The 77th Emmy Awards recognized USC alumni across drama, animation, music and technical categories, continuing the university’s prominence in the entertainment industry.
The ceremony took place Sept. 14 at the Peacock Theater in Downtown Los Angeles following the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sept. 6 and 7.
Among the top winners were John Wells ’82, director and executive producer of “The Pitt,” which won Outstanding Drama Series for HBO Max. In animation, Amanda Overton ’12, along with alumni Marc Merrill ’02 (Dornsife) and Brandon Beck ’04 (Marshall), earned the Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program with Netflix’s “Arcane: The Dirt Under Your Nails” episode.
USC alumni also continued their success in documentary and sound. Joe Lewis ’00 served as executive producer of “100 Foot Wave” on HBO Max, which won Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. Tim Farrell ’02 won for Outstanding Sound Editing on “Music by John Williams” for Disney+.
Bruce Block, a professor at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts, expressed pride for the alumni winners and their impact on the school.
“I think it shows how valuable our school can be for all our students’ past, present and future,” he said.
Brendan Zbanek, a junior studying communications, attended the awards ceremony. Zbanek said the night highlighted USC’s influence in the industry and gave him a new perspective on the university’s legacy.
“Being so close to the action in the actual room of the Emmys was really inspiring,” Zbanek said. “To see people’s dreams come true, realizing that these were once students my age, a lot of them being USC students, was surreal to realize that one day something significant like winning an Emmy could be possible for me.”
Other Trojans honored in technical fields included Kevin Faust ’01, Erin Anderson ’12 (SDA) and Madigan Stehly ’14 (SDA), who won for Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction on the 67th Annual Grammy Awards.
The night showcased the university’s musical influence as well. Duncan Thum ’06 (Thornton) and David Bertok ’13 (Thornton) took home Outstanding Music Composition for Netflix’s “Chef’s Table: José Andrés,” while Christopher Lennertz ’95 (Thornton) received Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for his work on “The Boys.”
In the variety categories, Catherine Owens ’10 (SCA) was recognized as co-executive producer of “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” winner of Outstanding Scripted Variety Series. Writers Jimmy Fowlie ’08 (SDA) and Jake Nordwind ’09 (Annenberg) were also awarded for their work on “SNL50: The Anniversary Special.”
Some Trojans felt the awards could feel distanced from the everyday lives and work of the public who consume their celebrated media.
Junior film production student Luca Riggs said he was “not really at all” inspired by the alumni wins.
“I don’t really believe in award shows. It’s a big marketing thing,” said Riggs, who did not tune into the Emmys live show this year. “And I think that there’s a lot of phoniness that happens.”
Although senior film and television production student Joshua Kuo similarly said he was not deeply enthused by the awards show, he added it felt motivating to see other Trojans succeed.
“It doesn’t hurt to just have a cool alumni network,” said Kuo. “It gives you hope.”