#EmmysSoWhite: Disappointing night for actors of color

 #EmmysSoWhite went viral after the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards concluded last night.

Just when you thought Hollywood was starting to "get it" re diversity and representation, along comes this year's Emmy Awards to remind us that our society still a long way to go before the the entertainment industry begins to look like America.

All the acting categories went to Whites despite a record number of 49 non-White creatives nominated in the acting and reality competition categories.

The only people of color that won Emmys were RePaul,  for Outstanding Competition and Michaela Coel for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Seires or Movie. 

For a complete list of Emmy winners, click here.

After last year's Emmys, there were high hopes that this year would be more representative of the demographics of the nation. In 2020, four actors winning major categories – Zendaya (“Euphoria”), Regina King and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (“Watchmen”) and Uzo Aduba (“Mrs. America”), with this year plummeting to zero.

The Emmys tried to give the appearance of diversity: Cedric the Entertainer was the evening's host and several of the presenters were of color, but that didn't mask what was becoming more and more obvious as the evening wore on.

One of the few divergences from the colorless telecast was Debbie Allen receiving the Governor's Award, given to someone who has made great contributions to the industry. In her long illustrious career, Allen has been an actor, director, producer and mentor.

"It’s taken a lot of courage to be the only woman in the room most of the time. A lot of courage and creativity and fight and faith to believe that I could keep going and I have," Allen said during her acceptance speech.

The biggest winner for the night was the British series, The Crown, a fictional depiction of the life of the Great Britain's royal family.

The biggest loser of the73rd Primetime Emmys was the much needed diversity Hollywood likes to talk about ... a lot ... but words mean nothing if action doesn't back up those words.

EDITOR'S NOTE: For more commentary, tips and observations, follow me on Twitter @dioknoed.

Darren Criss wins historic Emmy; Sandra Oh snubbed

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Darren Criss thanked his family for their love keeping him grounded.

LIKE A good Filipino son, Darren Criss thanked his family after winning the Emmy last night for his role in American Crime Story: The Assassination of Gianni Versace. 

"Unlike the character I played, I was lucky enough to be raised in a home that was very loving and emphasized the value of hard work, compassion and not taking yourself too seriously," said Criss. Born to a mother from Cebu and a father of English, Irish, and German descent, Criss was raised in San Francisco.

Not only is Criss the first Filipino American to win an Emmy, but what makes the acting award even more unique and historic is that he played the role of Versace's murderer, Andrew Cunanan, who was a Filipino American.

"Oh, my God, you guys are witnessing the most extraordinary moment of my life thus far. I'm very privileged to be in this room among so many people who inspire the crap out of me, and I'm so honored to be nominated," Criss said in his accepting his award. "A lot of you guys, I've been a fan of for such a long time. Actors are really only as good as the moments they are given and the moments they are granted. So I am profoundly indebted to my friend Ryan Murphy for entrusting me with this opportunity of a lifetime and for believing in me."

The Assassination of Gianni Versace, nominated in eight categories, also won best drama in a limited series and for its casting.

Criss' win marks the second year in a row that an actor of Asian descent won the award. Last year, Asian Brit Riz Ahmed won in the same category for his role in The Night After.

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Sandra Oh brought her parents to the Emmy Awards. Her mother wore a traditional Korean hanbok.

The two other Asians nominated for Emmy's lost in their categories. Hiro Murai didn't win in the best director of a comedy series for Atlanta and Sandra Oh failure to win the Emmy for Best Actress in a Drama Series for her acting in the BBC spy thriller Killing Eve was a major snub. 

The best actress award went to Claire Foy of The Crown and Foy was expressed her surprise when she received the statuette. "This wasn't supposed to happen," Foy said when she took the stage to collect her first career Emmy. "Sandra Oh, I just love ya."

Despite her loss, Oh already made history for being the first Asian American actress to receive an acting nomination. This is the sixth time Oh has received an Emmy nomination.

