The Creative Arts Emmys are always one of the most exciting parts of the Primetime Emmys ceremony, if only because you get to experience the thrill of realizing they handed out dozens of awards when nobody was paying attention, but the reason nobody’s paying attention is because they’re actually being handed out this weekend—a week before the big-time Emmys. That’s not to say the Creative Arts Emmys are any less big-time, they just… don’t have as many celebrities, or categories that the general public cares about. But awards are awards, and the wins this weekend are no less valid than the ones next weekend… you just don’t get to see them handed out live. Also, they’re handed out over the course of three small events, two of which are happening later today, rather than one big affair. (An edited version of the ceremonies will air on Saturday, September 18.)
One third of the Creative Arts Emmys were handed out last night, and there were already some big-name winners—including the first Emmys won by Marvel Studios, courtesy of WandaVision. The trippy superhero spin-off won Best Production Design For A Narrative Program and Best Fantasy Sci-fi costumes (two categories that it seemed to have a pretty good lock on, if only because it has movie-quality superhero scenery and period costumes from multiple generations). WandaVision was far from being the big winner yesterday, though, with Netflix’s The Queen’s Gambit getting seven Creative Arts Emmys, including awards for best production design, makeup, and costumes for a period show. People who give out awards love period stuff, that’s not new information.
Other winners include The Mandalorian, Pose, Ted Lasso, SNL, and last year’s Academy Awards ceremony. That particular award was for the show’s production design and not the actual Outstanding Variety Special award (which will be handed out later), so there’s really no reason to bring up how terribly that show fizzled out at the end. You can see a full list of the winners so far at Deadline, and more awards will be handed out later today (and then again after that).