71st Primetime Emmy Awards
The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in U.S. prime time television programming from June 1, 2018 until May 31, 2019, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on September 22, 2019, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California, and was broadcast in the U.S. by Fox; it was preceded by the 71st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 14 and 15.
The show did not have a host for the fourth time in its history, following the telecasts in 2003, 1998, and 1975.
The nominations were announced by D'Arcy Carden and Ken Jeong on July 16, 2019. Game of Thrones led the nominations with fourteen, including nine for acting and three for directing, followed by When They See Us with eleven and Barry with nine. Including its nominations at the Creative Arts Awards, Game of Thrones established a new record for most Emmy nominations received in the same year by any comedy or drama series with 32, while Pop TV received its first ever Primetime Emmy Award nominations with Schitt's Creek.
For the first time in the history of the Primetime Emmy Awards, two programs originating from the United Kingdom won two of the three major awards. Fleabag won the most major awards with four including Outstanding Comedy Series, followed by Chernobyl with three including Outstanding Limited Series.
Game of Thrones broke or tied several records with its wins: it became the first series in history to win Outstanding Drama Series for an eighth season and tied the record for most wins in the category with four. It also, including its Creative Arts wins, tied its own record for most Emmys won by a series in a single season, while cast member Peter Dinklage established a new record for most wins for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series with his fourth win for the series.
Watched by 6.9 million viewers in the United States, it was the lowest-rated Emmy broadcast in history, amounting to a 32% drop from the 2018 ceremony.
Winners and nominees
On April 9, 2019, it was announced that ', the eighth season of the horror anthology series American Horror Story, and the second season of The Sinner would be ineligible for the Limited Series categories unlike their previous seasons, and instead be moved to Drama due to "continuing story threads, characters and actors reprising those same character roles from previous seasons", therefore making the series less fit for an anthology format. For similar reasons, the second season of American Vandal was moved from Limited Series to Comedy. None of the shows were nominated.Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold''':
, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series winner
, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series winner
, Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie winner
, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series winner
, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series winner
, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series winner
, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series winner
, Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie winner
, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie winner
Comedy
Drama
Limited Series & Movie
Reality
Variety
Most major nominations
Programs that received multiple major nominations are listed below, by number of nominations per work and per network:Nominations | Show | Network |
14 | Game of Thrones | HBO |
11 | When They See Us | Netflix |
9 | Barry | HBO |
7 | Escape at Dannemora | Showtime |
7 | Fosse/Verdon | FX |
7 | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Prime Video |
6 | Chernobyl | HBO |
6 | Fleabag | Prime Video |
6 | Killing Eve | BBC America |
5 | Better Call Saul | AMC |
5 | Ozark | Netflix |
5 | This Is Us | NBC |
5 | Veep | HBO |
4 | Russian Doll | Netflix |
4 | Saturday Night Live | NBC |
4 | A Very English Scandal | Prime Video |
3 | Documentary Now! | IFC |
3 | The Good Place | NBC |
3 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | HBO |
3 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | CBS |
3 | Schitt's Creek | Pop TV |
3 | Sharp Objects | HBO |
3 | Succession | HBO |
2 | The Act | Hulu |
2 | Bodyguard | Netflix |
2 | Drunk History | Comedy Central |
2 | Full Frontal with Samantha Bee | TBS |
2 | The Handmaid's Tale | Hulu |
2 | House of Cards | Netflix |
2 | The Kominsky Method | Netflix |
2 | Pose | FX |
2 | Who Is America? | Showtime |
Nominations | Network |
47 | HBO |
30 | Netflix |
18 | Prime Video |
15 | NBC |
10 | Showtime |
9 | FX |
6 | BBC America |
6 | CBS |
6 | Hulu |
5 | AMC |
3 | ABC |
3 | Comedy Central |
3 | IFC |
3 | Pop TV |
2 | TBS |
Most major wins
Wins | Show | Network |
4 | Fleabag | Prime Video |
3 | Chernobyl | HBO |
2 | Game of Thrones | HBO |
2 | Last Week Tonight with John Oliver | HBO |
2 | The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel | Prime Video |
2 | Ozark | Netflix |
2 | Saturday Night Live | NBC |
Wins | Network |
9 | HBO |
7 | Prime Video |
4 | Netflix |
2 | FX |
2 | NBC |
Ceremony information
The ceremony took place at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles with no host; comedian and actor Thomas Lennon served as an announcer for the ceremony, injecting with jokes and commentary as winners approached the stage to receive their Emmy. Televised by Fox, the ceremony began with a ruse where Homer Simpson appeared in an augmented-reality stage to host the event, before an animated piano dropped from the ceiling to land on The SimpsonsSeveral winners made notable "statement speeches" while accepting their awards. After winning the award for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series for The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Alex Borstein said:
The winner for outstanding supporting actress in a limited series or movie, Patricia Arquette, in her acceptance speech said "I'm grateful at 50 to be getting the best parts of my life" and paid tribute to her sister, Alexis Arquette, who had died in 2016. Michelle Williams, after winning the award for outstanding lead actress in a limited series or movie for Fosse/Verdon, made references to the gender and racial wage gaps in the film industry, as well as the Time's Up movement:
In the In Memoriam presentation, a photograph of conductor Leonard Slatkin, who is alive and working in Ireland, was mistakenly used and captioned as André Previn, who died in February 2019.
The telecast was watched by 6.9 million viewers in the United States, making it the lowest-rated Emmy broadcast in history, amounting to a 32% drop from the 2018 ceremony.
Presenters
The awards were presented by the following people:Name | Role |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series | |
Introducer of Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series winner Luke Kirby and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series winner Jane Lynch | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Competition Program | |
Introducer of the accountants from Ernst & Young | |
Presenter of a special tribute to Game of Thrones | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie | |
RuPaul Zendaya | Presenters of the award for Outstanding Directing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie, or Dramatic Special | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie | |
Presenter of the award for Outstanding Television Movie | |
Presenter of a special tribute to Veep | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Limited Series | |
Presenter of the award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series | |
Cedric the Entertainer | Presenters of the award for Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series |
Presenter of the award for Outstanding Variety Talk Series | |
Presenters of a special presentation paying tribute to series ending in the 2018–19 TV season | |
Presenter of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series | |
Introducer of Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series winner Cherry Jones | |
Presenter of the award for Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | |
Presenter of the In Memoriam tribute | |
Presenter of the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series | |
Presenter of the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series | |
Presenters of the award for Outstanding Comedy Series | |
Presenter of the award for Outstanding Drama Series |
Performers
''In Memoriam''
sang "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper and Rob Hyman. The following people were included in the In Memoriam presentation:- John Singleton
- Doris Day
- Jan-Michael Vincent
- André Previn
- Cokie Roberts
- Sid Sheinberg
- Gloria Vanderbilt
- Tony Askins
- James Frawley
- Ron Miller
- Christopher Knopf
- Steve Golin
- Cameron Boyce
- Nancy Wilson
- Larry Siegel
- Peggy Lipton
- John Falsey
- Kristoff St. John
- Lou Weiss
- Sharon Taylor
- Roy Clark
- Tony Lynn
- Eunetta T. Boone
- Katherine Helmond
- Arte Johnson
- Tim Conway
- Tim Sullivan
- Rutger Hauer
- Sy Tomashoff
- Kevin Barnett
- Russell Kagan
- Seymour Cassel
- Bob Einstein
- Penny Marshall
- Georgia Engel
- Luke Perry
- Ken Berry
- Valerie Harper
- Peter Fonda
- Stan Lee
- Albert Finney
- Rip Torn
- Carol Channing