Hamilton wins an Emmy after coming up short at the Golden Globes

Golden Globes voters threw away their shot to award Hamilton earlier this year. But at the Emmys, it was a different story.

Hamilton, the filmed version of the hit musical that hit Disney+ last year, on Sunday won the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded). Its competition in the category included Bo Burnham's Netflix comedy special Inside, as well as the Friends reunion that was released on HBO Max.

During an acceptance speech, star Renée Elise Goldsberry described the filmed version of Hamilton as reflecting the "synergy between the mediums of television and theater," also paying a tribute to Broadway, which is reopening after pandemic shutdowns.

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Ever since the filmed version of Hamilton was released last year, there had been debate about whether it should qualify for major awards shows, given it isn't exactly a movie and the original musical already swept the Tony Awards. The Oscars disqualified it, but the Golden Globes allowed it to compete as a film, with voters nominating it for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Still, that award ended up going to Borat Subsequent Moviefilm.

The Emmys took a different approach, nominating Hamilton as a variety special. According to the Emmy's rules, "programs exclusively originated for or derived/adapted from a medium other than television or broadband" are eligible in this category. At the same time, Hamilton's stars were nominated in the limited series or TV movie categories, with actors including Lin-Manuel Miranda and Leslie Odom Jr. competing with stars from shows like WandaVision and The Queen's Gambit. None of these Hamilton actors won in their respective categories, but with the variety special award, Hamilton fans can still come away from the Emmys satisfied.