Though “The Queen’s Gambit” was the closest thing to an opening weekend slam dunk at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Winslet outpaced frontrunner Anya Taylor-Joy. And, as IndieWire TV Critic Ben Travers put in his predictions earlier this week, this was a category filled entirely with worthy winners. Michaela Coel does TV storytelling like few others, and “I May Destroy You” was proof of that, whether she was in front of the camera or behind it. Cynthia Erivo is a magnetic screen presence and playing a musical legend in “Genius: Aretha” was never going to be an exception. Much of the goodwill toward “WandaVision” from those who weren’t already Marvel fans likely came from Elizabeth Olsen’s performance. And that doesn’t even factor in any of the actresses who were just as deserving to be part of this collection of nominees, like Thuso Mbedu from “The Underground Railroad.”
But, in the end, it was a two-person stretch to the finish. Taylor-Joy was the early favorite and held serve all the way up until the final night. A summer’s worth of buzz and praise for Winslet made the difference, herself no stranger to awards circle success — this year’s ceremony came a decade after Winslet’s 2011 win for the HBO limited series “Mildred Pierce.” Aside from “WandaVision” (Marvel, the eternal wild card), this was likely going to be an indicator of where the Limited Series race was going. Winslet’s fellow cast members Julianne Nicholson and Evan Peters each won in their respective category earlier in the evening. That combination of wins, combined with Michaela Coel’s win for Writing for a Limited Series, makes the overall category win anything but a sure thing for the nominated series. The 73rd Primetime Emmys aired Sunday, September 19 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS. The three-hour event was hosted by Cedric the Entertainer and, for the first time, available to stream on Paramount+. Follow IndieWire on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest Emmys news, including live updates, as the virtual awards ceremony airs Sunday night. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
