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RuPaul, 13th, and Samantha Bee Are Among the Winners From Night 1 of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards

The Emmy Awards love to make their awards-giving process as convoluted as possible, and this year is no different. While the big-ticket Primetime Emmy Awards won’t be awarded until September 17, the Creative Arts Emmy Awards are being split up between two nights this weekend: Saturday, September 9 and Sunday, September 10.

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Most of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards are for behind-the-scenes achievements in production design, casting, or cinematography, but they also include awards for documentaries, animation, and the “variety” category that encompasses series like The Daily Show, Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and Full Frontal with Samantha Bee.

Last night’s winners included Ava Duvernay’s 13th, which took home four much-deserved awards including Outstanding Documentary, Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program, and Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics. RuPaul’s Drag Race took home an award for its costumes and Outstanding Host for RuPaul himself/herself. Viceland at the Women’s March took home the award for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction Or Reality Series.

For comedy variety shows, Samantha Bee’s Not the White House Correspondents’ Dinner won for Outstanding Writing for A Variety Special, and Last Week Tonight with John Oliver won for Outstanding Interactive Program. Saturday Night Live took home Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special, for the Alec Baldwin-hosted episode, which I can only assume was a tribute to Melissa McCarthy’s glorious return as Sean Spicer.

For animation, the Bob’s Burgers episode, “Bob, Actually,” won Outstanding Animated Program, and the Adventure Time episode, “Islands Part 4: Imaginary Resources,” won Outstanding Short Form Animated Program. The Samurai Jack team also won a number of outstanding individual achievement awards.

Below are some more of the key awards from last night. For the full list of last night’s winners, check out Deadline.

Outstanding Variety Special 
Carpool Karaoke Primetime Special 2017

Outstanding Writing For A Variety Special
Full Frontal With Samantha Bee Presents Not The White House Correspondents’ Dinner

Outstanding Directing For A Variety Special
The Oscars

Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Variety Special
Super Bowl LI Halftime Show starring Lady Gaga

Outstanding Casting For A Reality Program
Born This Way

Outstanding Costumes For Variety, Nonfiction Or Reality Programming
RuPaul’s Drag Race, “Oh. My. Gaga!”

Outstanding Cinematography For A Reality Program
Born This Way

Outstanding Narrator
Meryl Streep, Five Came Back The Price Of Victory

Outstanding Informational Series Or Special
Leah Remini: Scientology And The Aftermath

Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction Or Reality Series
Viceland At The Women’s March

Outstanding Original Music And Lyrics
“Letter To The Free,” by Common, featuring Bilal, for 13th 
(This leaves Common a Tony away from EGOT)

Outstanding Makeup For A Multi-Camera Series Or Special (Non-Prosthetic)
Saturday Night Live, hosted by Alec Baldwin

Outstanding Picture Editing For Variety Programming
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver, for the segment “F*ck 2016”

Outstanding Animated Program
Bob’s Burgers, “Bob, Actually”

Outstanding Short Form Animated Program 
Adventure Time, “Islands Part 4: Imaginary Resources”

Outstanding Short Form Variety Series
The Daily Show– Between The Scenes

Outstanding Cinematography For A Nonfiction Program
Planet Earth II, “Islands”

Outstanding Interactive Program
Last Week Tonight With John Oliver

Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Series
Planet Earth II

Outstanding Documentary Or Nonfiction Special
13th

Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program
RuPaul Charles, for RuPaul’s Drag Race

Outstanding Writing For A Nonfiction Program
13th

Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program
United Shades Of America With W. Kamau Bell

Outstanding Special Class Program
70th Annual Tony Awards

(Via Deadline and E!Online; image via ABC Television)

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