Full List of Creative Arts Emmy Winners: Who's Up & Who's Down?

By: Christopher James

The most wins from the ceremonies were “Adele: One Night Only,” “The Beatles: Get Back,” “The White Lotus,” “Stranger Things” and “Euphoria,” all with five wins.

This weekend, the Creative Arts Emmys handed out 93 awards over two nights. Many exciting categories produced great winners, ranging from former President Barack Obama to a posthumous award for Chadwick Boseman. There is so much talent in the TV industry and it’s always fascinating to scroll through all the winners in each category (even if the classifications aren’t always as uniform as us awards show fans would like).

On top of that, one can also use these races to help predict what will happen during the Primetime Emmy Awards. It’s not a one-for-one match that whoever wins the most Creative Arts Emmys will win Drama or Comedy Series. However, it does provide a good barometer of how the race is shaping up heading into the final stretch. The Primetime Emmy Awards airs next Monday, September 12th at 8pm EST/5pm PST on NBC, while also streaming on Peacock. Let’s look at who’s up and who’s down following this weekend’s awards...

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Gay Best Friend: Tim in "Frankie & Johnny" (1991)

a series by Christopher James looking at the 'Gay Best Friend' trope   

Even before officially coming out, Nathan Lane (left) wasn't afraid to play gay in "Frankie and Johnny," pictured here with Kate Nelligan and Al Pacino.Especially in the early days, the inauthenticity of the “Gay Best Friend” trope came from straight actors mincing about to sell the part. The role is able to gain a whole lot of authenticity when a queer person is either writing or acting the part. In the case of Frankie and Johnny, both the writer and performer of the 'gay best friend' were gay, though both were not out. Theater legend (and out gay playwright) Terence McNally adapted his Off-Broadway play Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune into a movie in 1991. He was able to get A-List talent to take the titular roles for film, with Michelle Pfeiffer and Al Pacino headlining. However, he also gave Nathan Lane one of his first breakout roles as Tim, the gay best friend and neighbor of Pfeiffer’s Frankie.

The 1991 film did not achieve the level of acclaim that McNally’s play did (thus it was the subject of a great This Had Oscar Buzz episode). Still, there are things to appreciate about this adaptation...

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Almost There: Nathan Lane in "The Birdcage"

by Cláudio Alves

For as long as queer narratives have attracted prestige and awards buzz, straight actors have earned praise for playing LGBTQ+ characters. They're often complimented for being brave, risky, for putting their careers on the line in pursuit of some grand artistic merit. Even in 2020, once you move away from the festival circuit and regard more mainstream productions, it's hard to find actual queer actors portraying these roles. Ammonite and Supernova are just the latest examples of this trend. This isn't to say that cishet actors can't be great at playing queer roles, but we'd like some variety, especially in the context of Oscars.

Back in 1996, AMPAS had a good opportunity to honor a gay actor playing a gay role. Nathan Lane, who admittedly wasn't out yet, was in contention for a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his work in Mike Nichols' The Birdcage…

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Tony Awards 2018 in Review

Thirteen random thoughts on last night's Tony Awards.

• Glenda Jackson won the Emmy and two Oscars in the 1970s but after a three decade break from acting, she returns triumphant with a Tony win, giving her the Triple Crown!

• Remember when Melissa McCarthy surprised everybody by winning the Emmy for Mike & Molly that one year? After the shock wore off everyone collectively decided that the Television Academy gave her that prize because of Bridesmaids that same season. I kinda think this is what happened with Laurie Metcalf winning a second consecutive Tony -- this time for Three Tall Women in a category people expected to go elsewhere. Not that Three Tall Women isn't brilliantly acted, but we're guessing her miracle performance in Lady Bird helped put her over the finish line. We're choosing to interpret it as Tony voters slapping Oscar's hand. Oscar deserved a slap for that one...

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Stage Door: Andrew Garfield and Nathan Lane in "Angels in America"

by Sean Donovan

 

Roy Cohn, the devilish super-lawyer towering over Tony Kushner’s epic two-part play Angels in America, is introduced to the audience at his favorite place, his office telephone, shifting between various calls, screaming at his clients and associates, and relishing his position of supreme power and influence. In between calls he leans over to his protégé, closeted Mormon lawyer Joe Pitt, and remarks

I wish I was an octopus, a fucking octopus. Eight loving arms and all those suckers, know what I mean?”

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