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Netflix, Amazon, HBO take home a ton of Creative Arts Emmys

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As we gear up for the 2015 Emmy Awards this Sunday, September 20, a long list of awards have already been doled out on the Creative Arts side. And among them are a number for original series from streaming services like Netflix and Amazon.

Transparent, an Amazon original series, won for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music for its theme song; as well as for Costumes for a Contemporary Series, Limited Series, or Movie. Bradley Whitford, who played Marcy, also took home an award for his guest role on the comedy series.

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Netflix’s House of Cards, meanwhile, snagged a number of awards, too. Reg E. Cathey took home an award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series as the lovable, rib-making (now White House-working) Freddy Hayes. The Netflix original series also won for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score.) The Leonardo DiCaprio-produced documentary Virunga also won for Outstanding Cinematography for Nonfiction Programming.

Related: Get yourself ready for the Emmys with our one-stop guide to this year’s nominations 

If there’s one network that will give streaming TV services a run for its money (and indeed, offers its own streaming alternative), it’s HBO. When it comes to anchor show Game of Thrones, the network won in a number of categories, including Outstanding Makeup for a Single-Camera Series (Non-Prosthetic), Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary of Fantasy Program (one hour or more),  Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, Outstanding Sound Editing for a Series, Outstanding Casting for a Drama Series, Outstanding Sound Mixing, Outstanding Special Visual Effects, and Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Series, or Movie.

HBO also won for Outstanding Documentary and Picture Editing for Nonfiction Programming for its biography on Robert Durst, The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst; and for Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Limited Series or a Movie for Security. The network’s Bessie also won for Cinematography, Music Composition, and Sound Mixing for a Limited Series or Movie, and grabbed the big award for Outstanding Television Movie overall. The Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways documentary miniseries won for sound editing and sound mixing as well (Nonfiction Programming, Single of Multi-Camera). Other documentaries from HBO got some recognition as well: Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief, won for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special and Outstanding Directing for Nonfiction Programming; and Citizenfour for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking. HBO also won for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver HBO for Outstanding Interactive Program.

HBO’s Boardwalk Empire got kudos for Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series, and for Production Design for a Narrative Period Program (one hour or more). The network’s tech-friendly comedy Silicon Valley also made the ranks, winning for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program (half-hour or less) and for Outstanding Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Comedy Series. HBO even managed to crack into the children’s programming category with a win for its documentary series Masterclass, for the episode featuring actor Alan Alda. Another popular series, Veep, won for Outstanding Casting for a Comedy Series; and Olive Kitteridge won for Outstanding Casting for a Limited Series, Movie, or a Special.

Also making waves on the list was American Horror Story on FX, and Saturday Night Live’s 40th Anniversary Special, which gave NBC a healthy presence on the Creative Arts Emmys winners’ list. Both programs took home a number of awards for the pre-Emmy celebration.

Another one worth mentioning: Zach Galifianakis got the recognition he deserves for his hilarious spoof interview show Between Two Ferns on Funnyordie.com. Naturally, it was the beautifully-scripted but naturally acted interview he did with mega A-list star Brad Pitt that gave him the golden statue.

The full list of winners is available at Deadline. The 2015 Emmy Awards will air on Fox on Sunday, September 20 at 8 p.m. (EST).

Christine Persaud
Christine has decades of experience in trade and consumer journalism. While she started her career writing exclusively about…
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