On Monday evening, the cream of the global television industry was feted at the prestigious 2024 International Emmy Awards in New York, where winners were selected from an illustrious lineup of nominees hailing from 21 countries. The evening's stars shone brightly, with "Drops of God" clinching the Best Drama Series award, Timothy Spall being honored as Best Actor, Aokbab-Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying taking home Best Actress, "División Palermo" triumphing in the Best Comedy category, and "Liebes Kind" securing the Best Miniseries title.
In the fiercely competitive Best Drama category, Apple TV+'s French-American-Japanese manga adaptation "Drops of God," produced by Legendary Television, emerged victorious against formidable opponents such as the 1980s-era Australian series "The Newsreader," the Amazon Prime Video Argentine espionage thriller "Yosi, the Regretful Spy," and the Disney+/Hotstar adaptation of the 2016 BBC show "The Night Manager," which was Indianized for its audience.
British acting icon Timothy Spall entered the ceremony as a favorite in the Best Actor category, nominated for his portrayal in the BBC true-crime tale "The Sixth Commandment." As expected, he walked away with the award, adding the International Emmy to his BAFTA TV award for his role as Peter Farquhar in the same series. He faced stiff competition from Brazilian star Julio Andrade in "Living on a Razor’s Edge," Laurent Lafitte in the French Netflix show "Class Act," and Haluk Bilginer in the Turkish crime drama "Sahsiyet."
Aokbab-Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying captured the Best Actress award for her outstanding performance in the Thai drama "Hunger," another Netflix original. Other contenders in this category included Jessica Hynes in the BBC dramedy "There She Goes," Sara Giraudeau in the French Disney+ series "Tout va bien," and Adriana Barraza in Netflix’s Mexican drama "El Último Vagón."
In the comedy realm, Argentina's "División Palermo" stole the show. Distributed by Netflix, this comedy series revolves around a group of individuals from social minorities who are recruited to form a neighborhood protection guard. "División Palermo" bested Australia's "Deadloch," South Korea's "Daily Dose of Sunshine," and France's "HPI" to claim the top prize.
Hosting the glittering awards ceremony was Indian stand-up comic and actor Vir Das, a 2023 International Emmy winner for his Netflix special "Landing." The Bollywood star is currently on his international "Mind Fool" tour. Among the presenters at the ceremony were "Lupin" star Omar Sy, "Picket Fences" and "Chicago Hope" producer Michael Pressman, and Jane Seymour. Sy presented the International Emmy Directorate Award to Sidonie Dumas, CEO of French TV giant Gaumont, while veteran Hollywood showrunner David E. Kelley received his International Emmy Founders Award from Pressman, who has served as a co-executive producer on Kelley's shows.
