Disney makes history with a stunning haul of Emmy Award wins
Disney just made history at the 2024 Emmy Awards with a record haul of gold! Here’s a look at the highlights of their big wins!
The Emmy Awards are always a huge deal for television, the annual recognition of the best on network, cable and streaming. This year is interesting as, for the first time, there were two Emmy ceremonies in one year. Usually airing in September, the 2023 Emmys had to be delayed due to the Hollywood strikes that prevented actors and writers from promoting their works. They did air in January 2024.
The 76th Emmy Awards aired Sunday, September 15 and did have some big wins for Netflix’s wild Baby Reindeer, which won Best Limited Series and Actor and Actress there. Also, HBO’s Hacks won for Outstanding Comedy Series and star Jean Smart earned another Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy award.
But Disney was the big winner of the ceremony and, in the process, set a record with a stunning 60 wins across its various content brands (ABC, Disney+, FX/Hulu, National Geographic, ESPN, etc). That’s the most by one studio in a single year and boasted some terrific awards. Among the highlights…
The Bear
Debate rages about whether FX’s series is truly a comedy, as even Emmy hosts Eugene and Dan Levy made jokes about how it’s more of a drama. Still, the acclaimed series continued its run, winning 11 awards. That was mostly in acting for stars Jeremy Allen White (Outstanding Lead Actor), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Outstanding Supporting Actor), Liza Colón-Zayas (Outstanding Supporting Actress), and Jon Berthenal and Jamie Lee Curtis winning for their guest-star spots. Colon-Zayas made history as the first Latina to take that prize. While it didn’t take the main Comedy Series award, it’s still a good haul for the show.
Shogun
The bigger winner was FX’s adaptation of the James Clavell novel set in feudal Japan. There was some controversy in that most believed the show would dominate in the Limited Series category, only for FX to announce another season to make it eligible for the Drama category. That paid off with huge wins, including Outstanding Drama Series. That makes Shogun the first Disney-produced series to win that award since Lost in 2005.
Hiroyuki Sanada won Outstanding Lead Actor, while Anna Sawai is the first actor of Asian descent to win Outstanding Lead Actress. TV veteran Néstor Carbonell earned his first Emmy in the Outstanding Guest Actor category, and the show picked up a total of 18 Emmys for direction, visual effects, and more to mark the biggest winner of the night.
Jim Henson Idea Man
Already a multiple award winner, including Oscars, Ron Howard added Emmys to his work with his producing and directing the Disney+ documentary on the beloved creator of the Muppets. It took five awards, including Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special. Howard also provided one of the ceremony’s best moments by reuniting with Henry Winkler to mark the 50th anniversary of their TV classic Happy Days.
Among other notable winners for Disney included:
* Lamorne Morris taking Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for Fargo
* Ahsoka winning Outstanding Sci-Fi/Fantasy Costumes
* Jeopardy taking Outstanding Game Show
* Angela Bassett winning Outstanding Narrator for National Geographic’s Queens
* Quiz Lady winning Outstanding Television Movie (meaning stars Sandra Oh and Awkwafina have both earned Emmys)
* Songwriting duo Benj Pasek and Justin Paul joining the EGOT club (Emmy/Grammy/Oscar/Tony awards) for their work on Only Murders in the Building
* Pat Sajak getting Outstanding Game Show Host for his final turn in Wheel of Fortune.
So Disney can boast a terrific Emmy haul thanks to how many programs they have to add to the studio’s clout.