Donald Glover was among the big winners at the Emmys last night. Glover took home awards for both Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series and an Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series for his work on FX surrealist comedy Atlanta, making him the first black person to ever win in the second category. In his Lead Actor acceptance speech, Glover empathetically “thanked” the President: “I want to thank Trump for making black people No. 1 on the most oppressed list. He’s the reason I’m probably up here.”
Riz Ahmed, the increasingly-prolific actor and rapper, won Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for The Night Of. Ahmed is both the first actor of Asian decent and Muslim to win the award. In his speech, Ahmed noted: “I think what we’re starting to see is more awareness around how beneficial it can be to tell a diverse range of stories and to tell them in a way that’s authentic.” He also paid tribute to the late James Gandolfini, who was a producer on the series.
Big Little Lies won for Outstanding Limited Series. The other nominees in the category were Feud: Bette and Joan, Fargo, and The Night Of. The all-star series, directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, won an Emmy awarded before the actual ceremony for Music Supervision. Earlier this year, the show’s excellent, pop-music-dominated score inspired Spin to round up the greatest television soundtracks of all time. Stream the soundtrack for the show here.
Black Mirror‘s “San Junipero” episode, which also boasted an ambitious pop music soundtrack, won Emmys for Outstanding Television Movie and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special. In an acceptance speech, Charlie Brooker discussed comparisons between recent world events and the extended universe of Black Mirror. “I like to think if I had written it, it wouldn’t be quite so on the nose with all this sort of Nazis and hate,” he quipped. You can listen to the ’80s-heavy “San Junipero” soundtrack here.
Watch the acceptance speeches below.
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https://youtube.com/watch?v=WTJJIWXMB10
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