The streaming revolution took another step forward on Monday night at the Primetime Emmys, with Amazon — powered by the success of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” — and Netflix highlighting Hollywood’s increasing dependence on new media.
In total, the big three streaming services — Amazon, Hulu, and Netflix — took home nearly half of the night’s awards, grabbing 12 of the 26 trophies handed out. That tripled last year’s total of four wins for the three companies. (It’s worth mentioning there were nine more trophies handed out at this year’s broadcast.)
“Mrs. Maisel” was the star of the show — much like “The Handmaid’s Tale” was last year for Hulu — netting five Emmys for Amazon, including for Outstanding Comedy Series. Rachel Brosnahan, playing aspiring late-1950s stand-up comic Midge Maisel, won for lead actress in a comedy, while Alex Bornstein won for her supporting role as Maisel’s brash manager. “The Looming Tower,” Amazon’s take on Lawrence Wright’s book on 9/11, was nominated three times, but didn’t earn a victory.
Not to be outdone, Netflix pulled in seven Emmys for the night. The Western drama “Godless” netted both Jeff Daniels and Merritt Wever trophies for their supporting roles, while “The Crown” contributed two awards as well.
Netflix’s big bet on stand-up comedy paid off, too, with John Mulaney’s “Kid Gorgeous at Radio City” winning for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Special.
The night wasn’t as sweet for Hulu, though. One year after being the belle of the ball, Hulu was shut out and its trademark show “The Handmaid’s Tale” lost its bid for back-to-back Outstanding Drama Series victories to HBO’s “Game of Thrones.”
The writing was on the wall heading into this weekend’s awards. Altogether, the big three streaming service earned 161 total nominations — a 31 percent jump from last year. Netflix led the way, with its 112 nominations toppling HBO’s 17-year run as the most nominated network. (HBO, for its part, still pulled in 108 noms and has transitioned about as well as any legacy media company to the streaming world.)
Once Monday wrapped up, Netflix had tied HBO, taking home 23 Emmys this year.
While the streaming services are often coy when it comes to viewership, it’s not hard to see their trajectory in comparison to traditional TV. Netflix passed 130 million subscribers last quarter, Amazon chief Jeff Bezos revealed earlier this year it has 100 million Prime customers, and Hulu boasts about 20 million paying customers.
Their shows are now the mainstream. And with more tech money entering the content battle, expecting YouTube or Apple to crash the party in the years ahead isn’t a stretch.
For a look at all of Monday’s winners, click 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.