An Emmy Statue on the stage. AP Photo
The FX series “Shogun” made history at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sunday night, winning a record-breaking 14 awards in a single season. It surpassed the previous record of 13 Emmys set by the 2008 limited series "John Adams." This achievement came during the second night of the two-part ceremony held at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, where awards are given out before the main Primetime Emmys.
“Shogun,” a drama set in feudal Japan, won nearly all 16 categories it was nominated for, including best guest actor in a drama series for Néstor Carbonell, as well as Emmys for costumes, makeup, stunts, and cinematography. Accepting his award, Carbonell praised the hardworking crew, exclaiming, “You’re all here! You’re all nominated! I love the team sport of this.”
Meanwhile, “The Bear” took home seven awards, including best guest actress in a comedy series for Jamie Lee Curtis. The award comes 18 months after Curtis won her first Oscar for “Everything Everywhere All at Once.” Backstage, she expressed her gratitude, saying, “I’m the luckiest girl in the world. I never thought I’d get to do such deep, complex, and intelligent work.” When asked about the possibility of joining the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) club, Curtis laughed, admitting she has no singing skills and has never performed on stage.
However, the songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul did join the exclusive EGOT club, becoming its 20th and 21st members. They earned their Emmy for a song in “Only Murders in the Building,” having previously won an Oscar for “La La Land” and both a Grammy and Tony for “Dear Evan Hansen.”
Curtis won for her role in the “Bear” episode “Fishes,” playing the mother of lead actor Jeremy Allen White. Jon Bernthal, who portrayed White’s brother in the episode, also won best guest actor in a comedy series. Michaela Coel received the best guest actress award for her role in “Mr. and Mrs. Smith.”
“Shogun” had made waves earlier this year when it switched from the limited series category to drama series and went on to earn a total of 25 nominations. Its dominance was so strong that other winners like Siddharta Khosa, who won best music composition for “Only Murders in the Building,” joked, “I didn’t write a speech, because there was no way I was beating ‘Shogun’ tonight.”
Both nights of the Creative Arts Emmys will air as a 2.5-hour special on FXX on Sept. 14, with streaming available the next day on Hulu. The Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Dan and Eugene Levy, will be held on Sept. 15.
