At a moment when one of the most pervasive topics of discussion in the entertainment industry is the dearth of production in Los Angeles, it was gratifying that the biggest winner on the first night of the 77th Creative Arts Emmy Awards, the Apple TV+ comedy The Studio, is not only set in L.A. but was shot throughout the city — and proudly so.
The Saturday Creative Arts show spotlighted crafts and technical achievement in scripted programming and included several performance categories. The Sunday ceremony will focus primarily on reality, unscripted and documentary programming.
A very funny, often frantic look at the movie business, The Studio, starring Seth Rogen (who cocreated it with longtime partner Evan Goldberg) won nine awards. Close behind with eight Emmys was the HBO/Max limited series The Penguin, followed by another Apple TV+ series, the psychological drama Severance, with six.
The three programs were also the top three in Emmy nominations this year. Severance led the way with 27 noms, The Penguin scored 24 and The Studio tied for third with the HBO/Max anthology The White Lotus with 23.
The Studio captured the awards for guest actor in a comedy series (which went to Bryan Cranston, marking the seventh Emmy of his career); contemporary costumes for a series; production design for a narrative program (half-hour); casting for a comedy series; picture editing for a single camera comedy series; sound editing for a comedy or drama series (half-hour); sound mixing for a comedy or drama series (half-hour) and animation; music supervision; and cinematography for a series (half-hour).
Its namesake may be a flightless bird, but The Penguin — a spinoff of the 2022 film The Batman, starring Colin Farrell as Gotham City mobster Oswald "Oz" Cobb — soared on Saturday, grabbing the awards for contemporary makeup (non-prosthetic); prosthetic makeup; contemporary costumes for a limited or anthology series or movie; contemporary hairstyling; special visual effects in a single episode; sound editing for a limited or anthology series, movie or special; sound mixing for a limited or anthology series or movie; and music composition for a limited or anthology series, movie or special (original dramatic score).
Severance, an unsettling thriller about corporate employees who undergo a surgical procedure to separate their work memories from their personal lives, prevailed in the categories of guest actress in a drama series (won by Merritt Wever, her third career Emmy); production design for a narrative contemporary program (one hour or more); title design; sound mixing for a comedy or drama series (one hour); music composition for a series (original dramatic score); cinematography for a series (one hour)
Three programs tied with four Emmys each:
Andor, a thought-provoking political drama set in the Star Wars universe, which streams on Disney+, grabbed honors for fantasy/sci-fi costumes; production design for a narrative period or fantasy program (one hour or more); picture editing for a drama series; and special visual effects in a season or a movie.
Arcane, an animated adventure saga from Riot Games' League of Legends universe, streaming on Netflix, took awards for animated program; sound editing for an animated program; and two juried awards for individual achievement in animation, which went to background designer Bruno Coutinho and colorscript & color keys artist Faustine Dumontier.
Another Netflix title, Love, Death + Robots, an edgy animated anthology created by filmmaker and visual artist Tim Miller, won four juried awards for individual achievement in animation, which went to 2D animation supervisor Daryl Graham, character designer Robert Valley, art director Gigi Cavenago and storyboard artist Edgar Martins.
A partial list of additional awards:
• Guest actress in a comedy series — Julianne Nicholson, Hacks, HBO/Max
• Guest actor in a drama series — Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt, HBO/Max
• Television movie — Rebel Ridge, Netflix
• Performer in a short form comedy or drama series — Desi Lydic, The Daily Show: Desi Lydic Foxsplains, Comedy Central
• Character voice-over performance — Julie Andrews, Bridgerton, Netflix
• Casting for a drama series — The Pitt, HBO/Max
• Casting for a limited or anthology series or movie — Adolescence, Netflix
• Choreography for scripted programming — Marguerite Derricks, Étoile, Prime Video
• Original music and lyrics — Christopher Lennertz, “Let's Put the Christ Back in Christmas,” The Boys, Prime Video
• Original main title theme music — Cristobal Tapia De Veer, The White Lotus, HBO/Max
• Motion design — Octopus!, Prime Video
• Stunt coordination for comedy programming — Cory Demeyers, The Righteous Gemstones
• Stunt coordination for drama programming — John Koyama, The Boys, Prime Video
• Stunt performance — Alec Back, River Godland, Jennifer Murray, Moses Nyarko, The Boys, Prime Video
Bob Bain was executive producer of the Creative Arts Emmys for the 11th time. The Television Academy's Creative Arts Emmy Awards Committee is led by cochairs Yvette Cobarrubias and Lee Hollin, and vice chair Vito Trotta.
FXX will broadcast edited highlights from the Saturday and Sunday Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday, September 13, at 8:00 PM ET/PT. It will be available for streaming on Hulu the following day.
The 77th Emmys telecast will air live at 5:00 pm PT / 8:00 pm ET, on Sunday, September 14, on CBS and Paramount+.
A complete list of winners is available here.
