The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards honored the best in American prime time television programming from June 1, 2020, until May 31, 2021, as chosen by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. The award ceremony was held live on September 19, 2021, at the Event Deck at L.A. Live in Downtown Los Angeles, California, and was preceded by the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards on September 11 and 12. During the ceremony, Emmy Awards were handed out in 27 different categories. The ceremony was produced by Reginald Hudlin and Ian Stewart, directed by Hamish Hamilton, and broadcast in the United States by CBS and Paramount+. Cedric the Entertainer served as host for the event.
At the main ceremony, The Crown became the first drama series to sweep all the major categories, winning all seven awards including Outstanding Drama Series. Ted Lasso led all comedies with four wins, including Outstanding Comedy Series, while Hacks won three awards. Mare of Easttown also won three awards, leading all limited series, but Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series went to The Queen's Gambit. Other winning programs include Halston, Hamilton, I May Destroy You, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, RuPaul's Drag Race, Saturday Night Live, and Stephen Colbert's Election Night 2020. Including Creative Arts Emmys, The Crown and The Queen's Gambit led all programs with 11 wins each; Netflix led all networks and platforms with 44 total wins.
Winners and nominees
The nominations for the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards were announced on July 13, 2021, by Ron and Jasmine Cephas Jones via a virtual event. Including nominations at the 73rd Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, The Crown and The Mandalorian tied for the most nominations, with 24 each. HBO and HBO Max received a combined 130 nominations, making them the most-nominated network, ahead of Netflix by only one nomination. Ted Lasso became the most-nominated first-year comedy series in the awards' history with 20 nominations; the Apple TV+ sports comedy surpassed the record held by the Fox musical comedy-drama Glee, which received 19 nominations in 2010. Michaela Jaé Rodriguez of the series Pose became the first transgender person to be nominated for a major acting Emmy Award. Additionally, 43 non-White actors received nominations for acting, besting the previous record of 36.
The winners were announced on September 19, following the Creative Arts Emmys on September 11 and 12. The Crown and The Queen's Gambit led all series with 11 wins each. The two shows gave Netflix its first series wins after 30 previous nominations for comedy, drama, and limited series dating back to 2013. The Crown won all seven drama categories at the main ceremony, becoming the first show to sweep the major drama categories. It also became just the third show to complete a sweep of the major categories, following Angels in America as a limited series in 2004 and Schitt's Creek as a comedy in 2020. The Queen's Gambit became the first web series to win Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series. Netflix led all platforms with 44 wins, marking the first time it won more awards than any other network or platform and tying the record set by CBS in 1974 for the most wins by a network in a year. The fourth season of The Handmaid's Tale was nominated for 21 awards but did not win any, breaking Mad Mens record of 17 nomination losses in 2012 for the largest "shutout" in Emmys history.
For individual achievements, RuPaul became the most-awarded black individual in Emmys history with his win as a producer of RuPaul's Drag Race for Outstanding Competition Program. Michaela Coel became the first black woman to win for limited series writing for I May Destroy You. Jean Smart became the second woman to win Emmys for lead, supporting, and guest acting in comedies, after Betty White. Directing wins for Lucia Aniello and Jessica Hobbs marked the first time women won Emmys for comedy and drama directing in the same year.
While a record was set for diverse nominations and the ceremony featured many presenters of color, white individuals won all 12 major acting trophies. This led to the hashtag #EmmysSoWhite trending on Twitter, echoing #OscarsSoWhite from the 87th Academy Awards in 2015. For comparison, the previous year saw four black winners in the acting categories. In total, only three individuals of color spoke when accepting awards – RuPaul, Coel, and Debbie Allen – though there were other winners of color on producing and writing teams. The Creative Arts Emmys were more diverse, with three of the four guest acting winners being black and many people of color winning in technical categories, though those awards are considered less notable.
Winners are listed first, highlighted in boldface, and indicated with a double dagger (‡). For simplicity, producers who received nominations for program awards, as well as nominated writers for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series, have been omitted.
