The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2018, until May 31, 2019, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on September 22, 2019, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California, and was broadcast in the United States by Fox; it was preceded by the 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 14 and 15.[3] The show did not have a host for the fourth time in its history, following the telecasts in 2003 (when the ceremony also aired on Fox), 1998 (on NBC), and 1975 (on CBS).[4]

71st Primetime Emmy Awards
A poster depicting an Emmy statuette in front of orange and purple lights
Promotional poster
Date
Location
Presented byAcademy of Television Arts & Sciences
Highlights
Most awards
Most nominations
  • Major: Game of Thrones (14)
  • All: Game of Thrones (32)
Comedy SeriesFleabag
Drama SeriesGame of Thrones
Limited SeriesChernobyl
Television/radio coverage
NetworkFox
Runtime3 hours[1]
Viewership6.9 million[2]
Produced by
Directed byHamish Hamilton
← 70th · Primetime Emmy Awards · 72nd →

At the main ceremony, Fleabag led all programs with four wins and won the award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Game of Thrones won two awards, including its record-tying fourth win for Outstanding Drama Series. Chernobyl received the award for Outstanding Limited Series among its three wins. Other overall program awards went to Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, RuPaul's Drag Race, and Saturday Night Live, while The Act, Barry, Fosse/Verdon, Killing Eve, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Ozark, Pose, Succession, A Very English Scandal, and When They See Us each received at least one award. Including Creative Arts Emmys, Game of Thrones won 12 awards from 32 nominations – tying and breaking the single-season records, respectively – and helped HBO to 34 total wins, the most of any network. Watched by 6.9 million viewers in the United States, it was the lowest-rated Emmy broadcast in history, amounting to a 32% drop from the 2018 ceremony.[2]

Winners and nominees

 
Bill Hader, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series winner
 
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series winner
 
Billy Porter, Outstanding Lead Actor in Drama Series winner
 
Jodie Comer, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series winner
 
Jharrel Jerome, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie winner
 
Michelle Williams, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie winner
 
Tony Shalhoub, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series winner
 
Alex Borstein, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series winner
 
Peter Dinklage, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series winner
 
Julia Garner, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series winner
 
Ben Whishaw, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie winner
 
Patricia Arquette, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie winner

The nominations were announced by D'Arcy Carden and Ken Jeong alongside Academy chairman and CEO Frank Scherma on July 16, 2019.[5] Including its nominations at the 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Game of Thrones established a new record for the most Emmy nominations received in a single year by any comedy or drama series with 32 nominations, breaking the record of 26 nominations set by NYPD Blue in 1994.[6][7] Game of Thrones also extended its own record for most total nominations for a scripted series, ending with 161 nods across its eight-season run,[8] and it finished tied for the second-most nominations for Outstanding Drama Series, its eight nominations trailing only Law & Order's 11.[9] HBO returned to its status as the most-nominated network after being surpassed the previous year by Netflix, earning a record-setting 137 nominations to beat its own record from 2015.[10] Pop TV received its first ever Emmy nominations, earning four nominations with Schitt's Creek.[11]

The main ceremony was held on September 22. Fleabag led all shows with four wins, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge winning three of those for producing, writing, and acting on the show. Fleabag's win for Outstanding Comedy Series gave Prime Video its second straight win in the category.[12] The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel also performed well for Prime Video, tying its record of eight wins from the previous year between the main and Creative Arts ceremonies.[13] British television shows such as Fleabag and Chernobyl had strong showings; according to Deadline Hollywood, 13 of 27 awards went to shows produced or co-produced by British individuals.[14][15]

Game of Thrones broke or tied several records with its wins. Its fourth win for Outstanding Drama Series tied it with Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, The West Wing, and Mad Men for most wins in the category.[16] When including its Creative Arts wins, the show tied its own record for most Emmys won by a series in a single season with 12 awards, a feat it previously achieved in 2015 and 2016.[17][18] It ended its run with 59 total Emmys, extending its record for most wins for a scripted series.[19] Cast member Peter Dinklage established a new record for most wins for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series with his fourth win and eighth nomination for the series.[20][21]

For his role on Pose, Billy Porter made history as the first openly gay man to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.[22] Jharrel Jerome became the first Afro-Latino to receive an Emmy for acting, winning Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for playing Korey Wise on When They See Us; he also became the youngest actor to win the category, at 21 years old.[23][24] In the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series category, Jodie Comer became the youngest winner at 26 years old for her performance on Killing Eve.[25]

Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡).[26][27][a] For simplicity, producers who received nominations for program awards, as well as nominated writers for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, have been omitted.

