Amazon Dominates Comedy Emmys With ‘Fleabag’ and ‘Maisel’

(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc.’s “Fleabag” and “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” pulled off a near-sweep of the comedy Emmys awarded on Sunday night, cementing the company’s status as an outlet for high-brow humor.

“Maisel,” a show about a New York housewife turned standup comic, picked up statuettes for best supporting actor and actress. “Fleabag,” a dark comedy about a young British woman struggling to get her life together, won for writing, directing, best actress and best comedy.

Bill Hader, the star of HBO’s “Barry,” also snagged a comedy Emmy for acting at the awards, which Fox broadcast live from Los Angeles. The TV academy aped the film academy in staging an awards show without a formal host, though it did have an announcer providing sports-style running commentary.

With media giants rushing to introduce new streaming platforms, Amazon has sought to build a reputation for high-quality original shows. It’s going to get harder to stand out. Walt Disney Co., Apple Inc., AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia and Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal will all roll out their services in coming months, setting up a historic fight for viewers’ eyeballs and wallets.

Disney planted a flag early in the show with a commercial for its Disney+ streaming service, calling out its ownership of hit machines like Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the “Fleabag” creator, was nominated for best comedy and as well as best drama, for “Killing Eve.” That gave her a chance to match an accomplishment attained by prolific producer David E. Kelley in 1999, but the drama award went to “Game of Thrones.”

“Maisel” also won five Emmys last year. “Saturday Night Live,” meanwhile, took this year’s Emmys for a variety sketch series.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net, Virginia Van Natta

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