The annual Emmy award ceremony recognizes the hard work of actors and actresses in the television industry. As over 600 new films, on average, are released each year, the Emmys are a very special occasion. The first Emmy award gathering took place on January 25, 1949. Since then, the Emmy awards ceremony has attracted the interest of Americans all around the country, claiming an estimated 11.3 million viewers in its most recent event last September.

The Emmy awards recognize excellence in all components of the film making process, from the actors and actresses in the spotlight to the behind-the-scenes directors and sound producers. There are nearly 30 different categories that assign awards. Within each category are subsections where more specific awards are given. For example, a category might be Comedy Series. Within that category, awards are given for lead actor, lead actress, supporting actor, supporting actress, etc. Multiple people or films may be nominated for each award, but ultimately only one is chosen to be the winner.

The 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony took place on September 18, 2016. It recognized achievements in United States primetime television programming from June 1, 2015 to May 31, 2016. The ceremony was held at the Microsoft Theatre in Downtown Los Angeles, California, and hosted by television host Jimmy Kimmel.

The film The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story won a total of five awards, the most for the night. A close second was the fantasy drama Game of Thrones, which won three awards. Game of Thrones also holds the honor of being the fictional television program with the largest number of Primetime Emmy awards, having won 38 awards in six seasons. Additionally, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, leading actress for the political satire Veep, won her 6th award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy series, setting the record for that category.

As over 99% of households in the United States own a television, television entertainment has clearly skyrocketed. The Emmy awards serve as a reminder to the hard work that is undergone to make popular programs available to the public. The next round of Emmy award nominations awaits us in 2017.