Programs

Programs

Acting

Lead performances

Lead performances

Supporting performances

Supporting performances

Directing

Directing

Writing

Writing

Nominations and wins by program

For the purposes of the lists below, "major" constitutes the categories listed above (program, acting, directing, and writing), while "total" includes the categories presented at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

Nominations and wins by network

Networks with multiple major nominations
Nominations Network
47 HBO
30 Netflix
18 Prime Video
15 NBC
10 Showtime
9 FX
6 BBC America
CBS
Hulu
5 AMC
3 ABC
Comedy Central
IFC
Pop TV
2 TBS
Networks with five or more total nominations[29]
Nominations Network
137 HBO
118 Netflix
58 NBC
47 Prime Video
43 CBS
32 FX
26 ABC
20 Hulu
18 Fox
Showtime
17 CNN
15 National Geographic
14 VH1
9 AMC
BBC America
8 Comedy Central
5 A&E
TBS
Networks with multiple major wins
Wins Network
9 HBO
7 Prime Video
4 Netflix
2 FX
NBC
Networks with multiple total wins[27]
Wins Network
34 HBO
27 Netflix
15 Prime Video
8 National Geographic
7 NBC
5 CNN
FX
4 CBS
Fox
Hulu
VH1
YouTube
3 Sundance TV
2 The CW

Presenters

The awards were presented by the following people:[30][31]

Name(s) Role
Bob Newhart
Ben Stiller
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Catherine O'Hara
Amy Poehler
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Nick Cannon
Ken Jeong
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
Lilly Singh Introducer of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series winner Luke Kirby
and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series winner Jane Lynch
Luke Kirby
Jane Lynch
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
Ike Barinholtz
Maya Rudolph
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Stephen Colbert
Jimmy Kimmel
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Kendall Jenner
Kim Kardashian West
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Competition Program
Tim Allen Introducer of the accountants from Ernst & Young
Seth Meyers Presenter of a special tribute to Game of Thrones
Alfie Allen
Gwendoline Christie
Emilia Clarke
Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Peter Dinklage
Kit Harington
Lena Headey
Sophie Turner
Carice van Houten
Maisie Williams
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
RuPaul
Zendaya
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
Bill Hader
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Jimmy Smits
Bradley Whitford
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special
Angela Bassett
Peter Krause
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
James Corden Presenter of the award for Outstanding Television Movie
Hugh Laurie Presenter of a special tribute to Veep
Anna Chlumsky
Gary Cole
Kevin Dunn
Clea DuVall
Tony Hale
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
Sam Richardson
Reid Scott
Timothy Simons
Sarah Sutherland
Matt Walsh
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Jon Hamm
Naomi Watts
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Limited Series
Lin-Manuel Miranda Presenter of the award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series
Anthony Anderson
Randall Park
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series
Cedric the Entertainer
Max Greenfield
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series
Billy Porter Presenter of the award for Outstanding Variety Talk Series
Taraji P. Henson
Terrence Howard
Presenters of a special presentation paying tribute to series ending in the 2018–19 TV season
Viola Davis Presenter of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Jharrel Jerome Introducer of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series winner Cherry Jones
Cherry Jones Presenter of the award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series
Kristen Bell
Don Cheadle
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Regina King Presenter of the In Memoriam tribute
Kerry Washington Presenter of the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Timothy Hutton
Brittany Snow
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series
Gwyneth Paltrow Presenter of the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Norman Lear
Marisa Tomei
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Comedy Series
Michael Douglas Presenter of the award for Outstanding Drama Series

Performers

Name(s) Performed
Adam DeVine "Variety"
Halsey "Time After Time"

Ceremony information

 
Thomas Lennon served as announcer for the "host-less" ceremony[32]

The ceremony took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles with no host; comedian and actor Thomas Lennon served as an announcer for the ceremony, injecting with jokes and commentary as winners approached the stage to receive their Emmy.[33] Televised by Fox, the ceremony began with a ruse where Homer Simpson appeared in an augmented-reality stage to host the event, before an animated piano dropped from the ceiling to land on The Simpsons' character. With the event now "host-less", Anthony Anderson rushed on stage in a skit where he insisted that "We're going to go without a host tonight!"[32] and pushed the first presenter Bryan Cranston to the stage to welcome the audience[34] and introduce a montage of video clips. The ceremony continued in such fashion with only Lennon and montages and clips filling the time between presenters.[32]

Several winners made notable "statement speeches" while accepting their awards. After winning the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Alex Borstein said:[34]

My grandmother was in line to be shot into a pit... she turned to a guard and she said "What happens if I step out of line?" and he said "I don't have the heart to shoot you but somebody will". And she stepped out of line, and for that I am here and for that my children are here, so step out of line ladies, step out of line.

The winner for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie, Patricia Arquette (The Act), in her acceptance speech said "I'm grateful at 50 to be getting the best parts of my life" and paid tribute to her sister, Alexis Arquette, who had died in 2016.[34] Michelle Williams, after winning the award for outstanding lead actress in a limited series or movie for Fosse/Verdon, made references to the gender and racial wage gaps in the film industry, as well as the Time's Up movement:[34][35]

The next time a woman, and especially a woman of color—because she stands to make 52 cents on the dollar compared to her white, male counterpart—tells you what she needs to do her job, listen to her, believe her, because one day she might stand in front of you and say thank you for allowing her to succeed because of her workplace environment and not in spite of it.

