It was a historic Sunday night at the first-ever virtual Emmys. For one, the awards were given to a record number of Black performers.
Seven Black actors got awards in the main categories, setting a record that was established in 2016 when six won. Four of the top acting categories went to Zendaya (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, Euphoria), Regina King (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie, Watchmen), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or TV Movie, Watchmen) and Uzo Aduba (Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or TV Movie, Mrs. America). Earlier performers that won awards in additional major categories earlier in the week at the Creative Arts Emmys were Maya Rudolph (Saturday Night Live), Eddie Murphy (Saturday Night Live), Ron Cephas Jones (This is Us).
Aside from this, Rudolph picked up another one for her voiceover work on Netflix’s Big Mouth. Laurence Fishburne, Stephan James and Jasmine Cephas jones were also awarded in the Short Form Comedy or Drama acting categories for Quibi’s #freerayshawn. Ron and Jasmine Cephas Jones are the first father-daughter pair to win Emmys in the same year. RuPaul also won his fifth consecutive Realty Competition Host win, which is a new record in the category.
Due to King’s win (her fourth in six years in the category), she now ties Alfre Woodard with the most Emmy wins by a Black actress. This is Aduba’s third win and Ron Cephas Jones is also a repeat winner. As we reported earlier, Zendaya is the youngest performer to win Outstanding Lead Actress and is only the second Black woman to win in the category, following Viola Davis’ 2015 win.
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