‘Making A Murderer’ Dominates At Creative Arts Emmys, Night 2
On the second night of the Creative Arts Emmys, held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, Netflix docuseries Making A Murderer took the night with four statues in the Outstanding Directing, Writing, Picture Editing and Documentary or Non-Fiction Series.
The 10-episode series, which had its share of critics who challenged its accuracy, documented the compelling case of Steven Avery and events that continue surround it today. Do the awards help bring a sense of vindication against those naysayers? Not really, said co-writer/producer/directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos after their multiple wins. “We have always said the show’s best friend is the public record,” Ricciardi said. “If anyone wanted to challenge any choices we made they could go and check the public record themselves but we worked on this for a decade and we that were are as diligent and thorough and accurate as possible so we are proud of the work, proud of our team and we’re grateful to everyone that participated in the making of the series.”
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Given the story in Making A Murderer is continuing to unfold, Demos added that she and Ricciardi are definitely not finished telling it. “Things are happening and we’re following those events as they unfold. As you follow things as they’re unfolding, of course you can’t tell the future, you don’t know exactly what’s going to happen but that’s part of the process. We have other projects, we’re developing a scripted project at this time and we’re looking at other options as well.”
Of those upcoming projects, Ricciardi revealed, “We are working on adapting a docuseries written by Steven Brill that was published in the Huffington Post last fall, it’s called America’s Most Admired Lawbreaker and producers are [George Clooney’s] Smokehouse and the financier is Sonar.” The project is in the development stage, she said, and is not set up at a network yet.
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Also a winner during the ceremony was FXX’s Archer, which took the Outstanding Animated Series statue for the first time. Executive producer Matt Thompson explained backstage, “This is our third nomination so I had just told myself, ‘Oh, we lost!’ but it feels completely different to win something as it does to lose.”
Asked about the success of the animated series—which has gone through several reinventionsover the years, including the most recent season where the agents moved to Los Angeles to become private investigators—Thompson gave kudos to series creator Adam Reed, who was not present for the ceremony. “He wants to keep himself interested and the way he keeps himself interested is slightly tweaking his own formula, which he keeps doing again and again.” The show is not done with retooling and executive producer Casey Willis teased the upcoming eighth season will take the gang back in time to the year 1947.
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Other notable wins include three Emmys for both Fox’s Grease: Live and documentary film Cartel Land (which aired on A&E) and two statues for HBO’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.
Here is the complete list of Creative Arts Emmy winners from Night 2:
Outstanding Informational Series Or Special
Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown
Outstanding Special Class Program
Grease: Live
Outstanding Choreography (tie)
Quest Crew
Kathryn Burns
Outstanding Structured Reality Program
Shark Tank
Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program
Born This Way
Outstanding Cinematography For A Reality Program
Life Below Zero
Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program
RuPaul’s Drag Race – RuPaul Charles
Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Series
Dancing With the Stars
Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Limited Series, Movie Or Special
Grease: Live
Outstanding Actress In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series
Patrika Darbo
Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
Key & Peele
Outstanding Hairstyling For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special
Saturday Night Live
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Nonfiction Program (Single Or Multi-Camera)
Vice • Fighting Isis
Outstanding Sound Editing For A Nonfiction Program (Single Or Multi-Camera)
Cartel Land
Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program
Cartel Land
Outstanding Production Design For A Variety, Nonfiction, Reality Or Reality-Competition Series
Portlandia
Outstanding Production Design For A Variety, Nonfiction, Event Or Award Special
Grease: Live
Outstanding Actor In A Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series
Rob Corddry, Childrens Hospital
Outstanding Costumes For Variety, Nonfiction Or Reality Programming
The Wiz Live!
Outstanding Picture Editing For A Structured Or Competition Reality Program
Who Do You Think You Are? • Bryan Cranston
Outstanding Picture Editing For An Unstructured Reality Program
Project Greenlight • Accident Waiting To Happen
Governors Award
American Idol
Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction Or Reality Series
Inside Look: The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story
Outstanding Short Form Variety Series
Park Bench with Steve Buscemi
Outstanding Short Form Comedy Or Drama Series
Childrens Hospital
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Variety Series Or Special
Danny Elfman’s Music From the Films of Tim Burton (Live From Lincoln Center)
Outstanding Picture Editing For Variety Programming
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Variety Special
Grease: Live
Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Variety Series
The Voice
Outstanding Individual Achievement In Animation – (Juried)
Jason Kolowski – Adventure Time • Bad Jubies
Tom Herpich – Adventure Time • Stakes Pt. 8: The Dark
Jason Carpenter – He Named Me Malala
Chris Tsirgiotis – Long Live the Royals • Punk Show
Scott Daros – Robot Chicken DC Comics Special
Outstanding Animated Program
Archer • The Figgis Agency
Outstanding Short Form Animated Program
Robot Chicken • Robot Chicken Christmas Special The X-Mas United
Outstanding Character Voice-Over Performance
Seth MacFarlane
Outstanding Picture Editing For A Nonfiction Program
Making a Murderer
Outstanding Directing For A Nonfiction Program
Making a Murderer
Outstanding Writing For A Nonfiction Program
Making a Murderer
Outstanding Variety Special
The Late Late Show Carpool Karaoke Prime Time Special
Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver
Outstanding Directing For A Variety Series
Inside Amy Schumer
Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking (tie)
Cartel Land
Jim: The James Foley Story
Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Special
What Happened, Miss Simone?
Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series
Making a Murderer
Creative Arts Emmy Awards airs Saturday, September 17 at 8/7c on FXX. The Emmy Awards will be presented on Sunday, September 18 with host Jimmy Kimmel at 7/6c on ABC.