At last years 2014 Emmy Awards, if you were nominated and a previous Emmy winner, the chances were pretty good that you would win another Emmy in your category. And that was true for losers as well. At this year’s Emmy Awards 2015, if you had been nominated numerous times and never won, there was a good chance you weren’t going to win the coveted award this time either. Inside the Emmys repeat winners (and losers) were the norm in a lot of the major categories.
That all changed at this years’ Emmy Awards 2015. Let’s take a look at what went on inside the Emmys. While there were some repeat winners, there was also enough real change to make for a refreshing new take on the extensive programming now available, with game changing breakthroughs in some major categories.
The most obvious breakthrough at the Emmy Awards 2015 was the big win for Viola Davis for best dramatic actress in “How to Get Away with Murder,” the first win in the category for an African American woman. In a truly moving speech that seemed straight from the heart and without using notes, she quoted Harriet Tubman from the 1880s and also said “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity. Here’s to all the writers, people who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a beautiful woman, to be black.”
Regina King‘s win for best supporting actress in “American Crime” also seemed to be something of a surprise, as did Uzo Aduba‘s win for comedic supporting actress in “Orange is the New Black,” making her the first person, since Ed Asner to win an Emmy in comedy and drama for the same role. The wins for the African American actress ties a record set in 1991 for most acting Emmys awarded to black women in a single year.
Another emotional moment was Jon Hamm finally getting his Emmy Awards 2015, to a standing innovation, for his role as advertising executive Don Draper in “Mad Men,” which ended in May. He had seven previous nominations for the role but no wins, and it was fitting that he got recognition for his work in the series as it ended.
In other Emmy awards that indicate the shifting landscape in not only television viewing but also cultural values, Jeffrey Tambor, won the Emmy for best actor in Amazon’s comedy “Transparent,” and dedicated his award to members of the transgender community, thanking them for “…your patience, your courage and for allowing us to be part of the change.” Jill Soloway won the award for best comedy director for “Transparent,” and ended her acceptance speech by saying that her own transgender dad could still barred from renting an apartment in 32 states.
“Olive Kitteridge,” behind the cheerleading of Frances McDormand, had the most wins of any show, taking home six Emmys. It won for best limited series, best actress for McDormand, best actor for Richard Jenkins and best supporting actor for Bill Murray. Lisa Cholodenko won for best director in the category, and Jane Anderson won for writing.
Amy Schumer, currently one of the hottest names in Hollywood, won an Emmy Award for her comedy sketch series “Inside Amy Schumer.” Emmy veteran Allison Janney picked up her seventh Emmy for supporting actress in the comedy series “Mom,” and “The Voice” won for the second time in the reality category.
Other big Emmy Award 2015 winners included HBO, with its “Game of Thrones” winning for best drama series. The award was presented by Tracy Morgan, an inspirational moment for the actor who suffered a traumatic brain injury in devastating car accident that nearly killed him 15 months ago. Overall, HBO programming ended up with a record-setting 43 wins in various categories.
There were some predictable wins also. “Veep” star Julia Louis-Dreyfus won for best actress in a comedy for the fourth straight year and “The Daily Show,” maybe in a final salute to the greatness of Jon Stewart as he leaves television, won for every category it was nominated in.
The night also included a collage of clips honoring shows that had recently ended, including “Mad Men,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Parenthood,” “Late Show With David Letterman,” (after almost 22 years on CBS), “The Colbert Report” and crowd favorite “The Daily Show With Jon Stewart.”
All in all the Emmy Awards 2015 were very colorful this year quite literally. It reminded me of my favorite artist, Daniel Hanifan, who does not only paint amazing colors but also works behind the scenes of theater and movie sets.
I myself have received a tremendous number of complements on my dress that was an artistic creation by Jessica Bazan, an up and coming young designer, who made dresses for a number of ladies in television.
List of Nominees and Winners:
OUTSTANDING DRAMA
LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
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- Claire Danes, Homeland
- Viola Davis, How to Get Away With Murder — WINNER
- Taraji P. Henson, Empire
- Tatiana Maslany, Orphan Black
- Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
- Robin Wright, House of Cards
LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA
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- Kyle Chandler, Bloodline
- Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
- Jon Hamm, Mad Men — WINNER
- Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
- Liev Schreiber, Ray Donovan
- Kevin Spacey, House of Cards
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
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- Joanne Froggatt, Downton Abbey
- Lena Headey, Game of Thrones
- Emilia Clarke, Game of Thrones
- Christina Hendricks, Mad Men
- Uzo Aduba, Orange Is the New Black — WINNER
- Christine Baranski, The Good Wife
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
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- Jonathan Banks, Better Call Saul
- Ben Mendelsohn, Bloodline
- Jim Carter, Downton Abbey
- Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones — WINNER
- Michael Kelly, House of Cards
- Alan Cumming, The Good Wife
GUEST ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
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- Diana Rigg, Game of Thrones
- Rachel Brosnahan, House of Cards
- Cicely Tyson, How to Get Away With Murder
- Allison Janney, Masters of Sex
- Khandi Alexander, Scandal
- Margo Martindale, The Americans — WINNER (at Creative Arts ceremony)
GUEST ACTOR IN A DRAMA
- Alan Alda, The Blacklist
- Michael J Fox, The Good Wife
- Murray Abraham, Homeland
- Reg E. Cathey, House of Cards — WINNER (at Creative Arts ceremony)
- Beau Bridges, Masters of Sex
- Pablo Schreiber, Orange Is the New Black
DIRECTING IN A DRAMA
- Game of Thrones (David Nutter) — WINNER
