Black actors bag most Emmys
Claire Foy, Courtney B Vance, Maya Rudolph and Dave Chappelle won guest actor Emmys at the recently held creative arts awards ceremony. On the 'Drama Series' side, Foy was honoured for 'The Crown' and her reprisal of Queen Elizabeth II, the role that won her a 'Lead Actress' Emmy in 2018. Vance won for his part in 'Lovecraft Country', which was canceled after one season.
Foy's award is not sitting well with a few as this season had Olivia Colman essaying the queen. Foy appeared only in a flashback scene in the eighth episode for about 1.49 minutes. Her voiceover went on for a total of 4.36 minutes.
Rudolph and Chappelle earned 'Comedy Series' guest acting trophies as hosts of 'Saturday Night Live'. For Rudolph, it was a repeat of her victory in the category last year and for 'SNL'.
In the 'Short-Form Comedy or Drama Series', the winners were J B Smoove for 'Mapleworth Murders' and Keke Palmer for 'Turnt Up with the Taylors'.
All the awards, except for that earned by Foy, went to Black actors. While that appeared to signal a trend toward diversity for this year's Emmys, the guest actor awards have proved more inclusive than the top acting honours in recent years.
The creative arts awards were presented in non-televised weekend ceremonies that will be part of a special Saturday on 'FXX'. The awards are precursors to the main Emmy ceremony airing September 19, on 'CBS', with Cedric the Entertainer as host.
Emmanuel Acho, the executive producer of 'Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man', which won for 'Short-Form Nonfiction or Reality Series', wore a suit that bore those names of Black men and women killed at the hands of police.
'The Queen's Gambit', a coming-of-age tale set in the world of championship chess, emerged with a leading
nine creative arts awards, including for 'Best Casting', 'Cinematography and Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series'.
'The Mandalorian', a live-action series set in the 'Star Wars' universe, was in second place (tied with 'SNL') with seven awards. It is vying for 'Best Drama Series' honours next weekend, while 'The Queen's Gambit' is a 'Best Limited Series' contender.
Streaming services dominated the awards tallies so far, with 'Netflix' on top with 34 honours, followed by 'Disney+' with 13 and 'HBO Max' combined with cable channel 'HBO' at 10.
Other weekend winners included Dolly Parton's 'Christmas on the Square' as 'Best TV Movie'; Lateef Crowder for 'Best Stunt Performance' and Ryan Watson, stunt coordinator, both for 'The Mandalorian' and the James Corden-produced 'Carpool Karaoke: The Series' for 'Best Short-Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series'.
