69th Primetime Emmy Awards: History and Background

The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2016, until May 31, 2017, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The ceremony was held on Sunday, September 17, 2017, at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown Los Angeles, California, where 27 awards were presented, and was broadcast in the U.S. by CBS. The ceremony was hosted by Stephen Colbert. The 69th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards were held on September 9 and 10, and was broadcast by FXX on September 16.

The nominations were announced by Anna Chlumsky and Shemar Moore on July 13, 2017. Channelwise, the freshman HBO science fiction western drama Westworld and NBC sketch comedy Saturday Night Live were the most nominated programs, each with 22 nominations.

Host Stephen Colbert opened the ceremony with a song-and-dance number and a monologue that lampooned the state of the world under President Donald Trump, which The New York Times said set an anti-Trump tone for the rest of the event. Many of the further presentations and host commentary continued jokes aimed towards Trump, along with winners' speeches criticizing the President and standing behind diversity in the television field. Sean Spicer, Trump's former White House Press Secretary, made an appearance in which he parodied himself. RuPaul played a living Emmy statue in a comedic interview segment with Colbert during the ceremony.

Original programming streaming television services—Netflix and Hulu—upended traditional broadcast television series in several categories. Netflix series earned a total of 20 Primetime Emmy Awards, following only HBO with 29 and leading NBC with 15. Hulu's The Handmaid's Tale became the first web series to win Outstanding Drama Series. Additionally, streaming television also won their first awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (Elisabeth Moss for The Handmaid's Tale – Hulu), Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Alexis Bledel for The Handmaid's Tale – Hulu), Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series (Bruce Miller for The Handmaid's Tale – Hulu), Outstanding Television Movie (Black Mirror: San Junipero – Netflix) and Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special (Charlie Brooker for Black Mirror: San Junipero – Netflix).

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