“Game of Thrones” topped the field with seven Emmys at Saturday evening’s opening night of the two-night Creative Arts Emmy Awards, increasing its record total for a comedy or drama series to 45.
The HBO fantasy drama won for prosthetic makeup for a series, limited series movie or special; special visual effects; music composition for a series (original dramatic score); stunt coordination for a drama series, limited series or movie; costumes for a fantasy/sci-fi program; production design for a narrative period or fantasy program (one hour or more); and sound mixing for a comedy or drama series (one hour).
The FX true crime anthology series “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” was second with four Emmys.
Winning three Emmys each were “Atlanta,” “The Crown,” “The Handmaid’s Tale”; “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “USS Callister (Black Mirror).
HBO led among networks and streaming services with 13 Emmys, followed by Netflix, which had 10, and FX Networks which had seven.
Awards were presented at the Microsoft Theater for scripted and animated programming in 43 categories Saturday, mainly in obscure technical categories, such as picture editing, costuming, hairstyling, makeup and sound, but there were also awards for guest acting.
Streamed short-form programming was also honored.
All four of the acting winners were black.
Tiffany Haddish won for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for hosting NBC’s “Saturday Night Live.”
Katt Williams won for outstanding guest actor in a comedy series for his portrayal of Earn’s (Donald Glover) charming but troubled Uncle Willie, known as “Alligator Man” by the neighborhood’s children because of his pet alligator, Coach, on FX’s “Atlanta.”
Ron Cephas Jones won for outstanding guest actor in a drama series for his role as the cancer-stricken biological father of Randall Pearson (Sterling K. Brown) on NBC’s “This Is Us.”
Jones received an outstanding supporting actor in a drama series for the role in 2017, when he appeared in 16 of the 18 episodes. He was shifted to the guest actor category in the series’ second season when he appeared in seven of the 18 episodes.
To be eligible for a guest acting Emmy, an actor can appear in no more than 50 percent of a series episodes that season.
Samira Wiley won for outstanding guest actress in a drama series for her role as Moira in Hulu’s dystopian drama “The Handmaid’s Tale.”
Wiley received an outstanding supporting actress in a drama series nomination for the role in 2017 when she appeared in seven of the 10 episodes. She appeared in four of the 13 episodes in the second season.
The Emmys were the first for all four actors. Haddish and Williams were first-time nominees.
Awards in 43 categories in reality, variety, animation, nonfiction and interactive programming will be presented Sunday.
Awards in the top 26 categories of comedy, drama, limited and variety sketch and talk series will be presented at the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards Sept. 17, also at the Microsoft Theater.
The awards were for programs that initially aired between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. from June 1, 2017, to May 31, 2018.