Creative Arts Emmy Winners: ’13th,’ ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ ‘Saturday Night Live’ Among Top Winners

Emmy voters showered awards on Ava DuVernay’s documentary “13th,” “Hairspray Live,” “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” James Corden, and “Saturday Night Live” during Saturday’s first half of the two-night Creative Arts Award presentation at the Microsoft Theater.

“13th” won for documentary special as well as writing, motion design and original music and lyrics for “The Letter to the Free” by Common, Robert Glasper and Karriem Riggins. The Netflix documentary, which also collected a Peabody Award and an Oscar nomination this year, led the winners field with four trophies.

DuVernay was one of several winners who made emotional pleas for those in media to use their power to speak out on urgent issues, from criminal justice and prison reform to climate change.

“When all kinds of people are feeling aggressively demoralized and devalued, people of justice and dignity need to stand up and make our voices heard,” DuVernay said. “Our voices are stronger than those that try to silence us.”

Cartoon Network’s “Samurai Jack” also collected four trophies, for juried awards recognizing individual achievement in animation.

Saturday’s ceremony focused on awards for reality, documentary and animated programs. Sunday’s presentation will focus scripted programming. The remaining kudos in high-profile categories will be handed out Sept. 17 in a ceremony telecast live on CBS.

James Corden’s “Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special” won the first award of the night, for variety special. It marked the second straight win the category for the primetime rendition of the popular segment from his “Late Late Show” on CBS. Emmy voters also recognized the 2016 Tony Awards ceremony, hosted by Corden, with the special class program award.

A&E Network’s “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath” was recognized for informational series or special. The star was emotional as she dedicated the win to those who came forward to discuss their experiences with Scientology.

Fox’s “Bob’s Burgers” was recognized for animated program. Cartoon Network’s “Adventure Time” took its second trophy for short-form animated program.

BBC America’s “Planet Earth II” prevailed for documentary or nonfiction series. “Shark Tank” nabbed a fourth win in the structured reality category.

CNN’s “United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell” won for unstructured reality program. Bell urged those in the crowd to recognize the important role played by “television and movies that prove the necessity of diversity and inclusion to make America a better place.”

RuPaul Charles pulled off a second consecutive win for reality host. Meryl Streep added an Emmy to her trophy case, landing the win for narrator for her work on Netflix’s “Five Came Back.”

“Saturday Night Live” won two technical awards and a makeup trophy for the Alec Baldwin-hosted episode from last season.

The team from TBS’ “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” won writing for a variety special for their “Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner” effort. Bee told reporters backstage she is ready for the news flow of the Trump era to slow down a bit. “As citizens we would actually ask for less,” she said. “We have what we have so we make what we can out of it.”

The night’s winners included two industry notables who finally made it to the stage after numerous tries. Choreographer Mandy Moore won her first statuette, after six noms, for her work on ABC’s “Dancing With the Stars” (the category ended in tie with Travis Wall of Fox’s “So You Think You Can Dance”).

Music director Rickey Minor prevailed on his seventh nom for his work on the ABC special “Taking the Stage: African American Music and Stories That Changed America.”

Several participants in the ceremony made mention of the dangers of Hurricane Irma as it barrels toward Florida.

Bill Nye, host of Netflix’s “Bill Nye Saves the World,” told the crowd he was a last-minute choice as a presenter because he was called on to fill in for actor Hank Azaria, who was called to Florida to help move his mother to safety out of Irma’s path.

Nye noted that everyone in the room owed a debt to the first responders who are on the front lines of every natural disaster. He also pointed to the prevalence of super storms like Irma and Hurricane Harvey that ravaged Texas last month as signs of a broader environmental concerns.

“For my part I sincerely hope this year becomes a turning point and that we as a nation begin to acknowledge and address global climate change,” he said, to wild applause. “We can do this. We can make the big changes we need. Working together we can — dare I say it — change the world.”

Here’s a complete list of Saturday’s Creative Arts Award winners:

Variety Special
“Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special 2017” (CBS)

Structured Reality Program
“Shark Tank” (ABC)

Host for a Reality/Reality-Competition Program
RuPaul Charles (“RuPaul’s Drag Race)

Documentary or Nonfiction Special 
“13th” (Netflix)

Documentary or Nonfiction Series
“Planet Earth II” (BBC America)

Animated Program 
“Bob’s Burgers” (FOX)

Original Music and Lyrics
Common, Robert Glasper, Karriem Riggins (“13th” — “Letter to the Free”)

Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series
“Viceland at the Women’s March” (Viceland)

Informational Series or Special
“Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath” (A&E)

Narrator
Meryl Streep (“Five Came Back” — “The Price Of Victory”)

Writing for a Variety Special
Samantha Bee, Jo Miller, Ashley Nicole Black, Patt Cassels, Eric Drysdale, Mathan Erhardt, Travon Free, Joe Grossman, Miles Kahn & Melinda Taub (“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner”)

Directing for a Variety Special 
Glenn Weiss (“The Oscars”)

