Emmy Awards
host Cedric the Entertainer and the show’s producers promise it will be a
celebration for all. But it could be much more rewarding, even historic, for
some.

That
includes Netflix‘s drama “The Crown” and Apple TV+ comedy “Ted Lasso.” Each is
considered a frontrunner Sunday for top series honors in their respective
categories, and their casts received armloads of nominations.

More than
the shows would benefit. Victories in both the best drama and comedy series
categories would mark a first for streaming services and reinforce their growing
dominance, to the dismay of competitors.

But the TV
industry overall, including the broadcast networks that still field popular
shows but are largely eclipsed at the Emmys, will be honored, say those in
charge of the event airing 8 p.m. EDT on CBS.

“Sometimes,
programs that can be called ‘niche’ walk off with the awards and a lot of
people …. are going, ‘What the hell is that?’” said Ian Stewart, executive
producer of the ceremony with Reginald Hudlin. “So we’ve been really mindful of
that, and bring in big stars that everyone knows and loves.”

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Ellen
Pompeo of “Grey’s Anatomy,” Tracee Ellis Ross and Anthony Anderson
(“black-ish”), and LL Cool J (“NCIS: Los Angeles”) are
among the presenters.

The
producers’ ultimate goal is a ceremony that is upbeat and acknowledges how much
TV’s importance grew during the pandemic and its lockdowns.

“When we
first sat down with Cedric, we all quickly agreed on the idea of celebration,”
said Hudlin. “The fact is, television right now is perhaps the best it’s ever been…and
boy, have we ever needed it.”

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It’s gotten
us “through some very tough times,” Hudlin said.

“We’re
going to have a good time,” Cedric said. He’s binged on recent and older
seasons of nominated shows — retro-watching, as he dubbed the latter — to
ensure he was ready with equal-opportunity wisecracks.

The top
nominees include the British royal drama “The Crown” and the Star Wars-universe
derived “The Mandalorian,” which received a leading 24 nominations each.

On the
comedy side, the feel-good comedy “Ted Lasso” is competing with “black-ish”;
“Cobra Kai”; “Emily in Paris”; “Hacks”; “The Flight Attendant”; “The Kominsky
Method” and “PEN15.”

Other drama
series contenders include past winner “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Lovecraft
Country,” which was canceled after a single season but yielded nods for
cast members Jonathan Majors, Jurnee Smollett, Aunjanue Ellis and the late
Michael K. Williams, who died Sept. 6.

They’re
part of a diverse field of nominees. Of the 96 acting nods for drama, comedy
and miniseries, nearly 44% — a total of 42 nominations — went to people of
color. Their rise echoes the change in the U.S. population, with the number of
people who identify as white shrinking for the first time in census history.