(Bloomberg) -- Amazon.com Inc.’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” and “Fleabag” won four out of the first five Emmys awarded on Sunday night, cementing the company’s status as a prestige outlet for comedy.
“Maisel,” a show about a New York housewife turned standup comic, picked up statuettes for best supporting actor and actress. “Fleabag,” a dark comedy about a young British woman struggling to get her life together, won for comedy writing, directing and best actress.
Bill Hader, the star of HBO’s “Barry,” also snagged a best acting Emmy at the awards, which Fox broadcast live from Los Angeles. The TV academy aped the film academy in staging an awards show without a formal host.
With media giants rushing to introduce new streaming platforms, Amazon has sought to build a reputation for high-quality original shows. It’s going to be harder and harder to stand out. Walt Disney Co., Apple Inc., AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia and Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal will all roll out their services in coming months, setting up a historic fight for viewers’ eyeballs and wallets.
Disney planted a flag early in the show with a commercial for its Disney+ streaming service, calling out its ownership of hit machines like Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar.
Phoebe Waller-Bridge, the “Fleabag” creator, is nominated for best comedy and best drama, for “Killing Eve.” That gives her a chance to match an accomplishment attained by prolific producer David E. Kelley in 1999.
‘Maisel’ also won five Emmys last year and has a shot to win back-to-back awards for best comedy series.
To contact the reporter on this story: Lucas Shaw in Los Angeles at lshaw31@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Turner at nturner7@bloomberg.net
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