LOS ANGELES — Michael Keaton landed an Emmy award on Monday for playing a small-town doctor who becomes addicted to painkillers in “Dopesick” as Hollywood stars gathered to toast the best of television.
Keaton starred in the Hulu limited series that turned a
spotlight on America’s opioid epidemic. The actor thanked people
in his life who had supported him over the years despite the
fact “I made a fool of myself over and over again.”
“I had some doubters,” Keaton said as he held his Emmy for
best actor in a limited series. “You know what? We’re cool.”
Murray Bartlett, who played a hotel manager at a ritzy
resort in HBO’s “The White Lotus,” was named best supporting
actor in a limited series.
“I just want to thank my mom, all the way home in Australia,
for giving me the most wonderful foundation of unconditional
love and inspiring me to believe that we can all do that for
each other,” Bartlett said.
“Saturday Night Live” star Kenan Thompson, host of the event
at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles, promised a
festive night to celebrate one of the world’s favorite pastimes.
“What would we do without television, read books?” he joked,
before joining dance numbers to theme songs ranging from classic sitcom “Friends” to current best drama nominee “Stranger
Things.”
“Tonight is a party!” yelled surprise presenter Oprah Winfrey from the stage.
“Succession,” an HBO series starring Brian Cox as the patriarch of a family jockeying for control of a media dynasty, is a favorite for the night’s top prize – best drama.
The series, which tells the story of a wealthy family jockeying for power, won the award in 2020.
But awards experts say newcomer “Squid Game” could snag the trophy, and if so it would make history as the first non-English language program to claim a series Emmy. The show about life-or-death contests offering the possibility of riches became a global phenomenon when it debuted on Netflix Inc a year ago.
Other competitors include Apple TV+ workplace thriller “Severance,” which has generated recent buzz in Hollywood, and the final seasons of Netflix’s “Ozark” and AMC’s “Better Call Saul.”
In the comedy race, Apple TV+ feel-good series “Ted Lasso” is back for more after being named best comedy last year.
Its rivals include Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building,” starring Steve Martin, Martin Short and Selena Gomez as neighbors who become true-crime podcasters, and ABC’s “Abbott Elementary”
about teachers at a predominantly Black school in Philadelphia.
Short and Martin are competing against each other for best comedy actor, along with “Lasso” star Jason Sudeikis. Contenders
for lead comedy actress include Quinta Brunson, the 32-year-old
creator and star of “Abbott Elementary, “Insecure” star Issa Rae, and Jean Smart of “Hacks.” —Reporting by Lisa Richwine and Danielle Broadway; Additional reporting by Tim Reid and Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien and Stephen Coates
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