In the In Memoriam presentation, a photograph of conductor Leonard Slatkin, who is alive and working in Ireland, was mistakenly used and captioned as André Previn, who died in February 2019.[36][37][38]

Category and rule changes

On April 9, 2019, it was announced that American Horror Story: Apocalypse, the eighth season of the horror anthology series American Horror Story, and the second season of The Sinner would be ineligible for the Limited Series categories unlike their previous seasons, and instead be moved to Drama due to "continuing story threads, characters and actors reprising those same character roles from previous seasons", therefore making the series less fit for an anthology format. For similar reasons, the second season of American Vandal was moved from Limited Series to Comedy. None of the shows were nominated.[39][40][41]

Critical reviews and viewership

The telecast was watched by 6.9 million viewers in the United States, making it the lowest-rated Emmy broadcast in history, amounting to a 32% drop from the 2018 ceremony.[2]

In Memoriam

Halsey sang "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper and Rob Hyman. The following people were included in the In Memoriam presentation:[42]

Notes

  1. ^ The outlets listed for each program are the U.S. broadcasters or streaming services identified in the nominations, which for some international productions are different from the broadcaster(s) that originally commissioned the program.

References

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  3. ^ Turchiano, Danielle (November 26, 2018). "71st Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Date Announced". Variety. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
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  5. ^ Hipes, Patrick (July 16, 2019). "How to Watch the 2019 Primetime Emmy Nominations". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
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  7. ^ Lowry, Brian (September 17, 2019). "'Game of Thrones' looks poised to torch more Emmy records". CNN. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  8. ^ Maas, Jennifer (July 16, 2019). "'Game of Thrones' Beats Own All-Time Record for Most Emmy Noms by a Scripted Series". TheWrap. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  9. ^ Pond, Steve (July 16, 2019). "15 Emmy Records That Were Broken by the 2019 Nominations, From 'Game of Thrones' to Ted Danson". TheWrap. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  10. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (July 16, 2019). "Emmys: HBO Sets Single Season Noms Record, Trounces Netflix". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
  11. ^ Porter, Rick (July 16, 2019). "Pop TV President Celebrates 'Schitt's Creek' Emmy Breakthrough: "Holy S***!"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
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  20. ^ Swift, Andy (September 22, 2019). "Peter Dinklage Sets Emmys Record With 4th Supporting Drama Actor Win". TVLine. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
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  22. ^ "Billy Porter makes Emmys history as first openly gay man to win best actor in a drama". KABC. September 22, 2019. Retrieved March 22, 2022.
  23. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (September 22, 2019). "'When They See Us' Jharrel Jerome Becomes Youngest Winner in a Limited Series Acting Category, First Afro-Latino". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
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  25. ^ France, Lisa Respers (September 21, 2020). "Emmys made history with Black actor wins". CNN. Retrieved May 12, 2022.
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  27. ^ a b c "Complete Listing of 71st Emmy Awards Winners" (PDF). Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 22, 2019. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
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  30. ^ "Presenters Announced for 71st Emmy Awards" (Press release). Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 11, 2019. Retrieved September 11, 2019.
  31. ^ "More Presenters for 71st Emmys Announced" (Press release). Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. September 18, 2019. Retrieved September 18, 2019.
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  34. ^ a b c d McIntosh, Steven (September 23, 2019). "6 highlights from the Emmys ceremony". BBC News. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  35. ^ Kiefer, Halle (September 23, 2019). "Michelle Williams Tells Industry to Treat Actresses of Color Like Michelle Williams in Emmys Speech". Vulture. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
  36. ^ Jacobs, Julia (September 23, 2019). "The Emmys Mourned André Previn With a Photo of Leonard Slatkin". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  37. ^ Darmon, Aynslee (September 24, 2019). "Jimmy Kimmel Interviews Composer Accidentally Featured In The Emmys' In Memoriam Tribute". ET Canada. Archived from the original on September 25, 2019. Retrieved September 25, 2019.
  38. ^ Hines, Morgan (September 23, 2019). "Emmys: TV Academy apologizes for In Memoriam Andre Previn photo mix-up". USA Today. Retrieved September 24, 2019.
  39. ^ Ausiello, Michael (April 9, 2019). "Emmy Shake-Up: American Horror Story Booted From 2019 Limited Series Race". TVLine. Archived from the original on June 26, 2020. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
  40. ^ Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (April 9, 2019). "Emmys: 'American Horror Story', 'The Sinner' & 'American Vandal' Out Of Limited Series Category". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved April 10, 2019.
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