The Queen's Gambit earns Netflix its 1st best limited series Emmy
Checkmate.
The Queen's Gambit, the hit miniseries centered around a young chess prodigy, won the Emmy for Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series on Sunday, beating out competition that included HBO's Mare of Easttown and Disney's WandaVision. This marked Netflix's first time winning the limited series Emmy.
The streamer first entered this category at the Emmys in 2018 with Godless. Since then, it's been nominated every year, in 2019 scoring a nod for When They See Us and in 2020 earning nominations for Unbelievable and Unorthodox. But the past two Emmys saw the limited series prize go to HBO shows, Watchmen and Chernobyl, while an FX series, The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story, won in 2018.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
While The Queen's Gambit was the frontrunner to win best limited series, some pundits thought the buzzy crime drama Mare of Easttown could beat it. The Queen's Gambit's win also comes just days after a chess champion, Nona Gaprindashvili, sued Netflix for defamation over a line in the show falsely stating she never faced men, which she criticized as "grossly sexist and belittling." Netflix said it believes the "claim has no merit" and that it will "vigorously defend the case."
This limited series win was another significant victory for Netflix, which going into Sunday's Emmys had never won the award for Outstanding Comedy Series, Outstanding Drama Series, or Outstanding Limited Series. But the streamer scored a whopping 129 nominations this year, and The Crown also won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series. These wins helped Netflix tie a record from CBS for most Emmy wins by one network in a single year. Apple's Ted Lasso also won Outstanding Comedy Series, making this the first time ever that the top three series Emmys all went to shows from streaming services.
-
How the ‘British FBI’ will workThe Explainer New National Police Service to focus on fighting terrorism, fraud and organised crime, freeing up local forces to tackle everyday offences
-
The best family hotels in EuropeThe Week Recommends Top kid-friendly hotels with clubs, crèches and fun activities for children of all ages – and some downtime for the grown-ups
-
Moon dust has earthly elements thanks to a magnetic bridgeUnder the radar The substances could help supply a lunar base
-
‘One Battle After Another’ wins Critics Choice honorsSpeed Read Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film, which stars Leonardo DiCaprio, won best picture at the 31st Critics Choice Awards
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
