Emmys 2021: "The Crown" and "Ted Lasso" win big, Michaela Coel makes history
Streaming platforms won big at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday. "If you liked 'The Crown,' and you liked 'Ted Lasso,' you were very happy," said "Entertainment Tonight" co-host Nischelle Turner.
"And that's big for Apple and Netflix," co-host Kevin Frazier added.
Netflix's "The Queen's Gambit" also took home top awards.
The night's history-making moments included RuPaul winning his 11th Emmy for "RuPaul's Drag Race," becoming the most awarded Black actor ever. Michaela Coel then became the first Black woman to win the Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series award for "I May Destroy You."
"We see her bare her heart and soul in everything that she does on screen. And I think that's why we're all so touched by her talent," Turner said. Viewers and critics praised Coel's acceptance speech, where she spoke directly to writers, encouraging them to "write the tale that scares you."
"She ended, of course, giving a nod to sexual assault survivors out there and saying that she sees them and she's with them," Turner said, referencing the trauma portrayed in "I May Destroy You." "So it was really a special moment for her, and I'm so glad that the industry is starting to really understand who she is and what she's given us, because I think that she's a once-in-a-generation type of talent."
Despite some of the history-making moments, there was a lack of diversity among the winners, sparking the #EmmysSoWhite hashtag on social media.
"It's tough, because art is subjective in a lot of ways, but I think that we've seen what people consider a pattern in a lot of the awards show. So there is always concern there," Turner said. "Especially coming off of last year, when there were four people of color that won in the acting categories — to go from four to zero."
Frazier agreed, noting that "It's one of the things I talked to with Tracee Ellis Ross about is that 'Blackish' has been nominated more than 20 times, and they have one win — for hair."