Netflix wins big at C21 Drama Awards

CONTENT LONDON: Global SVoD giant Netflix was the big winner at the annual C21 Media Drama Awards in London tonight, taking three prizes including Best Returning Drama Series and Editor’s Choice.

It has been a year of unrivalled growth and success for the streamer, which completed its global roll-out in January and was behind break-out hits including Narcos, Stranger Things, The Crown and documentary Making a Murderer.

Presenting the Editor’s Choice award to Netflix this evening, C21’s editor-in-chief and managing director David Jenkinson said: “Netflix is associated with more production deals than any other company in the business. It has also developed a reputation for originals that really do, along with the distribution model, change the game. That part of the equation could have been a very different story in the wrong hands.”

Narcos  (Gaumont Television) picked up the Best Returning Drama Series award while Orange is the New Black (Lionsgate Entertainment) took the Best Returning Comedy Drama prize.

There was notable success too for HBO and its crime drama The Night Of, which won the Best English-Language Drama award and took home the prize for Best Casting.

Elsewhere, best Non-English-Language Drama went to Follow The Money from Denmark’s DR and Best Miniseries went to A+E Networks’ Roots.

The Best Male Performance award went to Ben Whishaw for his role in London Spy, while Olivia Coleman took the Best Female Performance award for The Night Manager.

The awards were sponsored by CAA, Pinewood Studios and CrowdFundTV.net.

Click here to view the drama awards winners playlist on C21Screenings

The full list of drama award winners is as follows:

BEST CONSUMER MARKETING CAMPAIGN

The Durrells
Produced by: Sid Gentle Films
For: ITV
Distributed by: BBC Worldwide
Based on the book My Family & Other Animals, The Durrells was ITV’s first 8pm family drama since 2012. We wanted our campaign to excite viewers and so using our on air, out of home, digital and experiential activity we invited viewers to escape the April showers and join the family with a wild side for fun in the sunshine.

BEST DIGITAL ORIGINAL

Shame
Produced by: NRK, Norwegian Broadcasting Corp
For: NRK, Norwegian Broadcasting Corp
Distributed by: Beta Film
Shame is a drama series that runs daily online and weekly as a webcast. We also publish on Instagram and other social media platforms. The story takes place in real time and is published through the web-specific storytelling elements, texts, images, and grabs, as well as live-action.

BEST RETURNING COMEDY DRAMA SERIES

Orange Is The New Black
Produced by: Lionsgate Entertainment
For: Netflix
Distributed by: Lionsgate Entertainment
Created by Jenji Kohan (Weeds), Orange Is The New Black is a womens dramedy that takes no prisoners. The series follows Piper Chapman whose decade-old relationship with a drug runner, Alex, results in her imprisonment. As she struggles to adjust to her new reality, she finds unexpected laughter, tears, conflict and camaraderie amidst an eccentric and outspoken group of inmates.

BEST COMEDY DRAMA SERIES

Ash vs Evil Dead
Produced by: Starz
For: Starz
Distributed by: Starz Worldwide Distribution
The highly anticipated follow-up to the international cult-classic The Evil Dead, Ash vs Evil Dead has an outstanding 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and almost one million Facebook followers. Fans and critics alike are raving about this series. The Los Angeles Times said it’s “splendidly, even triumphantly converts the comedy-horror movie franchise into a TV series.”

BEST TV MOVIE

The Dresser
Produced by: Playground Television UK, Sonia Friedman Productions, Altus Productions, Prescience
For: BBC2
Distributed by: Starz
With Ronald Harwood’s glorious writing, combined with powerhouse performances from the cast and a wonderful creative team from the worlds of film, television and theatre, The Dresser is a distinctive and engaging drama that masterfully showcases the best of British talent.

BEST MINISERIES

Roots
Produced by: An A+E Studios Production in association with Marc Toberoff Productions and The Wolper Organization
For: History
Distributed by: A+E Studios
Roots is a historical portrait of American slavery recounting the journey of one family’s will to survive and carry on their legacy despite enormous hardship and inhumanity. The story of Kunta Kinte and those who came after him echoes through the history of millions of Americans of African descent revealing powerful truths about the universal resilience of the human spirit.

BEST RETURNING SERIES

Narcos
Produced by: Gaumont Television
For: Netflix
Distributed by: Netflix
Narcos S1-2 charts the rise and fall of the infamous Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. S2 will launch in over 190 countries. This largest-ever production in Colombia employed a global cast/crew, marking the most successful bilingual series in the US. Loved by critics and enormous with viewers, Narcos also generated 94 million Facebook impressions and one million likes in its first month.

BEST CASTING

The Night Of
Produced by: HBO, BBC Worldwide, Film Rights, Bad Wolf
For: HBO
Distributed by: Warner Home Video
From the pen of Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List) and Richard Price (The Wire). Executive producers include Zaillian, Price and Jane Tranter. The series was filmed in and around Manhattan, with a stellar cast including John Turturro (O Brother Where Art Thou?) and Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler). The series examines a police investigation, legal proceedings, the criminal justice system and Rikers Island, NY where the accused await trial for felony crimes.

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE

Ben Whishaw (London Spy)
Produced by: Working Title Television
For: BBC2
Distributed by: NBC Universal
Written by novelist Tom Rob Smith and beautifully shot by director Jakob Verbruggen, critically acclaimed drama London Spy is a twisty combination of mystery thriller and nuanced love story. The series features a stellar cast – with particularly magnificent performances by Ben Whishaw, Jim Broadbent and Charlotte Rampling – and explores themes of emotional truth, sexual mores, wealth and secrets.

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE

Olivia Colman (The Night Manager)
Produced by: The Ink Factory, AMC, BBC
For: BBC1
Distributed by: IMG
Bafta-winning and Emmy-nominated Olivia Colman gripped audiences worldwide with her powerful portrayal of British spy Angela Burr, a part originally written as a man. With her performance described by international critics as one of the highlights of the series, Colman had viewers holding their breath in her suspenseful scenes as she brought the strong character to life.

BEST NON-ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DRAMA

Follow the Money
Produced by: DR Drama
For: DR1
Distributed by: DR Drama
The highly anticipated Danish drama series about the thrilling exposure of Energreen did not disappoint either critics or the 1.4 million viewers on the January 2016 premiere. BBC was the first of many to buy Follow the Money, and Endemol Shine has purchased remake rights for the US to be produced by the creators and producers of True Detective.

BEST ENGLISH-LANGUAGE DRAMA

The Night Of
Produced by: HBO, BBC Worldwide, Film Rights, Bad Wolf
For: HBO
Distributed by: Warner Home Video
From the pen of Steven Zaillian (Schindler’s List) and Richard Price (The Wire). Executive producers include Zaillian, Price, and Jane Tranter. The series was filmed in and around Manhattan, with a stellar cast including John Turturro (O Brother Where Art Thou?) and Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler). The series examines a police investigation, legal proceedings, the criminal justice system and Rikers Island, NY where the accused await trial for felony crimes.

EDITOR’S CHOICE AWARD
Netflix

THE C21 SCRIPT AWARD
Euthanasia In Suburbia by Philip Lawrence