Opinion The Third Edit: Emmys show that cinema is now on the small screen

The 76th edition of the Emmy Awards was among the most demure, mindful of sensitivities of the current moment. The hosts — Schitt’s Creek’s Eugene and Dan Levy — steered clear of jokes at the expense of actors. That’s not to say the night was uneventful. The list of awardees underscored how television — and OTT platforms — is now the medium for complex storytelling that recognises its audience’s intelligence. FX’s Shogun bagged 18 awards and became the first majority non-English-language show to win the Outstanding Drama Series category. Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach won their second straight awards for The Bear. Netflix’s Baby Reindeer came away with four awards, including Best Limited Series. Some of the other winners were Hacks, Slow Horses and The Crown.

Shogun, Australian-British writer James Clavell’s 1975 historical novel, was first adapted into a miniseries in 1980 and won several Emmys. However, it was a story about Japan, centred on a White Englishman. The reason for its remake, according to Gina Balian of FX Entertainment, is it “needing to tell [the story] as much from the Japanese side, casting Japanese-speaking actors”. Such attention to detail speaks to a cultural moment that celebrates diversity, individual specificity and the blurred lines of the genre. Fans of The Bear will agree with Eugene when he says, “I know some of you will be expecting us to make a joke about whether The Bear is really a comedy — but in the true spirit of The Bear, we will not be making any jokes.”

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The serious comedy, the witty drama, the historical epic — the mainstream on American TV — appear to be moving beyond genre shows. It seems to be fulfilling the role that many, including Martin Scorsese, believe that films have abandoned. Shows, over a longer time, are able to explore “individual voices that express their… personal ideas”.