Netflix head calls the event ‘an historic night for streaming’
Netflix reached a major milestone on Monday morning after creating history at the Primetime Emmy Awards.
The streamer-backed shows won 44 Emmys in total this year, creating the record for most wins by a single platform/network in a single year. Bela Bajaria, Netflix’s head of global TV said the amount of wins made for “an historic night.”
Bajaria’s words
Bajaria called the 73rd Emmy Awards function as historic in many ways during a press call. They were able to tie with CBS’ 44 wins from 1974. Winning when there were three networks was historic. The Crown being able to win all seven drama series categories was historic. It was also historic for streaming services, drama, comedy, and limited awards. The Queen’s Gambit 11 wins added more into the record.
Congratulations to the cast and crew of The Crown for their 11 Emmy wins — including Best Drama Series, Best Actress for Olivia Colman, and Best Actor for Josh O’Connor pic.twitter.com/4hqjXz2Z8H
— Netflix (@netflix) September 20, 2021
Peter Friedlander, head of Netflix’s US and Canada scripted series said that he didn’t think that the shows would be eligible for awards around eight years ago, when they started shows like House of Cards.
This was the first time that Netflix won more Emmys than any other platform.
Congrats to the cast and crew of The Queen’s Gambit for their incredible 11 Emmy wins — including outstanding limited series! pic.twitter.com/wusChYp8xV
— Netflix (@netflix) September 20, 2021
Addressing controversies
However, the Emmys did face controversy. No actors of colour won a single award during the function, despite there being a record number of nominees of colour.
About that, Bajaria said that it’s up to the voting body. She said that she thinks that the industry puts more focus and intention behind the kind of shows they make and who gets to tell the stories. So what they, as heads can do is to greenlight the shows and support the talents they bring in.
Bajaria was asked if a streamer like Netflix would host the Emmys at this point, since the broadcasting networks rarely win any awards. She replied by saying that Netflix doesn’t do live shows in this way, and there are still many platforms that can host these shows. She believes broadcast TV still does great at live events.
Also read: 73rd Emmy Awards’ Increased Ratings Show People’s Persistent Interest in Awards
