Illustration by Leo Gordon
Hollywood has often put many people on the sidelines in past award shows, but this year the Emmys decided to take them off the bench.
Previous awards shows have had all white nominees. Remember #OscarsSoWhite from 2016? That was the second year in a row that each of the Academy’s nominees in the top four categories were white actors and actresses. In television awards, it took until 2015 for the Emmys to make a first step into giving more major awards to non-white nominees. Viola Davis became the first black woman to win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series that year.
The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards in September 2017 capitalized on that step and took the big plunge into making all their categories even more diverse. It was a year of firsts: Lena Waithe was the first African-American woman (and first out lesbian) to win for comedy writing. Donald Glover became the first black person to win for Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series. Riz Ahmed was the first man of South Asian descent to win for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series, Reed Morano became the first woman to win for Outstanding Director in a Drama Series, and Sterling K. Brown won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series — only the second time a black actor has won in that category since Andre Braugher won nineteen years ago.
“It was a great night for women. It was a great night for people of color. It was a great night for new, young exciting voices in the industry that have often been marginalized and often been pushed to the side or ignored,” Waithe said in an interview with New York Magazine after the show. She won for an episode of Master of None that she co-wrote with Aziz Ansari called “Thanksgiving,” about her character coming out to her family over the holiday. Waithe, who is also a lesbian in real life, thanked the LGBT+ community in her acceptance speech. “The things that make us different, those are our superpowers,” she said.
Glover won for acting and directing in his show Atlanta, which he also produces and created. He won the directing award for the episode “B.A.N.” about a talk show called Montague where they talk about the media’s treatment of black culture and its connection to the transgender community. “I want to thank Trump for making black people number one on the most-oppressed list. He’s probably the reason I’m up here,” Glover joked in his acceptance speech.
Brown won for the role of Randall Pearson in This is Us. One thing you may remember about his speech is that he was cut off and only finished backstage. Brown began, “Before anything like this happened to your boy, I was a fan. First, last, and always a fan. So, my fellow nominees, I’m a fan. I love y’all.” Riz Ahmed won for playing the character Nasir “Naz” Khan, an accused murderer in The Night Of. Ahmed told Entertainment Weekly, “If this show has shone a light on some of the prejudice in our society, some of the injustice in our justice system, then maybe that’s something.”
Two series featuring women, Big Little Lies and The Handmaid’s Tale, also won major awards. Morano won her directing award for Big Little Lies, and Nicole Kidman also won for her portrayal of Celeste, a character abused by her husband. The Handmaid’s Tale got eight awards, including one for its star Elisabeth Moss for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, and one for Outstanding Drama Series.
Every other awards shows should take note of what this year’s Emmys showed. Everyone has a story to tell. Diversifying television with their nominees and recognizing more people and their stories will only expand their future audiences. One night may not change everything, but it could be an important new beginning. The Emmys 2017 gave award shows a new standard. Let’s hope future shows will strive to match it.