BAFTA TV Awards: I May Destroy You at the party, The Crown leaves empty-handed

In the family of major ceremonies rewarding TV series, we naturally think of the Emmy Awards or the Golden Globes, but we quite often forget that the British are not left out with the BAFTA TV Awards. Since 1955, these prestigious awards have been given only to the best programs british released during the year. We therefore find no US series on the list.

For this 2021 edition, opened with music by Olly Alexander of the Years & Years group, we expected a tight fight between several great series, namely I May Destroy Youthe nugget of Michaela Coel, The Crownthe Netflix historical drama, Normal Peoplethe most heartbreaking love story of 2020, or even small axis, Steve McQueen’s first television work. In the end, the results of these BAFTAs were more surprising than expected…

Indeed, while she was the favorite with her four Golden Globes won last February, The Crown was snubbed by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts. It’s very simple, the show starts again with an unexpected zero point. But then, what other series have benefited from this resounding failure?

Well, in the first place, I May Destroy You. Without speaking of a real raid, the series leaves with two beautiful statuettes: those of the Best mini-series and the Best actress. In her acceptance speech, Michaela Coel took the opportunity to thank her intimacy coordinator, a recent job that quickly proved essential to creating a safe working environment and beautiful intimate scenes.

For the rest, the prices were generally very distributed. The overwhelming performance of Paul Mescal in Normal People was hailed, as was that of Malachi Kirby in small axis. Aimee Lou Wood, stunning in season 2 of Sex Educationwas awarded the prize for Best Performance by an Actress in a Comedy.

Below, the winners of the 2021 edition of the BAFTA TV Awards:

• Save Me Too (Sky Atlantic)
• The Crown (Netflix)
• I Hate Suzie (Sky Atlantic)
• Gangs of London (Sky Atlantic)

• I May Destroy You (BBC One)
• Adult Material (Channel 4)
• Normal People (BBC Three)
• Small Ax (BBC One)

• Sitting in Limbo (BBC One)
• Anthony (BBC One)
• BBW (On the Edge) (Channel 4)
• The Windermere Children (BBC Two)

• Casualty (BBC One)
• Coronation Street (ITV)
• EastEnders (BBC One)
• Hollywood (Channel 4)

• Paul Mescal (Normal People)
• John Boyega (Small Axe)
• Josh O’Connor (The Crown)
• Paapa Essiedu (I May Destroy You)
• Shaun Parkes (Small Axe)
• Waleed Zuaiter (Baghdad Central)

• Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You)
• Billie Piper (I Hate Suzie)
• Daisy Edgar-Jones (Normal People)
• Hayley Squires (Adult Material)
• Jodie ComerKilling Eve
• Letitia Wright (Small Axe)

• Malachi Kirby (Small Axe)
• Kunal Nayyar (Criminal: UK)
• Michael Sheen (Quiz)
• Michael Ward (Small Axe)
• Rupert Everett (Adult Material)
• Tobias Menzies (The Crown)

• Rakie AyolaAnthony
• Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown)
• Leila Farzad (I Hate Suzie)
• Siena Kelly (Adult Material)
• Sophie Okonedo (Criminal: UK)
• Weruche Opia (I May Destroy You)

• Charlie Cooper (This Country)
• Guz Khan (Man Like Mobeen)
• Joseph Gilgun (Brassic)
• Ncuti Gatwa (Sex Education)
• Paul Ritter (Friday Night Dinner)
• Reece Shearsmith (Inside No. 9)

• Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education)
• Daisy Haggard (Breeders)
• Daisy May Cooper (This Country)
• Emma Mackey (Sex Education)
• Gbemisola Ikumelo (Famalam)
• Mae Martin (Feel Good)

• Inside No. 9 (BBC Two)
• Ghosts (BBC One)
• Man Like Mobeen (BBC Three)
• This Country (BBC Three)