Why The Handmaid’s Tale and SNL did not deserve their Emmy wins

Why The Handmaid’s Tale and SNL did not deserve their Emmy wins

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In the end, the Emmys were dominated by three shows: The Handmaid’s Tale, Saturday Night Live and Big Little Lies. None of these programmes were perfect – far from it, in fact – but there’s a good chance they’re the ones people will talk about whenever the subject of 2017 comes up in the future.

The Handmaid’s Tale, for its occasional lapses into unintentionally hilarious grief porn and the uncomfortable early ‘this is not a feminist story’ publicity angle, was thrust into the moment by the nature of the current US administration. Big Little Lies marked the moment when all the key Peak TV signifiers – movie stars, glamorous locations, graphic sex and violence – finally left the orbit of grizzled white male anti-heroes. And Saturday Night Live? A vote for Saturday Night Live was a vote against Trump, even though it was also sort of a direct vote for Trump.

In truth, last night’s ceremony did feel a little like the product of a hobbled field. Twin Peaks: the Return – a breathtaking series that at times absolutely redefined the parameters of episodic television – was rendered ineligible until next year. The Leftovers – one of the most painful, funny, perfect shows of the last decade – failed to receive a single nomination. And some of the shows that did win felt like the product of ingrained viewing.

When it comes to comedy shows, Emmy voters seem to be perpetually stuck three years in the past. Not so long ago, it clung to Modern Family despite a notable and inescapable drop-off in quality. And this year, it honoured Veep’s worst series in the face of several far funnier shows. Veep has one series left, so its victory next year is already all but confirmed, though at least its demise might force voters to watch some new comedies for a change.

Most deserved award of the night? Ann Dowd by a light year. Though Elisabeth Moss hoovered up the lion’s share of the Handmaid’s Tale’s highlight-reel anguish, Dowd nailed the impossibly contradictory demands of her character with breathtaking ease. Her Aunt Lydia made you vacillate between hatred and pity, and few performances could match her thrumming intensity.

The least deserved? It’s hard to see past SNL’s reliance on big names for key roles. Alec Baldwin and Melissa McCarthy’s Trump and Spicer made plenty of headlines, but neither were particularly nuanced – especially when compared to the dead-on Trump impersonation Anthony Atamanuik has mastered over on the President Show – and the whole season felt like the uncomfortable moment when the Not Ready For Primetime Players became the Waning Movie Stars Slumming It For Clicks. Still, at least Kate McKinnon won something.

Special mention should go to Charlie Brooker, who won best TV movie and best TV movie writing for the San Junipero episode of Black Mirror; an episode that managed to introduce soaring uplift into what until that point had been a relentlessly sludgy palette. If nothing else, its victory should make you very excited for the upcoming series.

Most of all, though, how nice to live in a world where Elisabeth Moss and Nicole Kidman won awards in the same year, but not for their infuriating Top of the Lake series. Big little comforts indeed.