Monday, February 1, 2021

Emmy-winning comedy series feature diversity in front of and especially behind the camera for Black History Month

I concluded Zendaya and other Emmy winners of color in drama series for Black History Month by telling my readers to "Stay tuned for comedy!" Since I'm in an "I can't be all DOOM all the time mood, "tragedy tomorrow, comedy tonight!" suits me just fine.

While I've already recognized Eddie Murphy winning Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series and Maya Rudolph winning Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series and Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance in 'SNL' lampoons the debate, Trump's COVID diagnosis, and Supreme Court nomination in season premiere after winning six Emmy Awards, It won't hurt to repeat what I placed below the fold in October above the fold today. Just to mix things up, I'm featuring the two wins by Maya Rudolph before the one win by Eddie Murphy. Ladies first!

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series

Angela Bassett as Mo on A Black Lady Sketch Show (Episode: "Angela Bassett Is the Baddest B***h") (HBO)
Bette Midler as Hadassah Gold on The Politician (Episode: "Vienna") (Netflix)
Maya Rudolph as The Judge on The Good Place (Episode: "You've Changed, Man") (NBC)
Maya Rudolph as Senator Kamala Harris on Saturday Night Live (Episode: "Host: Eddie Murphy") (NBC)
Wanda Sykes as Moms Mabley on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Episode: "A Jewish Girl Walks Into the Apollo...") (Prime Video)
Phoebe Waller-Bridge as Host on Saturday Night Live (Episode: "Host: Phoebe Waller-Bridge") (NBC)
On the one hand, "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" won this category last year. On the other, the Emmy went to a different actress in a different role, so I'm not considering Wanda Sykes as Moms Mabley to be the nominal favorite, as talented as Sykes is. That means that someone else actually has a good shot at winning. My personal favorite is Maya Rudolph as The Judge on "The Good Place," but she also earned a nomination for playing Kamala Harris crashing the December Democratic debate. I'd prefer her winning as The Judge, but I'll take her carrying home an Emmy for either performance. I just hope vote-splitting doesn't hurt her chances.
I got my wish, as Rudolph won. ET Canada interviewed her in Maya Rudolph Reacts To ‘SNL’ Emmy Win.
It’s been an exciting week for actress Maya Rudolph, who took home two Emmys, including Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy for her portrayal of Senator Kamala Harris on “SNL”. The former "SNL" cast member says she feels lucky to still be a part of the show and reveals which other characters she may play in the upcoming season.
Congratulations on Rudolph for both of her Emmy Awards!
Now for Eddie Murphy's Emmy.

Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series

Adam Driver as Host on Saturday Night Live (Episode: "Host: Adam Driver") (NBC)
Luke Kirby as Lenny Bruce on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Episode: "It's Comedy or Cabbage") (Prime Video)
Eddie Murphy as Host on Saturday Night Live (Episode: "Host: Eddie Murphy") (NBC)
Dev Patel as Joshua on Modern Love (Episode: "When Cupid Is a Prying Journalist") (Prime Video)
Brad Pitt as Dr. Anthony Fauci on Saturday Night Live (Episode: "SNL at Home #2") (NBC)
Fred Willard as Frank Dunphy on Modern Family (Episode: "Legacy") (ABC)
SNL has three nominees in this category, Adam Driver, Eddie Murphy, and Brad Pitt. The two strongest are Murphy and Pitt, whose nominated performance I used to open SNL at Home on last week's coronavirus news. That alone is enough to get me to root for him. However, he has tough competition. Luke Kirby won for playing Lenny Bruce on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" last year, so he's the nominal favorite. Also, Fred Willard passed away, so he might earn a sympathy vote in tribute. Dev Patel is also a talented actor, so I have to mention him.
I was rooting for the wrong SNL guest actor, as ET Canada reported Eddie Murphy Wins First Emmy For 'SNL' Appearance and interviewed the winner.
Eddie Murphy reacts to winning his first-ever Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy for hosting “Saturday Night Live”, 36 years to the day he made his "SNL" debut. During a virtual Q&A session following the award show, the legendary comedian called the win "special" and opens up about his plans to return to the standup comedy stage.
Congratulations to Murphy on his first Emmy!
Now that I'm done being a good environment by recycling, it's time to follow over the jump to recognize the winning people of color on comedies behind the camera.

When I wrote that "Watchmen" and other limited series "had as many winners of color as the Comedy Series and Drama Series combined," that was before I completed digging through all the winners on the 2020 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards IMDB page and then added in Rudolph and Murphy. Once I completed that research project, I found at least eight people of color who won Emmy Awards for their work on comedies last year. Here are the at least six crew members who won for their work behind the camera.


I begin this part of the post with 2020 Creative Arts Emmys: Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series.

The team from The Ranch wins the Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series.
Congratulations to Donald A. Morgan for his tenth Emmy! Remind me never to bet against him at these awards!


Continuing with winning cinematographers, I'm sharing 2020 Creative Arts Emmys: Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour) where M. David Mullen (director of photography) on "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," who is half-Japanese, accepting his Creative Arts Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour).

The team from Marvelous Mrs. Maisel wins the Emmy for Outstanding Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour).
Congratulations to Mullen on winning his second Emmy!


Next, watch Lynarion Hubbard and Nena Erb win Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series for "Insecure."

The team from Insecure wins the Emmy for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series.
Congratulations to Erb for her second Emmy Award and Hubbard for her first!


Now for 2020 Creative Arts Emmys: Stunt Coordination for a Comedy or Variety Program.

The team from Shameless win the Emmy for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Comedy or Variety Program.
Congratulations to Eddie Perez, the first Hispanic to win an Emmy Award in this category for winning his third Emmy Award!


Now for the final category I'm sharing today. Watch Araxi Lindsey (department head hairstylist), accept Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling on behalf of herself, Robert C. Mathews III (additional hairstylist), Enoch Williams (key hairstylist) for their work in the "Black-ish" episode "Hair Day."

The team from Black-ish wins the Emmy for Outstanding Contemporary Hairstyling.
Congratulations to Lindsey, Mathews, and Williams!

In addition to all the Emmy Awards won by "Schitt's Creek," the other comedy Emmy winners include Outstanding Music Supervision, Outstanding Period and/or Character Makeup (Non-Prosthetic), and Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour) for "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," a total of four, and Outstanding Multi-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series for "One Day at a Time."

That's it for scripted comedy. This series will return next week. In the meantime, stay tuned for The Doomsday Clock and Groundhog Day. Previous posts about the 2020 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards
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