Netflix Original Drama The Crown won 21 awards out of a staggering 63 nominations at the 73rd Emmys ceremony on Sunday night.
"We're all thrilled. I am very proud. I'm very grateful." said Peter Morgan, creator of The Crown, at a gathering in London for the cast and crew.
The Queen's Gambit, a sweeping sensation depicting the story of a child chess prodigy during the cold war era, was nominated for 18 awards and won 11 prizes, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, as well as awards for casting, direction, costumes and music composition.
In a significant night for women nominees, Lucia Aniello got a rare directing win for the comedy series Hacks about a fading female comedian. She was also one of the winning co-writers.
Director Jessica Hobbs also won the prize for the star show, The Crown. Michaela Coel of I May Destroy You triumphed in Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.
An exuberant Kate Winslet won for her role as a downtrodden detective in the limited series Mare of Easttown.
Out of several Jewish nominees at the prizes, 41-year-old British actor Brett Goldstein won Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role in Ted Lasso as Roy Kent. The comedy-drama streaming television series premiered in August 2020 and was another prominent name in the ceremony, winning 7 Emmys out of 20 nominations.
Additional categories included reality show hosts (which went to actor and drag queen RuPaul), Short Form Comedy, Drama Or Variety Series, which went to Carpool Karaoke, and Variety Specials. The Disney movie rendition of the hit Broadway musical Hamilton won Outstanding Variety Special (Pre-Recorded) and was nominated for lead and supporting actor awards as well as direction. It also won Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Special.
Concerns over the Delta variant of the coronavirus forced Sunday's ceremony to move to an outdoor tent in downtown Los Angeles, with a reduced guest list and mandatory vaccinations and testing but a red carpet that harked back to pre-pandemic times.
Despite the reduction and following many precautions, the event marked one of the larger in-person gatherings of celebrities for an entertainment award show since the pandemic began in early 2019, and was a far cry from last year's largely virtual Zoom-like Emmy broadcast hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
The prestigious prize was established by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences that was founded in 1946. The Emmys are considered one of the major entertainment award ceremonies in the United States, alongside Oscars and Grammys.