27th Annual SAG Winners Cement Early Emmy Frontrunners

Last night, the winners for the 27th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards were announced. In stark contrast from a Zoom-focused awards season SAG-AFTRA made the decision to opt out of a large ceremony and instead air a pre-taped, concise one hour ceremony.

It was the most predicatable SAG Awards we’ve seen in years, at least on the TV side. The Crown and Schitt’s Creek picked up the two ensemble prizes, continuing their sweeps through awards season. Catherine O’Hara, Jason Sudeikis, Gillian Anderson, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Mark Ruffalo also continued their winning streaks.

The big news of the night was just how well Netflix did. The streaming giant took home seven trophies including four wins on the television side. It was a big night for Netflix, and possibly a sign of things to come for the upcoming Emmy season where they are hoping to win their first series prize.

The most notable acting win of the night might have been Gillian Anderson who beat out her two costars to represent The Crown. Her win didn’t really come as a surprise. She’s a beloved TV icon who made her return to the category with an instantly iconic portrayal of a modern historical figure. She is also arguably one of very few supporting performances to win the award, beating out two costars with significantly more screen time. The Crown will surely win multiple acting Emmys later this year, and Anderson will be leading the way.

These wins don’t mean much for the upcoming Emmy race. The Crown cemented its frontrunner status months ago, and at this point it will take a miracle for any show to come even close. At this point, you could even argue that Ted Lasso is just as big of a lock as The Crown. The Apple TV+ comedy is the discovery of the year, and audiences can’t get enough of it. Schitt’s Creek may have won the top prize of the night, but Ted Lasso was the comedy everyone continued to buzz about because of their hilarious and on-brand opening segment.

Anya Taylor-Joy won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Limited Series adding to her wins at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards. The Queen’s Gambit wasn’t eligible for any ensemble prize, but if the category existed there is no doubt that the Netflix drama would have won that as well.

The Queen’s Gambit quickly became the surprise hit of awards season picking up prizes at every major ceremony and at this point the show as a whole and Anya Taylor-Joy are the undeniable frontrunners heading into Emmy season. But more so than the other races The Queen’s Gambit seems most susceptible to a backlash. Voters get bored easily, and there’s already online grumblings of people ready to see something else win. At this point however, there is no clear alternative and only a couple of months left for a new show to come out of nowhere and distract from Netflix’s most streamed limited series of all time.