The win marks the fourth consecutive year that “Saturday Night Live” has earned the Emmy in the category. IndieWire’s Ben Travers recently predicted that “Saturday Night Live” would perform well during the Emmys due to its widespread popularity and recognition among Emmy voters. “Over the three years it’s won Variety Sketch, ‘SNL’ had 18 total nominations in 2019 and won five times; 2018 saw 21 nods and eight wins; 2017 hit a recent high with 23 nominations and nine wins, including four acting trophies,” Travers said in his article on the category’s likely winner. “So Lorne Michaels’ juggernaut is trending down… and it’s still one of the most recognized programs at the Emmys. Even if voters agree Season 45 wasn’t the best iteration of the series, it’s built up decades of goodwill.”
“Saturday Night Live” beat out HBO’s “A Black Lady Sketch Show” and Comedy Central’s recently-canceled “Drunk History” to secure the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series. The show also faced considerably less competition for the Best Variety Sketch Series Emmy than prior years, as popular titles in the category such as “Documentary Now!,” “Portlandia,” “Tracey Ullman’s Show,” “I Love You America, with Sarah Silverman,” and “Who Is America?” are no longer in the running. “Saturday Night Live” secured the Emmy for Outstanding Variety Sketch Series following an especially unusual several months of production. The show’s team was forced to stop studio filming due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Like several other shows, “Saturday Night Live” experimented with filming new episodes via videoconferencing tech; Season 45 concluded with a third and final virtual episode in early May. The “Saturday Night Live” team has been preparing to return to studio production for Season 46. The 72nd Primetime Emmys will air on Sunday, September 20 on ABC at 8 p.m. ET. The three-hour event will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Check out IndieWire’s Emmy predictions to get the scoop on which series and stars are expected to win big throughout the event. Follow IndieWire on Twitter and Facebook for all the latest Emmys news, including live updates, as the virtual awards ceremony airs Sunday night. Check out the full winners list for the Creative Arts Emmys. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
