-hitting look at the opioid crisis in the US and Dropped outwhich resembles the Theranos scam.
Michael Keaton and Amanda Seyfried won acting awards for their breathtaking performances Illness and Dropped out.
But Netflix Squid game came up with its six Emmy Awards – in addition to Lee, the series won for Best Director, Best Drama Guest Actress for Lee Yoo Mi and three other technical nominations.
These wins cement his place in the so-called Korean wave of popular entertainment, with superstar boy band BTS topping the charts and A parasite winning the main Oscar in recent years.
The high-glamour gala marked a return to business as usual in Hollywood as the long awards season kicked off with a bang for the first time in the tougher Covid-19 era.
The show at the downtown Los Angeles theater also marked the first major Hollywood awards ceremony since this year’s Oscars extravaganza, when Will Smith stunned the world by slamming Chris Rock for a joke about his wife.
SEE ALSO: Will Smith banned from Oscar ceremonies for 10 years
Here’s a list of winners in key categories at the 74th Emmy Awards, which took place in Los Angeles on Monday:
- Outstanding Drama Series: Continuity
- Outstanding Comedy Series: Ted Lasso
- Actor, Drama: Lee Jung Jae, The Squid Game
- Main actress, drama: Zendaya, Euphoria
- Lead actor, comedy: Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
- Leading actress, comedy: Jean Smart, Haki
- Supporting Actor, Drama: Matthew Macfadyen, The Succession.
- Supporting Actress, Drama: Julia Garner, Ozark
- Supporting Actor, Comedy: Brett Goldstein, Ted Lasso
- Supporting Actress, Comedy: Sheryl Lee Ralph, Abbott Elementary
- Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series: White Lotus
- Lead Actor, Limited Series or Movie: Michael Keaton, Dopesick
- Lead Actress, Limited Series or Movie: Amanda Seyfried, “Elimination.”
- Supporting Actor, Limited Series: Murray Bartlett, The White Lotus.
- Supporting Actress, Limited Series: Jennifer Coolidge, The White Lotus.
