Four of the five Emmy categories cut from tonight's broadcast were swept by DTF St. Louis
The Television Academy took five categories off tonight's NBC telecast to save time. Four of them went to one HBO Max limited series, and the fifth went to a late-night show CBS has already cancelled. Nobody watching at home will see any of it handed over.
Five categories were taken off tonight's NBC telecast to buy the producers time. All five already have winners — they were handed out at the Creative Arts ceremonies on 5 and 6 September, category by category — and four of them went to the same show.
DTF St. Louis, the HBO Max limited series created by Steven Conrad, took supporting actor, supporting actress, writing and directing. That is four of the five categories the Academy decided the television audience did not need to see.
David Harbour won supporting actor for playing Floyd Smernitch, beating his own co-star Jason Bateman, and said afterwards it had not been a fair fight. Linda Cardellini won supporting actress as Carol Love-Smernitch. Conrad won both the writing and the directing prize himself, for a series he also created.
"Whether you're a director, a stage manager, a grip, a set designer, recognizing you for all your creativity, your ingenuity, and your effort is crucial." — Noah Wyle, opening the second Creative Arts night
The fifth one is its own story
Writing for a variety series went to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert — the season CBS cancelled. The same show also took directing for a variety series, technical direction and picture editing, all three for the series finale, and the lighting award for the Bruce Springsteen episode.
So the two things the telecast will not show tonight are a limited series sweeping its own bracket and a cancelled late-night institution winning for the way it went out. Both are more interesting than most of what will fill the time instead.
Read more: Tonight's Emmys will hand out 19 awards instead of 26
The five, and who has them
- Supporting actor, limited series or movie. David Harbour, DTF St. Louis.
- Supporting actress, limited series or movie. Linda Cardellini, DTF St. Louis.
- Writing, limited series or movie. Steven Conrad, DTF St. Louis.
- Directing, limited series or movie. Steven Conrad, DTF St. Louis.
- Writing for a variety series. The writing room of The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.
The weekend was not small. A hundred and two statuettes were handed out across the two nights. Apple TV's Widow's Bay led all programmes with eight, the Apple Music Super Bowl LX halftime show starring Bad Bunny took seven, and DTF St. Louis and The Traitors tied on six each. By platform it was Apple TV with 19, HBO Max with 16 and Netflix with 13.
Other winners from those nights that will not get a moment on NBC: South Park took its fifth animated programme Emmy and its first since 2013, Shailene Woodley won her first Emmy for Paradise, Julie Andrews won for voicing Lady Whistledown on Bridgerton, and Ernest Harden Jr. got an ovation for a guest turn on The Pitt.
A ceremony that cut five awards for time has spent the week explaining which five. The winners had already been decided; only the audience was edited out.
Mariska Hargitay is hosting tonight with two Emmys of her own from the same weekend, for directing and producing My Mom Jayne. She will hand over 19 more. Five are already in cars on the way home.
Previously we wrote: House of the Dragon is missing from tonight's Emmys
