Apple Takes Victory Lap After Emmy Bonanza: “You Can’t Predict These Things”

Eddy Cue joined Apple in 1989, the year that shows such as Cheers and L.A. Law were dominating the Emmys.

Fast forward 37 years and it is Apple that dominated the ceremony with a record-breaking night for Widow’s Bay and an assist from the likes of Pluribus and Slow Horses.

The tech giant landed 28 television Emmys (29 if you’re counting commercials), beating the likes of HBO and Netflix, and Katie Dippold’s Matthew Rhys-led horror comedy broke the comedy record with 14 wins.

“It’s an amazing night,” Cue told Deadline after the show. “We started this seven years ago. We said we really want to try to make the best shows on television, get the greatest storytellers to give them the opportunity to do their best work, and this is certainly just the best example of that.”

Cue said that when Apple TV (then known as Apple TV+) launched in November 2019, he didn’t consider such a night possible.

However, unlike some others may have been tempted to do, Cue didn’t laud the fact that it beat Netflix and HBO in terms of total wins (with far fewer submissions) over his rivals.

“I don’t think it’s the right way to think about it,” he said. “They’re incredible companies that do amazing work, and what we thought is that we could do something really special and something that unique to Apple, which was let’s not try to make the most, let’s try to make the best, and that was our number one goal. We figured if we did that, viewers would recognize it. Obviously, the Academy recognized it, and it’s great to see those the people that we work with are the best in the world, and we give them a platform.”

Cue, who is SVP, Services and Health at Apple, said that such an awards haul doesn’t change the way that it does business in Hollywood or impact its overall programming strategy.

“We’re trying to create the best shows we can, that tell the best stories that you can to get human emotion, and we do that. If we can do that, then everything else, will come,” he said. “I’ve been at Apple for 38 years, and we’re trying to make the best product. If I knew how to make 200 great TV shows, we would.”

The night clearly belonged to Widow’s Bay’s. The show won 14 awards including Outstanding Comedy Series (making it two years in a row after The Studio’s success last year), and wins for Matthew Rhys, Kate O’Flynn, Stephen Root, Hiro Murai and Dippold.

But the timing of the show’s launch, so close to the Emmy deadline that its final three episodes were not eligible, suggests that the streamer had no idea it had such an awards darling on its hands.

“It’s comedy, it’s horror. That’s the beauty of life. You can’t predict these things,” he added. “My favorite line is we probably say 1000 noes for every yes, and then we get behind the thing that we’re doing and work with the creators to let them make the best work. Widow’s Bay is a great example. That’s such an amazing story.”

The television rights to the Emmys are currently being shopped and there’s some suggestions that the broadcast wheel – which sees ABC, CBS, Fox and NBC air it once every four years – will not continue in its current form.

After a night like this (and last year), would Apple consider getting into the Emmy business?

“I haven’t thought about that, so I have no idea,” said Cue.

Apple will certainly be thinking about this year’s Emmys for some time to come.