The 67th Annual Emmy Awards: A Time of Great Change

Taylor Tyson
Staff Writer

      The 67th Annual Emmy Award Show was unlike the past sixty-six shows; this show introduced and promoted the fandoms that have been forming for years. True fans cheered as their favorite actors, actresses, and shows won consistent awards. Game of Thrones won Outstanding Drama Series over heavy hitters like Orange Is The New Black and Mad Men.
      Netflix viewers were infuriated. In 2014, Orange Is the New Black was not even nominated for an award. For years, the Emmy Awards have neglected to acknowledge original Netflix series with nominations. This year, though, that was sure to change. Orange Is The New Black was not Netflix’s sole nomination for this year. In the running for Outstanding Comedy Series, one of Netflix’s newer series, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, sat alongside Modern Family and the winner of the category, Veep. For any Netflix viewer, the 67th Annual Emmy Award Show was quite shocking due to the major losses against mainstream titles like Game of Thrones and Veep. Still, it was an honor to see the Netflix original series nominated alongside network television series.
      The 67th Emmy Award Show also made groundbreaking history with its winners. Winning the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Viola Davis became the first African-American to win this award for her performance in How To Get Away With Murder. Also, John Hamm from Mad Men won his first Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series after seven nominations.
      Unfortunately, the ratings of the award show didn’t reflect the major success of the winners. As claimed by CNN Money, the show brought in a “record low” of “11.9 million viewers” this year. The low viewings directly correlates to the lack of young adults watching the show.
 
Other award winners, as stated by CNN, include:

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent
• Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series: Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series: Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black
• Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series: Allison Janney, Mom
• Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series: Tony Hale, Veep
• Outstanding Variety Sketch Series: Inside Amy Schumer

 
      Overall, the 67th Annual Emmy Award Show was nothing short of extraordinary. The past shows lacked the panache and humor that came this year. Nevertheless, the show’s dull background has kept many young adult viewers away. Critics believe the entertainment industry focuses heavily on popularity rather than content, making many people opt out of watching award shows.