Kerry Washington is an Emmy winner at last! The actress known for her roles in “Scandal” and “Little Fires Everywhere” was honored during the Creative Arts Awards on Tuesday night, September 15, but it wasn’t in a category you might expect. Instead of a performance award, she took home Best Variety Special (Live) as a producer of “Live in Front of a Studio Audience: ‘All in the Family’ and ‘Good Times.'” Watch the online ceremony above.
“Thank you for this amazing creative family. It’s such a brilliant team,” said Washington. And she’s not kidding. Other A-list stars are among the Emmy-winning producers of “Live in Front of a Studio Audience”: Will Ferrell, Jimmy Kimmel, Justin Theroux, celebrated TV director James Burrows, and of course Norman Lear, who at 98-years-old just broke his own record as the oldest Emmy champ in history.
“Live in Front of a Studio Audience” also won this Emmy category last year by recreating episodes of “All in the Family” and “The Jeffersons.” Washington played “The Jeffersons'” Helen Willis in that production, but did not become an executive producer until the second installment, in which she did not act. It aired on December 18, 2019, when it had the misfortune of coinciding with news of the impeachment of Donald Trump, but clearly voters made sure to tune in.
Washington is best known for her work in front of the camera, but she certainly isn’t the first to win their maiden Emmy as a producer. Ferrell, Theroux, Brad Pitt (“The Normal Heart,” Best TV Movie, 2014), Mark Ruffalo (“The Normal Heart”), Anthony Edwards (“Temple Grandin,” Best TV Movie, 2010), John Travolta (“The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story,” Best Limited Series, 2016), Steve Buscemi (“Park Bench with Steve Buscemi,” Best Short Form Variety Series, 2016), Sarah Jessica Parker (“Sex and the City,” Best Comedy Series, 2001), Leah Remini (“Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath,” Best Informational Series or Special, 2017), and Washington’s “Little Fires” co-star and fellow EP Reese Witherspoon (“Big Little Lies,” Best Limited Series, 2017) are among the thespians who claimed their first Emmys as producers.
And Washington has a few more chances at Emmy hardware this year. She’s nominated twice for “Little Fires Everywhere” (Best Limited Series and Best Movie/Limited Actress) and once for “American Son” (Best TV Movie).
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