Cedric the Entertainer made his Primetime Emmy Awards hosting debut with the 2021 awards show which took place on September 19, 2021 in front of a live (but limited) audience. Netflix’s The Crown reigned supreme, collecting seven Primetime Emmys including Best Drama, Lead Actor (Josh O’Connor), Lead Actress (Olivia Colman), Supporting Actor (Tobias Menzies), and Supporting Actress (Gillian Anderson). Apple TV+’s Ted Lasso scored four wins including Best Comedy, and Mare of Easttown and Hacks each earned three Emmys.
Emmys were awarded in 92 additional categories during the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. The Crown and The Queen’s Gambit each won 11 Emmys in total, followed by Saturday Night Live with eight. Ted Lasso and The Mandalorian each earned seven total from the Creative Arts Emmy Awards and the Primetime Emmy Awards.
The 73rd Primetime Emmys kicked off with LL Cool J joining Cedric the Entertainer for an Emmys-centric version of “Just a Friend,” with Rita Wilson, Billy Porter, and most of the star-studded audience (including the cast of Hamilton) joining in. That was followed by Seth Rogen as the first presenter joking about the fact there were too many people packed into the room without any masks, which it turns out echoed the comments of Emmy viewers on Twitter. “I would not have come to this. Why is there a roof? It’s more important that we have three chandeliers than that we make sure we don’t kill Eugene Levy tonight. That is what has been decided,” said Rogen.
Cedric the Entertainer tried to clear things up by confirming everyone had to be vaccinated in order to attend, and hopefully the celebrities in the audience didn’t experience side effects similar to what happened to Nicki Minaj’s cousin’s friend. And that joke, unfortunately, was one of the funnier moments of a show that lacked energy despite being filmed in front of a live audience. If it weren’t for outstanding speeches by Debbie Allen, Jean Smart, John Oliver, Michaela Coel, and Kate Winslet, the 73rd Emmy Awards would have been completely forgettable. In other words, if you didn’t catch the live broadcast you really didn’t miss anything.
2021 EMMY AWARDS NOMINEES & WINNERS:
Drama Series
The Boys (Amazon)
Bridgerton (Netflix)
WINNER: The Crown (Netflix)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Lovecraft Country (HBO)
The Mandalorian (Disney+)
Pose (FX)
This Is Us (NBC)
Comedy Series
Black-ish (ABC)
Cobra Kai (Netflix)
Emily in Paris (Netflix)
Hacks (HBO Max)
The Flight Attendant (HBO Max)
The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
Pen15 (Hulu)
WINNER: Ted Lasso (Apple TV+)
Lead Actress in a Drama
Uzo Aduba (In Treatment)
WINNER: Olivia Colman (The Crown)
Emma Corrin (The Crown)
Elisabeth Moss (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Mj Rodriguez (Pose)
Jurnee Smollett (Lovecraft Country)
Lead Actor in a Drama
Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us)
Jonathan Majors (Lovecraft Country)
WINNER: Josh O’Connor (The Crown)
Rege-Jean Page (Bridgerton)
Billy Porter (Pose)
Matthew Rhys (Perry Mason)
Supporting Actress in a Drama
WINNER: Gillian Anderson (The Crown)
Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown)
Madeline Brewer (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Ann Dowd (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Aunjanue Ellis (Lovecraft Country)
Emerald Fennell (The Crown)
Yvonne Strahovski (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Supporting Actors in a Drama Series
Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian)
O-T Fagbenle (The Handmaid’s Tale)
John Lithgow (Perry Mason)
WINNER: Tobias Menzies (The Crown)
Max Minghella (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Chris Sullivan (This Is Us)
Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Michael K. Williams (Lovecraft Country)
Lead Actress in a Comedy
Aidy Bryant (Shrill)
Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant)
Allison Janney (Mom)
Tracee Ellis Ross (black-ish)
WINNER: Jean Smart (Hacks)
Lead Actor in a Comedy
Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)
Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method)
William H. Macy (Shameless)
WINNER: Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso)
Kenan Thompson (Kenan)
Supporting Actress in a Comedy
Aidy Bryant (Saturday Night Live)
Hannah Einbinder (Hacks)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)
Rosie Perez (The Flight Attendant)
Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live)
Juno Temple (Ted Lasso)
WINNER: Hannah Waddingham (Ted Lasso)
Supporting Actor in a Comedy
Carl Clemons-Hopkins (Hacks)
WINNER: Brett Goldstein (Ted Lasso)
Brendan Hunt (Ted Lasso)
Nick Mohammed (Ted Lasso)
Paul Reiser (The Kominsky Method)
Jeremy Swift (Ted Lasso)
Kenan Thompson (SNL)
Bowen Yang (SNL)
Limited or Anthology Series
I May Destroy You (HBO)
Mare of Easttown (HBO)
WINNER: The Queen’s Gambit (Netflix)
The Underground Railroad (Amazon)
WandaVision (Disney+)
Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Paul Bettany (WandaVision)
Hugh Grant (The Undoing)
WINNER: Ewan McGregor (Halston)
Lin-Manuel Miranda (Hamilton)
Leslie Odom, Jr. (Hamilton)
Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You)
Cynthia Erivo (Genius: Aretha)
Elizabeth Olsen (WandaVision)
Anya Taylor-Joy (The Queen’s Gambit)
WINNER: Kate Winslet (Mare of Easttown)
Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Renee Elise Goldsberry (Hamilton)
Kathryn Hahn (WandaVision)
Moses Ingram (The Queen’s Gambit)
WINNER: Julianne Nicholson (Mare of Easttown)
Jean Smart (Mare of Easttown)
Phillipa Soo (Hamilton)
Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie
Thomas Brodie-Sangster (The Queen’s Gambit)
Daveed Diggs (Hamilton)
Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You)
WINNER: Evan Peters (Mare of Easttown)
Anthony Ramos (Hamilton)
Variety Talk Series
Conan (TBS)
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC)
WINNER: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Competition Program
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Nailed It! (Netflix)
WINNER: RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Voice (NBC)
Variety Special (Live)
Celebrating America — An Inauguration Night Special (Multiple Platforms)
The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards (CBS)
The Oscars (ABC)
The Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show Starring The Weeknd (CBS)
WINNER: Stephen Colbert’s Election Night 2020: Democracy’s Last Stand Building Back America Great Again Better 2020 (Showtime)
Variety Special (Pre-Recorded)
Bo Burnham: Inside (Netflix)
David Byrne’s American Utopia (HBO)
8:46 Dave Chappelle (Netflix)
Friends: The Reunion (HBO Max)
WINNER: Hamilton (Disney+)
A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote (HBO Max)
Variety Sketch Series
A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO)
WINNER: Saturday Night Live (NBC)
