Los Angeles (AFP) - Two major productions shared the "Emmy" TV awards on Monday, as HBO's "Success" won the award for best drama series, while the Korean "Squid Game" (squid game) entered the history of the competition by winning it. A group of rewards, most notably those allocated to the best actor, as it was awarded to his hero, Lee Jong-jae.

The creator of "Succession" Jesse Armstrong said in a speech after receiving the award that it was an "important week" for the ruling royal families, referring to the coincidence of the victory of his series, titled "Succession", with the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of her son Charles to the throne as her successor. "Obviously our accession (to the throne) got a little more votes than Prince Charles did," he joked.

“Success”, which previously won the most prestigious award in 2020, won three other awards, including Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Role (for Matthew Macfadyen). Murdoch).

Despite its twenty-five nominations, the American series shared the most prominent awards with the South Korean series "Squid Game", which turned into a phenomenon and was considered a harsh criticism of the excesses of the capitalist system, as it depicts characters from marginalized groups in South Korea who participate in traditional games for children with the aim of winning a huge sum of money.

The “Netflix” series, which achieved great public success, won six awards, and opened a new page in the history of the “Emmy” awards, paralleling their importance on television to the Oscars in cinema, thanks to his award for best actor in a drama series for his hero, Lee Jong Jae, which made him the first winner of this award for a work. in a language other than English.
With this achievement, “Squid Game” dedicated the growing success of South Korean cinema, after it was preceded by the movie “Parasite” by director Bong Joon Ho, to snatch the Oscar for Best Film in 2020.

"I don't think I wrote a page of history myself, it was you guys who opened the doors to Squid Game," said Hwang Dong-hyuk, after winning the best directing award for "Squid Game." "We made history together and I really hope 'Squid Game' won't be the last Korean drama to win the Emmy Awards."

In the Drama Series category, Zendaya won the Best Actress Award for her role as a drug-addicted teenager in "Euphoria", as in 2020.

Apple TV+'s "Ted Lasso" repeated last year's feat by winning Best Comedy Series. Jason Sudeikis, who plays an American football coach who is given an unexpected assignment within an English soccer team, also won the award for best actor in a comedy series.

Among the miniseries, "The White Lotus", a tragicomedy about hypocrisy in a luxury hotel in Hawaii, won 10 awards, including the award for best production in this category, which rewards works presented in one season. Michael Keaton won the Emmy Award for Best Actor in this category, for his role in the series “Dubsic”, which deals with the issue of fatal addiction to opioids in the United States.

And unlike Will Smith's slap at the Oscars presenter, Chris Rock, there were no surprises during the "Emmy" award ceremony, which was held for the first time since the pandemic in attendance on a stage and was presented by the American comedian Kenan Thompson, the star of "Saturday Night Live".

The most notable moments of the celebration were those that made it possible to highlight the diversity on the screen in order to reflect Hollywood's efforts in recent years to improve in this field.

The audience was moved by the song "Endangered Species" (meaning "Endangered Species") by African-American jazz singer Diane Reeves, performed by actress Sheryl Lee Ralph as she accepted the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in "Abbott Elementary".

Singer Lizzo won an award for a reality TV show in which she uses buxom dancers to accompany her on stage. "When I was a little girl, all I wanted was to see myself in the media. Someone fat like me, black like me, beautiful like me," she said to applause as she wore a red tulle dress.

"We've made a lot of progress, but we still have a lot of work to do," said actress Geena Davis, who won an award for her institute's efforts to achieve greater diversity. "Television can often directly influence how people view themselves and the value they see themselves as," she stressed.