Netflix’s limited series The Queen’s Gambit became quite the phenomenon during the coronavirus pandemic, and people started taking an interest in chess once again after witnessing the genius of Anya Taylor-Joy’s enigmatic lead, Beth Harmon.
At the 2021 Emmy Awards on Saturday, September 11, 2021, the show doubled down on its hype and interest with some heavy metal as the show won seven awards.
The Emmy Awards took place with a live audience for the very first time since 2019 at the Event Deck of the LA Live Campus. The two-day event saw Netflix winning a total of twelve Emmys, with seven gongs picked up by The Queen’s Gambit.
Created by Scott Frank and Allan Scott, The Queen’s Gambit is a fictional story set in the mid-1950s that continues to the 1960s. It revolves around an orphaned chess prodigy Beth Harmon, played brilliantly by Anya Taylor-Joy, who embarks on a quest to become the world’s greatest chess player. However, various obstacles stand in her way, including emotional problems and dependency on alcohol and drugs.
Adapted from Walter Tevis’ novel, the show was a riveting watch and well-received by the chess community, who thought it would reignite the interest in chess playing among the audience.
The show was Netflix’s biggest scripted limited series that soared harts last year. The team that worked on the series had worked with Scott Frank on Godless as well and thus were very comfortable working with each other, delivering a stellar product.
Editor Michelle Tesoro said, “The team is like a family. It’s just nice when you love everybody on the team and it’s fun. It’s all about showing up to work and appreciating everything.”
The Queen’s Gambit won big in categories including Period and/or Character Makeup (Non-Prosthetic), Production Design for a Narrative Period or Fantasy Program (One Hour or More), Cinematography for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. With the show picking up many other production-led awards.
Netflix’s The Crown, Bridgerton, Country Comfort and Love Death+Robots won five other Emmys for the streamer. The Crown won two, including Cinematography for a Single-Camera Series (One Hour), Single-Camera Picture Editing for a Drama Series, Bridgerton won big in the category titled Period and/or Character Hairstyling. Love Death+Robots won Sound Editing for a Comedy or Drama Series (Half-Hour) and Animation, while Country Comfort won the Cinematography for a Multi-Camera Series.
Watch the trailer for Netflix’s the Queen’s Gambit below:
