‘Ted Lasso’, ‘The Crown’ clinch top awards at 2021 Emmys

TV comedy Ted Lasso and the drama The Crown took multiple Emmy Awards on Sunday for the heart-warming tale of a struggling English soccer team and the lavish saga about the British royal family.

Jason Sudeikis, the star and co-creator of Ted Lasso, was named best comedy actor and the show also won statuettes for Britons Hannah Waddingham and Brett Goldstein for their supporting roles as the club owner and ageing star player.

“This show is about family. This show is about mentors and teachers and about teammates. I wouldn’t be here without those three things in my life,” Sudeikis said when accepting the award.

However, it wasn’t all plain sailing. Ted Lasso lost the comedy writing and directing awards to Hacks, about a fading stand-up female comedian played by Jean Smart, who received a standing ovation when she was named best comedy actress.

The early wins poised Ted Lasso to take one of the top prizes — best comedy series — at the end of the ceremony after winning over audiences with its optimism and folksy humour during the dark days of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Crown also looked set for its first best drama series Emmy after a season that focused on the unhappy marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. The Crown brought wins for supporting actors Gillian Anderson (as former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher) and Tobias Menzies (the late Prince Philip), as well as for writing and directing.

“We’re all thrilled. I am very proud. I’m very grateful. We’re going to party,” Peter Morgan, creator of The Crown, said at a gathering in London for the cast and crew.

A best drama series win for The Crown would mark a milestone for Netflix, while Apple TV+ would enter streaming’s big league with a comedy series win for Ted Lasso.

Emmys host Cedric the Entertainer got Sunday’s ceremony off to a rousing start with a musical rap, helped by Billy Porter, LL Cool J and Billy Porter on the theme “TV — you got what I need”.

Concerns about the Delta variant of the coronavirus forced Sunday’s ceremony to move to an outdoor tent in downtown Los Angeles, with a reduced guest list and mandatory vaccinations and testing.

However, the red carpet in Los Angeles looked much like pre-pandemic days, with stars posing maskless in plunging gowns and bold colours.

In the closely contested limited series category, Julianne Nicholson and Evan Peters won for supporting roles as a housewife and detective in Mare of Easttown about a murder in a small Philadelphia town.

Mare of Easttown is also nominated for best limited series in a closely contested category that includes the  harrowing British rape drama I May Destroy You, the innovative superhero dramedy WandaVision and the chess drama The Queen’s Gambit.

The popular and satirical Saturday Night Live won for best variety sketch series

One of television’s most popular shows — the 1990s comedy Friends — could make an Emmys comeback. The Friends reunion special that saw the six main actors reminisce earlier this year about their days playing 20-something New Yorkers is competing against the filmed version of the Broadway musical Hamilton for best variety special.

Reuters