Northwestern alumni dominate Emmys, break records
Daily file photo by Zack Laurence
George R.R. Martin talks with the audience about his fantasy series, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” during a Q&A at Cahn Auditorium in November. “Game of Thrones,” which is based on his series, won three Emmys on Sunday, bringing the show’s total to 38 wins.
September 18, 2016
Northwestern alumni won big at the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, including Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ fifth consecutive award for her role in “Veep.”
Louis-Dreyfus (Communication ‘83) accepted her sixth lead actress award on Sunday night. The win broke the record for most Emmys in that category, a three-way tie previously held by Louis-Dreyfus, Candice Bergen and Mary Tyler Moore. Louis-Dreyfus’ first lead actress win was for her performance in “The New Adventures of Old Christine.”
In her acceptance speech, Louis-Dreyfus thanked several collaborators and joked about the show’s role in the current political climate.
“Veep has torn down the wall between comedy and politics,” Louis-Dreyfus said in her acceptance speech. “It now feels more like a sobering documentary. I certainly do promise to rebuild that wall and make Mexico pay for it.”
Louis-Dreyfus, who is also an executive producer on “Veep,” returned to the stage later in the night when the show won its second consecutive award for outstanding comedy series. This was Louis-Dreyfus’ ninth Emmy award.
Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the awards show also featured several wins for “Game of Thrones,” the HBO show based on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy series “A Song of Ice and Fire.”
“Game of Thrones” took home three awards and now holds the record for most Emmys for a scripted series with 38 wins, including awards not announced during the primetime show. Martin (Medill ‘70, ‘71) and the cast accepted the show’s second consecutive win for outstanding drama series, passing over shows “Better Call Saul,” “House of Cards,” “The Americans,” “Mr. Robot,” “Homeland” and “Downton Abbey.” The show also won Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series and Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series. The show won all three awards last year as well.
Other nominees included David Schwimmer (Communication ‘88), who played a supporting role as Robert Kardashian in “The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story.” The award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie went to Sterling K. Brown, who also starred in the hit FX show. David Hollander (Communication ‘90) also received a nomination for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for his work on Showtime’s “Ray Donovan.”
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