The 70th Creative Arts Emmy Awards was this past weekend, celebrating the unsung heroes of TV –production, editing, producing– alongside the celebrities. Though the Emmy Awards are still a weekend away, the Creative Arts was packed with historic moments: titles won, ceilings shattered, minorities represented, stereotypes-slayed with a fabulous dress (and dominatrix-worthy boots). Here are the highlights we’re still talking:
Image via NBC
1. Black Actors Make History
Tiffany Haddish, Ron Cephas Jones, Samira Wiley, and Katt Williams snag the creative Emmys for their respective roles–and make history. This was the first time all four guest statues were awarded to black actors.
Wiley, first known as Poussey on Orange Is the New Black, won for her commanding presence as Moira, a lesbian and Gilead-escapee from Handmaid’s Tale. The character, black, gay, and a resolute survivor, is a well-celebrated update from Margaret Atwood’s initial.
Haddish and Williams won for their respective guest roles on Saturday Night Live and Atlanta. Haddish’s hosting (and now-iconic white dress) was the highlight of SNL’s 43rd season. For Williams’ Alligator Man role, he actually interned at an alligator farm for three weeks to avoid using a stuntman.
Jones won an Emmy in the drama category for his much-loved role on NBC’s This Is Us. All four are first-time Emmy winners.
Image via Netflix
2. A Spotlight on LGBTQ Television
RuPaul’s Drag Race and its indelible host, RuPaul Charles, snagged multiple awards that night, including his third Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program award. The instantly-beloved Queer Eye reboot had a ball; they won Outstanding Structured Reality Program and Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program (but really, there was no competition on that one). United Shades of America With W. Kamau Bell took Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program. Also, QE star Jonathan Van Ness deserved an award (or at least applause) for his fierce, gender-norms-decimating look: a black gown complete with sequins, a mess top, and thigh-high slit. Google it.
Image via Netflix
3. GLOW’s Shauna Duggins Makes History
Netflix’s series GLOW, following hard-hitting women wrestlers in the 80s, made history when Shauna Duggins won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Production Design For a Narrative Program (Half-Hour or Less). Previously nominated for her work with Alias, she is the first woman to ever win in this category. GLOW also won a Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Production Design For a Narrative Program (Half-Hour or Less) and was nominated for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series.
Image via Wiki Creative Commons / Granandres10
4. Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber and John Legend Earn EGOT Status
Praises be, there are (to quote Chrissy Teigen) three new EGOT GOATs in Hollywood. Tim Rice, Andrew Lloyd Webber and John Legend won as executive producers of NBC’s Jesus Christ Superstar Live In Concert. The win for Outstanding Live Variety Special award makes the three the 13th, 14th, and 15th persons to ever win an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. Superstar producer Craig Zadan, who died on August 20, was also awarded a posthumous Emmy for his role.
Header by Jeaneen Lund for BUST April/May 2018
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