After three decades on television, Linda Cardellini has finally earned her first Emmy Award. The beloved actor, known for standout roles in Freaks & Geeks, E.R., and Dead To Me, won over the weekend for her performance in DTF St. Louis — but the milestone came with one major frustration for fans: viewers at home did not get to see it happen live.
By Monday, longtime TV watchers were venting their disappointment across social media as images of Cardellini circulated online. The photos and videos showed her taking the stage after being named Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series and later posing with her Emmy. In several clips, she appeared alongside her DTF co-star David Harbour, who also won his first Emmy Award on Sunday. Once fans realized that both of their categories — along with several others, including Guest Actor and Guest Actress in Comedy and Drama Series — had been handed out over the weekend rather than during the main telecast, the backlash grew louder.
“Ridiculous this isn’t on the main broadcast. Would you have also not wanted Jennifer Coolidge’s iconic speech or Owen Cooper’s historic win on the broadcast prior? Put these categories back next year,” one frustrated viewer commented beneath a video of Cardellini and Harbour celebrating their wins together. The clip, shared by the Television Academy on Instagram, quickly drew dozens of similar responses from fans urging organizers to restore the categories to next year’s televised Emmy Awards ceremony.
“They were both fantastic. Please return these categories to the primetime broadcast next year,” another commenter wrote under the post.
“Robbed us of watching her finally get her flowers on national television just to fit in more cringey skits @televisionacad,” a third fan added, reacting to Cardellini’s long-awaited Emmy win.
Among the other winners on Sunday were names like Betty Gilpin and Rob Reiner for Guest Actress and Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for Widow’s Bay and The Bear, respectively, while Shailene Woodley and Ernest Harden Jr. won Guest Actress and Guest Actor in a Drama Series for Paradise and The Pitt.
While the decision to move the categories to the Creative Arts Emmys was announced around the time that the full list of nominees was released in July, the conversation is only now picking back up as casual TV fans catch wind of the categories being shifted. Some fans online even wrote that they thought they missed the Emmys as photos and videos of beloved actors holding their awards began to show up on their feeds.
Dedicated viewers even began to cut together their own versions of the acceptance speeches they were able to find online, including one Widow’s Bay fan who shared a screen-recorded version of Gilpin’s acceptance speech, which she fashioned into a poem.
At the time the decision to move the categories was announced back in July, SAG-AFTRA, DGA, and WGA protested the choice and tried to push the awards back into the main broadcast to no avail. In a joint statement, the guilds said the move “devalues” the work done by actors and others in the industry.
“The Emmys exist to celebrate the best of television and the artists who are central to bringing these stories to life. The decision to eliminate these categories from the primetime broadcast devalues the contributions of the talented people the Academy is meant to honor. An awards show dedicated to recognizing excellence should not reduce recognition for the artists whose work gives it meaning,” the statement read.
Fans will be able to watch an edited version of the Creative Arts Emmys this weekend as it will air Saturday, September 12, on FXX at 8 p.m. ET and air the next day on Hulu. The 78th Emmy Awards air live on NBC on Monday, September 14, at 8 p.m. EST and on Peacock at the same time.
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