The first night of the Creative Arts Emmys at the Peacock Theater delivered a clear message. Apple TV Plus is having a moment, Gotham is thriving in prestige television, and animation is flexing real range. The Studio led the haul for Apple with nine wins, while The Penguin stacked craft victories that show how much care went into its world. Severance, Andor, and Arcane also made strong showings. It was a night that mixed big names with behind the scenes excellence, which is exactly what these awards are built to celebrate.
The Leaders Of The Night
The Studio was the top winner of night one and did it across the board. Casting, cinematography in a half hour series, music supervision, picture editing, sound categories, and production design all broke its way. Bryan Cranston’s guest actor win in comedy gave the series a headline performance to go with the craft sweep.
Close behind, The Penguin cleaned up in hairstyling, costumes, makeup, visual effects, and both sound editing and sound mixing for limited or anthology. It is a strong signal heading into Primetime that this Gotham story has the technical muscle to match its mood.
The Performance Highlights
Julianne Nicholson took guest actress in a comedy for Hacks, adding another bright note to a show that keeps delivering sharp work. Merritt Wever earned guest actress in a drama for Severance, which also claimed wins in title design, cinematography for an hour, music composition, and sound mixing. Shawn Hatosy’s guest actor in a drama win for The Pitt turned heads and suggests that race is wide open next week.
Big Wins Outside The Series Races
Rebel Ridge won television movie, a tidy victory for Netflix that keeps that category competitive year to year. Arcane claimed animated program and added sound editing and juried recognition for background design and color across animation, underscoring how broad its craft footprint is. The Boys doubled up in stunts and took original music and lyrics for the holiday earworm you will not forget anytime soon. Bridgerton landed period costumes and hairstyling and Julie Andrews’ voice performance win as Lady Whistledown was a crowd pleaser.
Why Night One Matters
Creative Arts trophies do more than fill out a tally. They reveal where voters see excellence in execution. When a show dominates in production design, editing, sound, and costumes, it often carries that momentum into the main ceremony because voters have already lived inside its world. The Studio’s breadth suggests real strength in overall comedy races. The Penguin’s craft dominance positions it as a player wherever ambience and immersion matter. Severance feels steady and dangerous in drama again. Andor looks technically confident. Arcane continues to prove that animation can compete on artistry with any format.
The Full List
- Guest Actress in a Comedy Series: Julianne Nicholson, Hacks
- Contemporary Makeup (Non Prosthetic): The Penguin
- Prosthetic Makeup: The Penguin
- Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Makeup (Non Prosthetic): House of the Dragon
- Period Costumes: Bridgerton
- Contemporary Costumes for a Series: The Studio
- Contemporary Costumes for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: The Penguin
- Fantasy/Sci-Fi Costumes: Andor
- Period or Fantasy/Sci-Fi Hairstyling: Bridgerton
- Contemporary Hairstyling: The Penguin
- Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More): Severance
- Production Design for a Narrative Program (Half Hour): The Studio
- Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More): Andor
- Casting for a Drama Series: The Pitt
- Guest Actor in a Comedy Series: Bryan Cranston, The Studio
- Casting for a Comedy Series: The Studio
- Casting for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Adolescence
- Stunt Coordination for Comedy Programming: The Righteous Gemstones
- Stunt Coordination for Drama Programming: The Boys
- Stunt Performance: The Boys
- Animated Program: Arcane
- Character Voice Over Performance: Julie Andrews, Bridgerton
- Individual Achievement in Animation (Juried):
- Arcane, Background Design
- Arcane, Color
- Love, Death + Robots, Production Design
- Love, Death + Robots, Character Animation
- Love, Death + Robots, Character Design
- Choreography for Scripted Programming: Étoile
- Picture Editing for a Single Camera Comedy Series: The Studio
- Picture Editing for a Multi Camera Comedy Series: Frasier
- Guest Actress in a Drama Series: Merritt Wever, Severance
- Picture Editing for a Drama Series: Andor
- Picture Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Monsters: The Lyle & Erik Menendez Story
- Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie: Andor
- Title Design: Severance
- Special Visual Effects in a Single Episode: The Penguin
- Motion Design (Juried): Octopus!
- Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series: The Last of Us
- Sound Editing for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special: The Penguin
- Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half Hour): The Studio
- Sound Editing for an Animated Program: Arcane
- Sound Mixing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: The Penguin
- Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (One Hour): Severance
- Sound Mixing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half Hour) and Animation: The Studio
- Performer in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series: Desi Lydic, The Daily Show
- Music Composition for a Series (Original Dramatic Score): Severance
- Music Composition for a Limited or Anthology Series, Movie or Special (Original Dramatic Score): The Penguin
- Original Main Title Theme Music: The White Lotus
- Music Supervision: The Studio
- Original Music and Lyrics: The Boys, “Let’s Put the Christ Back in Christmas”
- Cinematography for a Series (Half Hour): The Studio
- Cinematography for a Series (One Hour): Severance
- Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie: Adolescence
- Guest Actor in a Drama Series: Shawn Hatosy, The Pitt
- Television Movie: Rebel Ridge
What Is Next And How To Watch
Night two continues Sunday with more awards in writing, casting, makeup, and picture editing. An edited presentation of both ceremonies airs on FXX on Saturday, September 13 at 11 p.m. Eastern and 8 p.m. Pacific, and will stream on Hulu through October 7. The Primetime Emmys follow on Sunday.
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