This year’s best TV was rewarded with golden statues and a lot of praise at the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards that went down just a few days ago. Unfortunately for its fans, American Gods didn’t receive any. Still, those that have are outstanding shows that tie us to the screens, no matter if they are computer screens or TV screens, week after week (or in endless binge-watching sessions). But there’s something interesting about the winners – at least when it comes to the winning programs: aside from NBC, no other broadcast network’s productions made it into the top. Aside from Saturday Night Live and The Voice, both NBC’s own, all other winners were either from subscription-based channels (namely HBO) or streaming services.
Here’s a quick recap of the winning TV programs this year:
- Outstanding Comedy Series – Veep (HBO)
- Outstanding Drama Series – Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
- Outstanding Variety Talk Series – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
- Outstanding Variety Sketch Series – Saturday Night Live (NBC)
- Outstanding Limited Series – Big Little Lies (HBO)
- Outstanding Television Movie – Black Mirror: “San Junipero” (Netflix)
- Outstanding Reality-Competition Program – The Voice (NBC)
It’s interesting to see that a device that most people use for updating Facebook and playing Platinum Play casino games can truly have an impact on an area previously dominated by massive networks transmitting programming over the airwaves. This year, HBO 46 nominations, Netflix (with FX) had 27, and Hulu (with CBS) had 7. And tailing the list, we also had Amazon with 3.
If streaming content exclusively online might have sounded a novelty just a few years ago, today it is becoming not only mainstream but also normal – and it seems that content providers are getting better in it by the year. Netflix, for example, was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for the first time in 2013, with House of Cards. Last year, it won a Golden Globe with “The Crown”, a biographical drama television series about the reign of Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. This year, it did the same with San Junipero. Hulu and Amazon are following close behind with critically acclaimed original programming. Maybe, in the coming years, we’ll witness the clash of streaming services’ original programming in a way similar to what network television channels have shown us in the past.
Soon, TV sets will no longer be our gateway to the world, as they have been for decades – they will only serve as a medium to show us the content we stream from the internet (some of us, especially cord cutters, only use it to play streaming media already). We’re witnessing a major shift in the media – and it seems that it’s good for us, right?
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