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- WRITING IN A DRAMA
- Game of Thrones (David Benioff and D.B. Weiss) — WINNER
OUTSTANDING COMEDY
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- Louie
- Modern Family
- Parks and Recreation
- Silicon Valley
- Transparent
- Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Veep — WINNER
LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
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- Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
- Lisa Kudrow, The Comeback
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep — WINNER
- Amy Poehler, Parks and Recreation
- Amy Schumer, Inside Amy Schumer
- Lily Tomlin, Grace and Frankie
LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY
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- Anthony Anderson, black-ish
- Louis C.K., Louie
- Don Cheadle, House of Lies
- Will Forte, Last Man on Earth
- Matt LeBlanc, Episodes
- William H. Macy, Shameless
- Jeffrey Tambor, Transparent — WINNER
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
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- Niecy Nash, Getting On
- Julie Bowen, Modern Family
- Allison Janney, Mom — WINNER
- Kate McKinnon, Saturday Night Live
- Mayim Bialik, The Big Bang Theory
- Gaby Hoffmann, Transparent
- Jane Krakowski, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Anna Chlumsky, Veep
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
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- Andre Braugher, Brooklyn Nine-Nine
- Adam Driver, Girls
- Keegan-Michael Key, Key & Peele
- Ty Burrell, Modern Family
- Tituss Burgess, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
- Tony Hale, Veep — WINNER
GUEST ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
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- Gaby Hoffmann, Girls
- Pamela Adlon, Louie
- Elizabeth Banks, Modern Family
- Joan Cusack, Shameless — WINNER (at Creative Arts ceremony)
- Christine Baranski, The Big Bang Theory
- Tina Fey, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
GUEST ACTOR IN A COMEDY
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- Mel Brooks, The Comedians
- Paul Giamatti, Inside Amy Schumer
- Bill Hader, Saturday Night Live
- Louis C.K., Saturday Night Live
- Bradley Whitford, Transparent — WINNER (at Creative Arts ceremony)
- Jon Hamm, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
DIRECTING IN A COMEDY
- Transparent (Jill Soloway) — WINNER
WRITING IN A COMEDY
- Veep (Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche) — WINNER
VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
VARIETY SKETCH SERIES
WRITING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart — WINNER
DIRECTING FOR A VARIETY SERIES
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- The Daily Show With Jon Stewart (Chuck O’Neil) — WINNER
- RELATEDTracy Morgan Gives Emotional Speech at Emmys After Near-Fatal Accident
LIMITED SERIES
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- American Crime
- American Horror Story: Freak Show
- The Honorable Woman
- Olive Kitterridge — WINNER
- Wolf Hall
LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
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- Timothy Hutton, American Crime
- Ricky Gervais, Derek Special
- Adrien Brody, Houdini
- David Oyelowo, Nightingale
- Richard Jenkins, Olive Kitteridge — WINNER
- Mark Rylance, Wolf Hall
LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
- Felicity Huffman, American Crime
- Jessica Lange, American Horror Story: Freak Show
- Queen Latifah, Bessie
- Maggie Gyllenhaal, The Honorable Woman
- Frances McDormand, Olive Kitteridge — WINNER
- Emma Thompson, Sweeney Todd
SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
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- Regina King, American Crime — WINNER67th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards – Show
- Sarah Paulson, American Horror Story: Freak Show
- Angela Bassett, American Horror Story: Freak Show
- Kathy Bates, American Horror Story: Freak Show
- Mo’Nique, Bessie
- Zoe Kazan, Olive Kitteridge
SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
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- Richard Cabral, American Crime
- Denis O’Hare, American Horror Story: Freak Show
- Finn Wittrock, American Horror Story: Freak Show
- Michael Kenneth Williams, Bessie
- Bill Murray, Olive Kitteridge — WINNER
- Damian Lewis, Wolf Hall
DIRECTING IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
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- Richard Jenkins
- Olive Kitteridge (Lisa Cholodenko) — WINNER
- WRITING IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
- Olive Kitteridge (Jane Anderson) — WINNER
TV MOVIE
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- Agatha Christie’s Poirot — Curtain: Poirot’s Last Case
- Bessie — WINNER (at Creative Arts ceremony)
- Grace of Monaco
- Hello Ladies: The Movie
- Killing Jesus
- Nightingale
REALITY SHOW COMPETITION
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- The Amazing Race
- Dancing With the Stars
- Project Runway
So You Think You Can Dance
- Top Chef
- The Voice — WINNER
REALITY SHOW HOST
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- Tom Bergeron, DWTS
- Jane Lynch, Hollywood Game Night — WINNER (at Creative Arts ceremony)
- Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn, Project Runway
- Cat Deeley, SYTYCD
- Anthony Bourdain, The Taste
About the Author of This Article: Adrienne Papp is a recognized journalist, economist and feature writer who has written for many publications including Savoir; The Westside Today Publications ; such as Beverly Hills 90210; Malibu Beach; Santa Monica Sun; The Beverly Hills Times; Brentwood News; Bel-Air View ; Celebrity Society ; Celeb Staff ; It Magazine; Chic Today;LA2DAY; West Side Today among many others. She is the President and CEO of Los Angeles / New York-based publicity company, Atlantic Publicity and publishing house, Atlantic Publisher. Adrienne writes about world trends, Quantum Physics, entertainment and interviews celebrities, world leaders, inventors, philanthropists and entrepreneurs. She also owns Atlantic United Films that produces and finances true stories made for theatrical release or the silver screen. Spotlight News Magazine is owned by Atlantic United, Inc. Atlantic Publicity just opened a new extension to it : PublicityLosAngeles. Adrienne Papp is a member of the International Press Academy. She is the Founder, CEO and President of Youthful & Ageless ™, Bringing Information to Billions™, An Honorable Cause
Source: The Emmy Awards, Adrienne Papp was a red carpet and backstage journalist covering the Emmys.