In an earlier interview with ET, Oh said she hopes the Asian community continues to be proactive about getting their voices  and stories out into the world thanks to success of Crazy Rich Asians, Netflix's acclaimed teen romance To All the Boys I've Loved Before, John Cho's acclaimed thrillerSearching. 

The Chinese Canadian actress said she feels more comfortable expressing herself with color-blind roles like Killing Eve rather than politically. 

“Definitely understanding deeply that it’s not enough and to encourage our own community to find its own voice in its own way, that’s one thing that I feel we have not found our own footing yet. Because it has to be from us, uniquely in us, and there’s a lot to explore in that because Asians are very, very diverse," Oh said to ET. 

"Having been actively working in this space, where there has not been much representation at all and being [one] of the only visible faces, I feel like this is the only way that it works for me, I only look at it creatively."

The opening number "We Solved It," spoofed the Emmy's move towards inclusion, Saturday Night Live's kate McKinnon and Keenan Thompson introduced Oh. Oh said, "It's an honor just to be Asian." To which Thompson replied, "You see, there was none. Now there's one!"

That's no joke.

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Why isn't 'Into the Badlands' extraordinary fight scenes getting any respect?

Daniel Wu plays a rarely seen Asian American action hero in 'Into the Bandlands.'

HOLLYWOOD TALKS a good game about diversity on television, but when it comes to acting on widening the white worldview of the industry -- well, let's just say -- it's a long, slow process.

So when a show actually delivers on diversity, gives women prominent nonstereotypical roles, and week after week entertains us with the most thrilling action scenes on TV, we should be celebrating that show.

Daniel Wu, star of Into the Badlands -- Yes! He's a genuine Asian American action star -- let off a lot of steam over the weekend at what he perceives is an industry snub of his show. 

Here is the #Emmy list of nominees for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for a Drama Series, Limited Series or Movie 2018. I started to write a long detailed post about this but decided to see what your responses are first. I understand we are a genre show but we should OWN this category!!!Why do you think this happened? Why do you think we get no love within the industry? Action Coordination is the obvious one but what about Costume Design? Set Design? Cinematography? #snubbed 

He followed up with more tweets:

He's definitely got a point there. Into the Badlands employs one of the best fight choreographers in the world, Huan-Chiu Ku, who trained with the legendary Yuen Woo-ping (“The Matrix”) and has worked on the “Kill Bill” films, “Once Upon a Time in China II,” and “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.”

Before shooting starts for the new season, the actors are required to go through a boot camp of sorts so they can do the complicated fight scenes convincingly and without doubles.

The actors do most their own fight stunts without any camera coverups of fast-cuts, hard to see scenes in the dark or cutaways. It's like watching a long dance sequence where every maneurver, every step, kick, punch, block or sword swipe is meticulously timed and choreographed. If the timing is off or the action is sloppy, it could result in injury to the actors and stunt people.

The show's fight scenes are as good as, or better, than any fight scenes in the movies, when they have more time to rehearse. If you want to watch some breathtaking action, watch Season 1 fights below:

Wu wants a little respect for the show that he brought over from Hong Kong where the California-born actor gained fame in martial arts and romance movies.

Besides the action scenes, he believes Into the Badlands should have received nomiinations in costume and set design as well.

The show's premise takes place in a dystopian America where guns don't work. That allows the characters to become masters in swordplay and martial arts to settle disputes in this fantasy world.

Interestingly enough, Badlands gets very little promotion by its network, AMC, the same network that has the Walking Dead series and its spinoff Fear The Walking Dead. 

There is no merchandise associated with Badlands and the actors hardly ever go on tour or appear on other shows to promote the Badlands.

What's worst than an Emmy snub? Badlands is the sixth most watched show on the AMC network. Four of the five shows ahead of it have already been renewed. The other exception is Fear the Walking Dead. As of today (July 14), there's been no word about Into the Badlands' season four. 

Stream past episodes of Into the Badlands at the AMC website.
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