NBC’s Emmy Awards Sink to Record-Low 10.2 Million Viewers
And that’s rounding up
Tony Maglio | September 18, 2018 @ 10:05 AM
Last Updated: September 18, 2018 @ 10:30 AM
Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images
Final ratings are in for Monday’s Primetime Emmy Awards. The NBC special’s 2.4 rating and 10.172 million total viewers officially makes last night the lowest-rated and least-watched Emmys of all-time.
Last year’s show drew 11.38 million total viewers to CBS, which means the decline from 2017 to 2018 was 10.6 percent. The Stephen Colbert-hosted version received a 2.5 rating in the key adults 18-49 demographic.
Both of those prior-year stats were all-time lows at the time, though the overall audience count technically marked a tie with 2016. They’ve both since been eclipsed (in the wrong direction) now.
For those who prefer to focus only on the 56 biggest media markets in the United States, read the earlier-available overnight ratings for the 70th annual Emmy Awards here.
Find last night’s fast national TV ratings for the other broadcast channels here.
Emmys 2018: 9 Snubs and Surprises (Photos)
The 70th Annual Emmy Awards were held on Monday night, and as is typical, the list of winners ranged from the woefully expected to the pleasantly surprising. Click through for TheWrap's list of biggest surprises and see the full rundown of winners here.
Surprise: Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" came out swinging in the early portion of the show, taking home four awards straight out of the gate, including two acting statuettes for stars Rachel Brosnahan and Alex Bornstein. The dramedy also cleaned up at the end of the night, taking home the comedy series award.
Amazon
Snub: Longtime Donald Glover collaborator Hiro Murai has been a key player in shaping the look and feel of "Atlanta" since its inception, but the director missed out on his first Emmy on Monday, part of a larger shutout of the experimental comedy's second season.
FX
Surprise: "Barry" was the only new comedy to give "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" a run for its money on Monday, with both Henry Winkler and Bill Hader winning in the male acting categories, besting previous winners like Louie Anderson, Alec Baldwin and Donald Glover.
HBO
Snub: Oscar-winner Penelope Cruz was widely expected to win for her portraying Donatella Versace in FX's "American Crime Story," but the Ryan Murphy anthology was beat out in a number of high-profile categories this season, including supporting actress, which was won by "Godless" Merritt Wever.
FX
Surprise: In what was otherwise a noticeably white evening, "Seven Seconds" star Regina King took home a lead actress award, besting "The Tale" star Laura Dern, Jessica Biel of "The Sinner" and "American Horror Story" mainstay Sarah Paulson, among others.
Netflix
Snub: Showtime's "Twin Peaks" revival was divisive in its run, and the drama clearly failed to resonate with Emmy voters. The series missed out on a number of key nominations earlier this year, and series mastermind David Lynch lost in both the writing and directing categories on Monday.
Showtime
Surprise: "The Americans" went criminally unrecognized by the Emmys throughout much of its run, but the FX drama finally got some acknowledgement for its final season, with a writing award for co-showrunners Joel Fields and Joe Weisberg and an acting win for star Matthew Rhys.
FX
Snub: "Killing Eve" star Sandra Oh became the first Asian woman nominated in the lead actress in a drama series category, making history for her role in the BBC America spy-versus-spy thriller from "Fleabag" creator Phoebe Waller-Bridge. However, she lost out to "The Crown's" Claire Foy in her final year of eligibility.
BBC America
Surprise: "RuPaul's Drag Race's" long-overdue recognition from the TV Academy began a few years ago, with multiple hosting wins for its titular host, but the Logo-turned-VH1 competition finally broke through into the main show with an Outstanding Reality Competition Program win for its 10th season.
VH1
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From “Killing Eve” star Sandra Oh’s loss to an “Atlanta” shutout, and some overdue recognition for “The Americans”
The 70th Annual Emmy Awards were held on Monday night, and as is typical, the list of winners ranged from the woefully expected to the pleasantly surprising. Click through for TheWrap's list of biggest surprises and see the full rundown of winners here.
Amazon