Programs + Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) Black-ish (ABC) Cobra Kai (Netflix) Emily in Paris (Netflix) The Flight Attendant (HBO Max) Hacks (HBO Max) The Kominsky Method (Netflix) PEN15 (Hulu) The Crown (Netflix) The Boys (Prime Video) Bridgerton (Netflix) The Handmaid's Tale (Hulu) Lovecraft Country (HBO) The Mandalorian (Disney+) Pose (FX) This Is Us (NBC) The Queen's Gambit (Netflix) I May Destroy You (HBO) Mare of Easttown (HBO) The Underground Railroad (Prime Video) WandaVision (Disney+) RuPaul's Drag Race (VH1) The Amazing Race (CBS) Nailed It! (Netflix) Top Chef (Bravo) The Voice (NBC) Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) Conan (TBS) The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central) Jimmy Kimmel Live! (ABC) The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS) Saturday Night Live (NBC) A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO) Stephen Colbert's Election Night 2020: Democracy's Last Stand Building Back America Great Again Better 2020 (Showtime) Celebrating America – An Inauguration Night Special (Multiple Platforms) The 63rd Annual Grammy Awards (CBS) The Oscars (ABC) The Pepsi Super Bowl LV Halftime Show Starring The Weeknd (CBS) Hamilton (Disney+) Bo Burnham: Inside (Netflix) David Byrne's American Utopia (HBO) 8:46 – Dave Chappelle (Netflix) Friends: The Reunion (HBO Max) A West Wing Special to Benefit When We All Vote (HBO Max)
Acting
Lead performances + Jason Sudeikis – Ted Lasso as Ted Lasso (Apple TV+) Anthony Anderson – Black-ish as Andre "Dre" Johnson (ABC) Michael Douglas – The Kominsky Method as Sandy Kominsky (Netflix) William H. Macy – Shameless as Frank Gallagher (Showtime) Kenan Thompson – Kenan as Kenan Williams (NBC) Jean Smart – Hacks as Deborah Vance (HBO Max) Aidy Bryant – Shrill as Annie Easton (Hulu) Kaley Cuoco – The Flight Attendant as Cassie Bowden (HBO Max) Allison Janney – Mom as Bonnie Plunkett (CBS) Tracee Ellis Ross – Black-ish as Rainbow Johnson (ABC) Josh O'Connor – The Crown as Prince Charles (Netflix) Sterling K. Brown – This Is Us as Randall Pearson (NBC) Jonathan Majors – Lovecraft Country as Atticus Freeman (HBO) Regé-Jean Page – Bridgerton as Simon Basset (Netflix) Billy Porter – Pose as Pray Tell (FX) Matthew Rhys – Perry Mason as Perry Mason (HBO) Olivia Colman – The Crown as Queen Elizabeth II (Netflix) Uzo Aduba – In Treatment as Dr. Brooke Taylor (HBO) Emma Corrin – The Crown as Princess Diana (Netflix) Elisabeth Moss – The Handmaid's Tale as June / Offred (Hulu) Michaela Jaé Rodriguez – Pose as Blanca Rodriguez (FX) Jurnee Smollett – Lovecraft Country as Letitia "Leti" Lewis (HBO) Ewan McGregor – Halston as Halston (Netflix) Paul Bettany – WandaVision as Vision (Disney+) Hugh Grant – The Undoing as Jonathan Fraser (HBO) Lin-Manuel Miranda – Hamilton as Alexander Hamilton (Disney+) Leslie Odom Jr. – Hamilton as Aaron Burr (Disney+) Kate Winslet – Mare of Easttown as Mare Sheehan (HBO) Michaela Coel – I May Destroy You as Arabella (HBO) Cynthia Erivo – Genius: Aretha as Aretha Franklin (National Geographic) Elizabeth Olsen – WandaVision as Wanda Maximoff (Disney+) Anya Taylor-Joy – The Queen's Gambit as Beth Harmon (Netflix)
