Emmys 2017: The Handmaid’s Tale and Big Little Lies the main winners

Elisabeth Moss

Actor Elisabeth Moss, winner of Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’, poses in the press room during the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. — AFP photo

Dystopian drama The Handmaid’s Tale has scooped three of the major prizes at this year’s Emmy Awards.

The show won best drama series, best director for Reed Morano and best actress for Elisabeth Moss.

Producer Bruce Miller thanked author Margaret Atwood, ‘who created this world for all of us’.

The show’s win for best drama means Hulu has leapfrogged Netflix and Amazon to become the first streaming service to win a best series Emmy.

Riz Ahmed was among the British winners, taking home best lead actor in a limited series or movie for The Night Of.

Other British winners included Charlie Brooker, who won best writing for a limited series for his Netflix show Black Mirror.

One of the episodes, San Junipero, also won the trophy for best TV movie. Brooker said it ‘was a story about love, and love will defeat hate, it will win’.

British comedian John Oliver and his writing team scooped two prizes for satirical show Last Week Tonight.

HBO series Big Little Lies was one of the big winners of the night in the limited series categories, taking home best lead actress, (Nicole Kidman), supporting actress (Laura Dern), supporting actor (Alexander Skarsgard) and director (Jean-Marc Vallee).

Accepting the award for best limited series, Kidman said: ‘The power of television has astounded us, you allowed us into your living rooms… but as much as the show has the entertainment value, it’s about the issues.’

The series, which deals with themes such as domestic violence, also stars Reese Witherspoon, who encouraged the TV industry to provide ‘more great roles for women’.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus won best actress in a comedy series for Veep – breaking the record for the most Emmys won by a lead actor for the same role.

Veep, which was created by Armando Iannucci, also won one of the night’s top prizes for best comedy series.

Sterling K Brown’s win for best lead actor in a drama series marked the first time an African-American actor had won in the category in almost 20 years.

Host Stephen Colbert and several of the winners made political references on stage.

‘At long last, Mr President, here is your Emmy,’ said Alec Baldwin as he collected his prize for supporting actor in a comedy series, mocking Donald Trump’s frustration at never having won for The Apprentice.

Baldwin regularly portrays president Trump on comedy sketch show Saturday Night Live, which also won best variety sketch series and best supporting actress in a comedy series for Kate McKinnon.

Source: New Age