The 78th Primetime Emmy Awards concluded in Los Angeles yesterday with two historic records and a dominant showing by “Widow’s Bay.”
Matthew Rhys became the first actor in Emmy history to win two lead acting awards for different productions in the same year: Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for “Widow’s Bay” and Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for “The Beast in Me.” Combined with his 2018 Emmy for “The Americans,” he also became the first man to win in all three major lead acting categories.
The Primetime Emmys cover American television productions, excluding purely foreign productions such as “Heated Rivalry.”
Jean Smart also made history with her fifth win as Deborah Vance in “Hacks.” With her award for the fifth and final season, Smart became the first woman to win an Emmy for every season of a series, bringing her career total to eight Emmys.
“Widow’s Bay” was the biggest winner this year, taking 14 Emmys from 19 nominations – six at the main ceremony and eight at the Creative Arts Emmys. It was followed by the dark comedy/limited series “DTF St. Louis,” with seven wins from 13 nominations, while the medical drama “The Pitt,” which had the most nominations of the year, won six out of 25.
In the major categories, Noah Wyle again won Lead Actor for “The Pitt,” while Rhea Seehorn won her first Emmy for “Pluribus.”
The Primetime Emmys cover the American television market. Foreign productions are eligible if they are a “substantial” co-production with a US company before filming begins. This is why the popular Canadian series “Heated Rivalry,” despite being distributed in the US by HBO Max, was not eligible this year.
Source: The Guardian, Billboard