Supporting performances + Brett Goldstein – Ted Lasso as Roy Kent (Apple TV+) Carl Clemons-Hopkins – Hacks as Marcus Vaughan (HBO Max) Brendan Hunt – Ted Lasso as Coach Beard (Apple TV+) Nick Mohammed – Ted Lasso as Nathan Shelley (Apple TV+) Paul Reiser – The Kominsky Method as Martin (Netflix) Jeremy Swift – Ted Lasso as Higgins (Apple TV+) Kenan Thompson – Saturday Night Live as various characters (NBC) Bowen Yang – Saturday Night Live as various characters (NBC) Hannah Waddingham – Ted Lasso as Rebecca Welton (Apple TV+) Aidy Bryant – Saturday Night Live as various characters (NBC) Hannah Einbinder – Hacks as Ava Daniels (HBO Max) Kate McKinnon – Saturday Night Live as various characters (NBC) Rosie Perez – The Flight Attendant as Megan Briscoe (HBO Max) Cecily Strong – Saturday Night Live as various characters (NBC) Juno Temple – Ted Lasso as Keeley Jones (Apple TV+) Tobias Menzies – The Crown as Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (Netflix) Giancarlo Esposito – The Mandalorian as Moff Gideon (Disney+) O-T Fagbenle – The Handmaid's Tale as Luke (Hulu) John Lithgow – Perry Mason as E.B. Jonathan (HBO) Max Minghella – The Handmaid's Tale as Commander Nick Blaine (Hulu) Chris Sullivan – This Is Us as Toby Damon (NBC) Bradley Whitford – The Handmaid's Tale as Commander Joseph Lawrence (Hulu) Michael K. Williams – Lovecraft Country as Montrose Freeman (HBO) (posthumous) Gillian Anderson – The Crown as Margaret Thatcher (Netflix) Helena Bonham Carter – The Crown as Princess Margaret (Netflix) Madeline Brewer – The Handmaid's Tale as Janine (Hulu) Ann Dowd – The Handmaid's Tale as Aunt Lydia (Hulu) Aunjanue Ellis – Lovecraft Country as Hippolyta Freeman (HBO) Emerald Fennell – The Crown as Camilla Parker Bowles (Netflix) Yvonne Strahovski – The Handmaid's Tale as Serena Joy Waterford (Hulu) Samira Wiley – The Handmaid's Tale as Moira (Hulu) Evan Peters – Mare of Easttown as Det. Colin Zabel (HBO) Thomas Brodie-Sangster – The Queen's Gambit as Benny Watts (Netflix) Daveed Diggs – Hamilton as Marquis de Lafayette / Thomas Jefferson (Disney+) Paapa Essiedu – I May Destroy You as Kwame (HBO) Jonathan Groff – Hamilton as King George (Disney+) Anthony Ramos – Hamilton as John Laurens / Philip Hamilton (Disney+) Julianne Nicholson – Mare of Easttown as Lori Ross (HBO) Renée Elise Goldsberry – Hamilton as Angelica Schuyler (Disney+) Kathryn Hahn – WandaVision as Agatha Harkness / Agnes the Nosy Neighbor (Disney+) Moses Ingram – The Queen's Gambit as Jolene (Netflix) Jean Smart – Mare of Easttown as Helen (HBO) Phillipa Soo – Hamilton as Eliza Hamilton (Disney+)
Directing + Hacks: "There Is No Line" – Lucia Aniello (HBO Max) B Positive: "Pilot" – James Burrows (CBS) The Flight Attendant: "In Case of Emergency" – Susanna Fogel (HBO Max) Mom: "Scooby-Doo Checks and Salisbury Steak" – James Widdoes (CBS) Ted Lasso: "Biscuits" – Zach Braff (Apple TV+) Ted Lasso: "The Hope That Kills You" – MJ Delaney (Apple TV+) Ted Lasso: "Make Rebecca Great Again" – Declan Lowney (Apple TV+) The Crown: "War" – Jessica Hobbs (Netflix) Bridgerton: "Diamond of the First Water" – Julie Anne Robinson (Netflix) The Crown: "Fairytale" – Benjamin Caron (Netflix) The Handmaid's Tale: "The Wilderness" – Liz Garbus (Hulu) The Mandalorian: "Chapter 9: The Marshal" – Jon Favreau (Disney+) Pose: "Series Finale" – Steven Canals (FX) The Queen's Gambit – Scott Frank (Netflix) Hamilton – Thomas Kail (Disney+) I May Destroy You: "Ego Death" – Sam Miller and Michaela Coel (HBO) I May Destroy You: "Eyes Eyes Eyes Eyes" – Sam Miller (HBO) Mare of Easttown – Craig Zobel (HBO) The Underground Railroad – Barry Jenkins (Prime Video) WandaVision – Matt Shakman (Disney+)
Writing +