Television’s biggest night(s) saw big wins for Carnegie Mellon alumni. Five School of Drama graduates took home statues over the course of two weekends. The Creative Arts Emmys, which honor behind-the-scenes and technical achievements, took place on September 5 and 6, and the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony aired live on September 14 on NBC.
John Wells (BFA, 1979; HD, 2014) and Michael Hissrich (BFA, 1988) are executive producers on the HBO hit drama “The Pitt,” which won Outstanding Drama Series for the second year in a row, becoming the first drama series to win for its first two seasons since “Mad Men” in 2009. “The Pitt” was nominated for a total of 25 awards across the Creative Arts and Primetime Emmys and won a total of seven.
In the Creative Arts categories, CMU alumni won for Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Program (Half-Hour), Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Series, and Outstanding Emerging Media Program.
Steve Arnold (MFA, 1989) is production designer on “Widow’s Bay,” the new Apple TV series that dominated the Emmys this year with a total of 14 wins across categories. Arnold won Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Program (Half-Hour) for his work on the episode “Lodging.”
Hillary Knox (BFA, 2002) won Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Series for his work as moving light programmer on “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”
The award for Outstanding Emerging Media Program went to Ferryman Collective, an indie theater company world-renowned for live performance in virtual worlds, which was co-founded by Whitton Frank (BHA, 2006). Together with Virtual Worlds Company, Ferryman Collective created “Uncanny Alley: A New Day,” an innovative theater production that uses live actors performing and interacting with audiences inside a virtual reality story-verse.
John Wells & Michael Hissrich
Executive Producers,
“The Pitt”
Outstanding Drama Series
(Photo by Amy Sussman/Getty Images)
Steve Arnold
Production Designer,
“Widow’s Bay”
Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Program (Half-Hour)
Whitton Frank
Co-Founder,
Ferryman Collective
Outstanding Emerging Media Program
Lead image: Cast and crew of “The Pitt” won Outstanding Drama Series at the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards. Photo courtesy of John Wells Productions.