The Los Angeles’ Peacock Theatre came alive with applause, glitz and glamour on September 14, at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards. The night showed the power and influence that television holds to captivate and redefine storytelling, and how it continues to evolve.What are the Emmys?The Emmy Awards are the most prestigious television honours in the United States. They celebrate excellence in acting, writing, directing, programming and technical fields across genres. Today, there are multiple Emmy ceremonies: The Primetime Emmys, the Daytime Emmys, the News and Documentary Emmys, the Sports Emmys, the International Emmys, the Children’s and Family Emmys and the Technology and Engineering Emmys, each recognising achievements in their own domains.In the latest edition of the awards, The Studio, The Pitt and Adolescence emerged as the big winners of the night.When did the Emmy Awards start?The Academy of Television Arts &Sciences (ATAS) was founded in 1946. The first Emmy Ceremony took place on January 25, 1949, at the Hollywood Athletic Club in Los Angeles. The aim was to honour shows produced and aired locally in the Los Angeles area.Ventriloquist Shirley Dinsdale won the first Emmy for “Most Outstanding Television Personality.”Why were they created?The Emmys were established to give television the same prestige that film enjoyed with Oscars and music with the Grammys. ATAS wanted to boost television’s reputation as art and science. The statuette captures this purpose – a winged woman (represents art) holding an atom (science). The name Emmy comes from “Immy” which is a slang for the image orthicon camera tube which played a very vital role in early TV broadcastingWho gives the awards?There are three main organisations that oversee the Emmys:1. Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (ATAS): Primetime Emmys and Creative Arts.2. National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS): Daytime, News and Documentary and Sports Emmy.3. International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (IATAS): International Emmys for programming outside the U.S.The split of ATAS and NATASStory continues below this adOriginally, ATAS controlled all Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, but by the mid 1950s, television expanded nationwide. The East Coast professionals wanted a greater voice. In 1955, the NATAS was formed in New York to handle non-primetime categories like news, daytime dramas, and sports.ATAS retained control of the Primetime Emmys, while NATAS managed its own ceremonies. In 1977, due to various conflicts, the ATAS and the NATAS broke ties. They agreed to share ownership of the Emmy statue and trademark, with each responsible for administering a specific set of award events.How do they work?Emmys operate on peer voting. Members of the academies are divided into professional peer groups – actors, writers, directors, technicians, producers – and they can only vote within their field of work. Shows should be submitted for consideration, following which nominations are announced, which is then followed by final round of voting. Over the years, with the growth of streaming and global TV, the categories have multiplied.Some historic wins over the years1949: Shirley Dinsdale won the first Emmy for the Most Outstanding Television Personality1960: Harry Belafonte became the first Black artist to win an Emmy in 1960 for his performance in The Revlon Revue: Tonight With Belafonte.1970: Gail Fisher became the first African-American woman to win Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Mannix.2015: Viola Davis became the first African-American to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for How to Get Away with Murder.2017: Riz Ahmed became the first man of Asian descent to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited/Anthology Series or Movies for The Night Of.2022: Lee Jung-jae became the first Asian man to win Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Netflix’s Squid Game.2024: Anna Sawai became the first Asian-born performer to win Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Shōgun.2025: Tramell Tillman became the first Black man to receive the Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Severance.The bigger pictureStory continues below this adThe 77th Emmy is proof of the fact that the Emmys have grown alongside the medium they represent. They reflect the shift in storytelling and the increasing demand for diversity and global representation.