- By
- AMOL SHARMA
- and
- ALEXANDRA CHENEY
- CONNECT
If Hollywood wasn't already taking Netflix Inc. seriously, it is now.
The streaming video service scored a win at the TV industry's Emmy Awards on Sunday night as David Fincher took the best director prize for political drama "House of Cards." It marked the first victory in a major category for an online video distributor.
The Emmy win could boost Netflix's prestige in Hollywood as an outlet for high-quality original series and further encourage writers, producers and actors to consider Netflix projects at a time when competition for talent among TV networks is as fierce as ever.
But despite the milestone for Netflix, premium cable channels racked up victories, too, showing their continued strength in the face of new competition.
Time Warner Inc.'s HBO had a strong showing. Julia Louis-Dreyfus, star of HBO political comedy "Veep," won for best actress in a comedy series, her fourth Emmy award, while Jeff Daniels took the prize for best actor in a drama for his performance in "Newsroom." Bobby Cannavale won for best supporting actor for his role in Prohibition-era period drama "Boardwalk Empire."
HBO's main rival, Showtime, also had a good night, winning awards for counter-terrorism thriller "Homeland," including for Claire Danes in a best actress category.
The Emmys once were a showcase for the best broadcast TV. Then cable networks started grabbing the lion's share of awards with increasingly ambitious programming in recent years. And now Netflix and other online players represent a new wave of competition.
No broadcaster was nominated in the Best Drama category for the second consecutive year, a sign of how much competition major networks face from basic cable channels, premium cable and now Netflix.
Gareth Neame, executive producer of PBS' "Downton Abbey" and the coming NBC series "Dracula," said in a recent interview broadcasters "are being forced to catch up to Netflix and cable channels" by making edgy, serialized dramas.
With its series finale around the corner, AMC's "Breaking Bad" was in the running in several major categories. Anna Gunn took the prize for best supporting actress in a drama for her performance in the show.
The 65th Emmy awards, aired on CBS, were held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles and were hosted by actor Neil Patrick Harris, who stars in the CBS comedy "How I Met Your Mother."
CBS Corp. chief executive Leslie Moonves made an appearance in the recorded opening as a security guard letting Mr. Harris into the complex. Mr. Harris said the night would celebrate TV, and then clarified that with a comic nod to how the industry is changing. "For our younger audience, that's the thing you watch on your phones."
The broadcast included tributes to actors who died this year, including Jean Stapleton of "All in the Family" and Cory Monteith of the Fox musical comedy "Glee."
The show poked fun at the perceived threat Netflix poses to industry traditions. Kevin Spacey appeared in character as the machinating congressman he plays on "House of Cards," taking credit for sabotaging the host. "It's all going according to my plan," he said into the camera.
Write to Amol Sharma at [email protected] and Alexandra Cheney at [email protected]
