Before handing out the winged statuettes at the 2022 International Emmy Awards, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences should declare, “Mission completed.” When the Academy held the first International Emmys in 1973, interest in and demand for non-U.S. television were virtually nonexistent. In the pre-cable, three-network era, it was difficult to locate international programs or any type of diversity on primetime schedules.
A half-century later, international programming is ubiquitous on the figurative dial. Almost all of this year’s nominees are accessible to American consumers due to the growing number of streaming platforms that broadcast foreign content. The percentage of non-U.S. titles viewed in the country has more than doubled, from little less than 8 percent in 2018 to more than 16 percent in 2021, according to data from Whip Media, a U.S. business that operates a global content licensing platform.
In addition, Blair Underwood and Benjamin Bratt awarded Ava DuVernay with the International Emmy Founders Award. “The manner in which we consume television has changed drastically. The medium’s power, however, has remained unchanged since its invention more than a century ago, according to DuVernay. “Television, particularly international television, is a doorway to the globe; it connects individuals from all walks of life and locations where I am, where there are few possibilities to view moving pictures.
We lack art galleries in Compton. There are no independent movie theatres in Selma, where it is impossible to find photos of individuals of different races. In expansive ways, television becomes this window, broadening our comprehension of ourselves and one another. It is of fundamental importance.”
Emmys were presented by the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences to television makers and performers from eight nations, including the United Kingdom, South Korea, the Netherlands, Australia, and New Zealand. Penn Jillette of Penn & Teller hosted the ceremony.
A list of this year’s winners follows.
Arts Programming
Freddie Mercury: The Final Act
Rogan Productions
United Kingdom
Best Performance by an Actor
Dougray Scott in Irvine Welsh’s Crime
Buccaneer / Off Grid Film & TV
United Kingdom
Best Performance by an Actress
Lou de Laâge in Le Bal des Folles [The Mad Women’s Ball]
Légende Films / Amazon Studios
France
Comedy
Sex Education – Season 3
Netflix / Eleven Film
United Kingdom
Documentary
Enfants de Daech, les damnés de la guerre [Iraq’s Lost Generation]
Cinétévé
France
Drama Series
Vigil
World Productions
United Kingdom
Kids: Animation
Shaun the Sheep: Flight Before Christmas
Aardman / BBC / Netflix
United Kingdom
Kids: Factual & Entertainment
My Better World
Fundi Films / MAAN Creative / Impact(ed) International
South Africa
Kids: Live-Action
KABAM!
Ijswater Films / KRO-NCRV
Netherlands
Non-English Language U.S. Primetime Program
Buscando a Frida
Telemundo Global Studios / Argos
United States of America
Nonscripted Entertainment
Love on the Spectrum – Season 2
Northern Pictures
Australia
Shortform Series
Rūrangi
Autonomous
New Zealand
Sports Documentary
Queen Of Speed
Drum Studios
United Kingdom
Telenovela
Yeonmo [The King’s Affection]
KBS / Arc Media / Monster Union / Netflix
South Korea
TV Movie / Miniseries
Help
The Forge Entertainment / One Shoe Films
United Kingdom