Lighting Design/ Lighting Direction for a Variety Special 
Robert Barnhart, David Grill, Pete Radice & Jason Rudolph (“Super Bowl LI Halftime Show Starring Lady Gaga”)

Casting for a Reality Program
Sasha Alpert & Megan Sleeper (“Born This Way”)

Costumes for Variety, Nonfiction or Reality Programming 
Zaldy Goco & Perry Meek (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”)

Picture Editing for a Structured or Competition Reality Program
John Lim & Michael Roha (“RuPaul’s Drag Race”)

Cinematography for a Reality Program
Bruce Ready (“Born This Way”)

Hairstyling for a Multi-Camera Series or Special 
Miia Kovero, Terry Baliel, Roxane Griffin, Lawrence Davis, Jill Crosby & Joy Zapata (“Hairspray Live!”)

Production Design for a Variety, Nonfiction, Reality or Reality-Competition Series
Eugene Lee, Akira Yoshimura, Keith Ian Raywood & N. Joseph DeTullio (“Saturday Night Live”)

Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Limited Series, Movie, or Special
Charles Ciup, Billy Steinberg, Chris Hill, Bert Atkinson, Randy Gomez, Nathanial Havholm, Ron Lehman, Bettina Levesque, Dave Levisohn, Tore Livia, Mike Malone, Adam Margolis, Rob Palmer, Brian Reason, Damien Tuffereau, Andrew Waruszewski (“Hairspray Live!”)

Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Series
Steven Cimino, John Pinto, Paul Cangialosi, Len Wechsler, Eric Eisenstein, Dave Driscoll, Susan Noll, Frank Grisanti, Jeff Latonero, Ann Bergstrom, Randy Bittle (“Saturday Night Live” — “Host: Jimmy Fallon”)

Motion Design (Juried Award)

Choreography (tie)
Mandy Moore (“Dancing with the Stars”)
Travis Wall (“So You Think You Can Dance”)

Sound Editing for a Nonfiction Program
Jon Michaels, Harrison Meyle, Dan Kenyon, Will Digby & Melissa Muik (“The Beatles: Eight Days a Week – The Touring Years”)

Production Design for a Variety Nonfiction, Event or Award Special
Derek McLane, Joe Celli & Jason Howard (“Hairspray Live!”)

Makeup for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
Louie Zakarian, Amy Tagliamonti, Jason Milani, Daniela Zivcovic, Rachel Pagani, Andrew Sotomeyer (“Saturday Night Live” — “Host: Alec Baldwin”)

Picture Editing for Variety Program 
Anthony Miale (“Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”)

Short Form Animated Program
“Adventure Time” (Cartoon Network)

Short Form Variety Series
“The Daily Show – Between the Scenes” (TheDailyShow.com)

Directing for a Nonfiction Program
Ezra Edelman (“O.J.: Made in America”)

Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program
Cinematography Team (“Planet Earth II: Islands”)

Picture Editing for a Nonfiction Program 
Bret Granato, Maya Mumma & Ben Sozanski (“O.J.: Made in America”)

Interactive Program
Partially Important Productions (“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”)

Creative Achievement in Interactive Media Within an Unscripted Program
Meghan de Boer, Rich Preuss, Teeny Stillings, Augie Vargas & Shelby Sundling Lathrop (“The Oscars: All Access”)

Music Direction
Rickey Minor (“Taking the Stage: African American Music And Stories That Changed America”)

Documentary Filmmaking
TJ Martin, Dan Lindsay, Jonathan Chinn & Simon Chinn (“LA 92”)

Character Voice-Over Performance 
Seth MacFarlane (“Family Guy”)

Sound Mixing For a Variety Special Series or Special (tie)
Josh Morton, Thomas Holmes, Mikael Stewart, Eric Schilling, John Harris, Ron Reaves, Thomas Pesa, Michael Parker, Eric Johnston, Pablo Munguia, Bob LaMasney (“59th Grammy Awards”)
Al Centrella, Susan Pelino, Jay Vicari, Dave Natale, Erik Von Ranson, Simon Welch (“2017 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame Induction Ceremony”)

Sound Mixing For a Nonfiction Program (Single or Multi-Camera)
Chris Jenkins, Cameron Frankley, Nathan Evans, Sam O’Kell (“The Beatles: Eight Days A Week – The Touring Years”)

Writing for a Nonfiction Program
Ava DuVernay & Spencer Averick (“13th”)

Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program
Ian Richardson, Tony Diaz, Eric Michael Schrader & Matt Mercer (“Life Below Zero”)

Unstructured Reality Program
“United Shades Of America: With W. Kamau Bell” (CNN)

Special Class Program
“70th Annual Tony Awards” (CBS)

Lighting Design/ Lighting Direction for a Variety Series
Simon Miles, Matthew Cotter, Suzanne Sotelo & Matt McAdam (“Dancing With the Stars”)

(Pictured: Ava DuVernay and the team behind “13th”)

Source: variety.com