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A Dummy’s Guide to the Emmys: 2015 Edition

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at BC chapter.

The Hollywood Hills was blazing with celebrities on September 20, 2015 in honor of the 67th Emmys.  The red carpet was amazing, the speeches left me crying, JOHN HAMM (FINALLY)!!! But don’t worry for those who haven’t seen this year’s Emmys because Her Campus BC is here to save the day! Here are the top five takeaways from the 67th Emmys.

HBO Sweeps!

There is no doubt that HBO won the Emmys overall. They won 14 Emmys on Sunday night that went alongside the 43 Emmy’s won at the Creative Arts Awards. Veep won four awards: Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy for Tony Hale, Best Actress in a Comedy for Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Best Writing for a Comedy and Best Comedy. Popular show Game of Thrones also took home four awards for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama for Peter Dinklage, Best Writing, Best Directing, and Best Drama. HBO also basically swept the Limited Series of Movie categories, winning Best Writing, Best Directing, and Best Limited Series for Olive Kitteridge. Actors Bill Murray, Richard Jenkins, and Frances McDormand also won for their roles in the movie.

John Hamm (FINALLY)

Don’t worry! No riots are necessary to complain about John Hamm not winning an Emmy for the 8th time in a row for the same role. He finally heard his name called over the microphone and after crawling onto the stage he thanked whoever made the mistake of giving him the Emmy.  While I’ve never seen Mad Men, I’ve heard that his performances have been amazing and people have been extremely shocked that he hasn’t won until now.  Luckily we can all put that behind us now and John can celebrate his well-earned trophy, eight years in the making.  

Record Breaking Performances

Who doesn’t love some new records? Allison Janney won her seventh Emmy for playing Bonnie Plunkett on the CBS series Moms. She won her first four Emmy’s playing CJ Cregg in The West Wing and then picked up two other Emmy’s for Moms and Master of Sex last year. Viola Davis also became the first black woman to win Best Actress in a Drama series for her portrayal as Annalise Keating in How To Get Away With Murder. Uzo Aduba also became the first actress to win both Best Supporting Actress in a Drama and Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for the same role. Her portrayal of Crazy Eyes in Orange is the New Black has won her back to back Emmys, this year’s being for Drama.

The Support for Justice

With such widespread TV programs this year, advocates of different social justice groups were fighting for their cause. Last year it was Patricia Arquette and the wage gap, this year it was transgender rights and black equality. Transparent, an Amazon show, won Best Directing and Best Actor in a Comedy for Jeffery Tambor. Both people talked about transgender rights in their acceptance speeches and urged people to fight for equality. Viola Davis gave an emotional speech that honestly made me cry, alongside Taraji P. Henson and Kerry Washington. She started by quoting Harriet Tubman and then went on to say “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.” You go, Viola!!

The Nostalgia Was Real

We lost a lot of really fun shows this year: Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, Glee, Boardwalk Empire, The Newsroom, Sons of Anarchy, The Daily Show with John Stewart, The Colbert Report, and many more amazing shows. The Emmy’s decided to honor these shows both in a little montage (angering thousands of fans because of the lack of a spoiler notice) and through the awards given. We saw it last year with Breaking Bad and this year it carried on. I’ve already talked about John Hamm’s win, and while his win was definitely deserved, people don’t like to make mistakes when it’s the last year. The Daily Show with John Stewart won three awards. The Academy held out for Parks and Recreation but unfortunately, the dead shows can’t win them all.

Overall the Emmys this year were pretty entertaining. Andy Samberg did a good job keeping the show moving and was funny, which was pretty important.  Congratulations to all the winners (I love you all) and to the losers…well, there’s always next year (except for Amy Poehler).

 

Photo Sources

http://www.emmys.com/sites/default/files/Downloads/67Emmy_StandardDisplay_1280x1024.jpg

http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/55ff7c759dd7cc1f008bbb81-3000-1500/veep%20kevin%20winter%20getty.jpg

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/host.madison.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/1/b9/1b94e827-77b9-5efe-8d9f-e57cfeec550f/55ff7d48cee6f.image.jpg

http://media-cdn.timesfreepress.com/img/photos/2015/09/20/2015primetimeemmyakarr17908213338_t1070_h66e88535d6ebc8655ea8bec64ffa19ab6ef4440c.jpg

http://www.todayonline.com/sites/default/files/styles/photo_gallery_image_lightbox/public/photos/43_images/23651560.jpg?itok=3ZI-ebmq

 
Maddy is a Sophomore at Boston College studying Communications and History. Currently living in Los Angeles, Maddy spends her time watching procedurals on Netflix, volunteering for either the Student Admissions Program or Samaritans, reading celebrity gossip, or searching for the best french fries in town.
Blake is a senior at Boston College and is pursuing Biology and Pre-Med, as well as the perfect slice of pizza. She is so excited to be a co-Campus Correspondent along with Emily this year! As well as being a writer for Her Campus BC, she is also a member of the Girls Club Lacrosse team, the Public Health Club, and is a physics tutor on campus.