Featured image: Matthew Rhys. Photo: Greg Hernandez / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0.
The Lowdown
A comedy-horror hybrid about a haunted island just beat The Studio’s one-year-old record. That says Emmy voters are rewarding genre swings, not just prestige polish. Rhys pulling off a same-night double in comedy and limited series is the kind of range story that will follow him for years.
Key Takeaways
- Widow’s Bay won Outstanding Comedy Series and six awards on the telecast, the most of any program that night (Television Academy).
- Its 14 total Emmys broke the single-year comedy record of 13 set last year by Apple TV’s The Studio (Television Academy).
- Matthew Rhys won lead actor in a comedy for Widow’s Bay and lead actor in a limited series for Netflix’s The Beast in Me (Television Academy).
- Stephen Root, 74, became the oldest winner ever for supporting actor in a comedy (Television Academy).
The Story
Apple TV’s Widow’s Bay dominated the 78th Emmy Awards telecast on September 14, taking six awards on the night, including Outstanding Comedy Series. Combined with eight wins at an earlier ceremony, the show finished with 14 Emmys (Television Academy).
That total broke the record set a year earlier by The Studio, which won 13. Widow’s Bay’s wins included Matthew Rhys for lead actor, Kate O’Flynn for supporting actress, Stephen Root for supporting actor, Katie Dippold for writing and Hiro Murai for directing. Murai became the first Asian winner for directing a comedy series (Television Academy).
Rhys also won lead actor in a limited series or movie for Netflix’s The Beast in Me, making him the first person to win two lead performance Emmys in the same year. With his 2018 win for The Americans, he is now the first performer to win lead acting Emmys in drama, comedy and limited series (Television Academy).
Root, who is 74, passed Henry Winkler as the oldest supporting actor in a comedy winner. Winkler was 72 when he won for Barry, a show Root also starred in (Television Academy).
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More Context
- Television Academy — Widow’s Bay Carries the Day with Six Wins at 78th Emmy Awards Telecast ↗