Emmys Win Big With Diversity in TV
Sunday night Los Angeles played host to the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, and TV made a big statement about diversity in the entertainment industry.
The award show honored the most diverse group of people in various categories for excellence in TV, and the welcomed change was noticed.
Categories that notoriously are won by males were swept up by leading ladies in the field, and history was made with a few wins as well.
Lena Waithe became the first black woman to win an Emmy for outstanding writing for a comedy series. Waithe and Aziz Ansari accepted the Emmy for their episode titled “Thanksgiving” for the Netflix original “Master of None.”
Waithe had a powerful ending to her acceptance speech saying, “For everybody out there that showed us so much love for this episode, thank you for embracing a little Indian boy from South Carolina and a little queer black girl from the South Side of Chicago. We appreciate it more than you could ever know.”
Waithe and Ansari co-wrote the episode which showed Waithe’s character, Denise, introducing her mom to various girlfriends each Thanksgiving. The episode explored her journey as she came out to her mother as a lesbian and how her mother took the news.
Another big win went to Riz Ahmed for outstanding lead actor in a limited series. Ahmed won the Emmy for his portrayal of a Pakistani-American jailed for murder in HBO’s limited series “The Night Of.”
The series explored huge issues such as the injustices found within the justice system and racial profiling, all of which Ahmed talked about during his acceptance speech.
Ahmed is the first Muslim and South-Asian man to win an Emmy for acting.
The night was also a big win for women in TV. Reed Morano took home the Emmy for best directing in a drama series for her work on “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Morano is the first woman in 22 years to take home the Emmy for best directing for a drama series.
Hulu’s series “The Handmaid’s Tale” and HBO’s limited series “Big Little Lies” also won multiple awards. Both shows werepraised for speaking out on topics that are very relevant in today’s social and political climate.
Reese Witherspoon and Nicole Kidman accepted the Emmy for outstanding limited series for their work in “Big Little Lies.” Both actresses worked as producers on the show and spoke about the importance of giving women a voice.
Overall, the night was a success for TV and diversity. For a complete list of who took home golden statues visit the winner’s list here.
