Women directors take home Top Comedy and Drama Series awards in Emmys for the first time

The 73rd annual Primetime Emmy Awards took place over the weekend and saw female directors taking home some of the biggest awards on the night in comedy and drama categories. Female directors took home the Primetime Emmy Awards for top comedy and drama series directing in the same year for the first time, as helmers from Hacks and The Crown predominated against tough competition.

Women directors take home Primetime Emmys for top comedy and drama series

Lucia Aniello won for directing the pilot episode of Hacks. The HBO Max comedy also took home the lead comedy actress award won by Jean Smart. Aniello took not just one but two awards as she also won for comedy series writing along with Hacks co-creators and executive producers Jen Statsky and Paul W. Downs. Aniello told Variety, "It’s very surreal, It feels very much like a fever dream." 

Jessica Hobbs won for directing the fourth season finale episode of Netflix's British drama series The Crown, the episode War depicting the turbulent marriage of Prince Charles and Princess Diana. Hobbs told Variety, "I wouldn’t say we think so much about how they’ll be perceived, but rather the real circumstances for the person at that the time." The last woman helmer to win for the drama series was Reed Morano for The Handmaid’s Tale in 2017. 

Netizens slam Emmys 2021 after no actors of colour win major awards

As per People, white actors swept all 12 lead and supporting acting categories at the annual 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards. Even though there was a diverse field of nominees in nearly every category at the award function, no major awards were presented to actors of colour. Netizens trended the hashtag #Emmys So White as they expressed disdain over the lack of diversity in Emmys. One user wrote on Twitter, "50% of tonight's nominees were people of colour and Television Academy voters pretty much chose all the white people #Emmys So White #Emmys." 

American Drag Queen RuPaul was one of the few people of colour to take home a trophy during Sunday's ceremony, winning for outstanding competition program and becoming the most-awarded person of colour in the history of the Emmys with 11 wins.

Image:@Twitter/luciaaniello/jessicahobbs