Television’s biggest night

The 74th Primetime Emmy Awards were held on Monday evening, with Keenan Thompson of "Saturday Night Live" hosting the show, broadcasted live from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

34% of those who planned to watch the Emmys looking for social media trends and viral moments that might occur in real time.

Savanta conducted a survey prior to the Emmy’s airing, and those who planned to watch the Emmys (62%) planned to tune in using cable (37%), while only 14% of those who planned to watch the Emmys said they would through the streaming service Peacock.

Succession came into the night, leading the charge of nominations with a whopping 25 nods, an HBO drama series about the heirs to the Roy empire. Following Succession were Ted Lasso and The White Lotus, each garnered 20 nominations, and Hacks and Only Murders in the Building, scoring 17 nominations, respectively.

While the Emmys may be one of the more underrated award nights, with much controversy stemming from the try-hard attitude that comes with trying to make the television award ceremony on a par with the Grammys or Oscars, there were great moments and fantastic speeches. These noteworthy moments included award-winning speeches by Lizzo, Zendaya, and of course, Sheryl Lee Ralph.

And with the extensive list of HBO and HBO Max winners being pulled on and off stage and leading streaming services crowding the nominations, attention turned to bolstering efforts by these TV platforms to support their selected tv series (Netflix’s Squid Games, HBO’s Succession, and Apple TV’s Ted Lasso). As the titan streaming services become increasingly competitive, fighting to have the best quality tv on their screens, the question stands as to which series they’ll be promoting and campaigning for next.

So what are audiences interested in when it comes to the Emmys? Savanta’s poll in advance of the awards looked to identify what viewers wanted to see on a star-studded night.

The clear winner from a viewer’s perspective was that most of the Emmys audience care more about the fashion trends and the viral memes rather than the inner Hollywood and Streaming politics that comes with award nominations. 39% say they were more inclined to watch the Emmys this year because they wanted to see the stars on the red carpet. 36% said they would watch because they’re interested in the new fashion trends that celebrities are wearing. Many were anticipating (hoping) some drama or viral trends would come from the night, with 34% of those who planned to watch the Emmys looking for social media trends and viral moments that might occur in real time. And 33% of Americans wanted to tune in because they were interested in seeing any drama between celebrities during speeches.

So, what does that say for Award shows in the future? Television’s biggest nights may have winners and losers amongst the cast but what people are still really looking for is entertainment.

With that being said, here’s a look at this year’s lineup and the categories nominees and winners:

Best drama series:

Better Call Saul (AMC)

Euphoria (HBO)

Ozark (Netflix)

Severance (Apple TV+)

Squid Game (Netflix)

Stranger Things (Netflix)

Succession (HBO) – Winner

Yellowjackets (Showtime)

Best Comedy Series:

Abbot Elementary (ABC)

Barry (HBO)

Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)

Hacks (HBO Max)

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon)

Only Murders in the Building (Hulu)

Ted Lasso (Apple) – Winner

What We Do in the Shadows (FX)

Best limited or anthology series:

Dopesick (Hulu)

The Dropout (Hulu)

Inventing Anna (Netflix)

Pam & Tommy (Hulu)

The White Lotus (HBO) – Winner

Best lead actor in a drama series:

Jason Bateman (Ozark)

Brian Cox (Succession)

Lee Jung-jae (Squid Game) – Winner

Bob Odenkirk (Better Call Saul)

Adam Scott (Severance)

Jeremy Strong (Succession)

Best lead actress in a drama series:

Jodie Comer (Killing Eve)

Laura Linney (Ozark)

Melanie Lynskey (Yellowjackets)

Sandra Oh (Killing Eve)

Reese Witherspoon (The Morning Show)

Zendaya (Euphoria) – Winner

Best lead actor in a comedy series:

Donald Glover (Atlanta)

Bill Hader (Barry)

Nicholas Hoult (The Great)

Steve Martin (Only Murders in the Building)

Martin Short (Only Murders in the Building)

Jason Sudeikis (Ted Lasso) – Winner

Best lead actress in a comedy series:

Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)

Quinta Brunson (Abbot Elementary)

Kaley Cuoco (The Flight Attendant)

Elle Fanning (The Great)

Issa Rae (Insecure)

Jean Smart (Hacks) – Winner

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