Arcane Emmy for Best Animated Program A First for Netflix, Streaming

Another big “first” win for streaming proves that the third time’s the charm. After being previously nominated for Big Mouth and BoJack Horseman, Netflix’s Arcane has won Best Animated Program at the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony. The win marks the first time for a streamer in this category, which also included FOX’s Bob’s Burgers, Adult Swim’s Rick and Morty, FOX’s The Simpsons, and Disney+’s What If…?. The win comes as the animated series is in the middle of production on the second season, with the five-part behind-the-scenes series Arcane: Bridging The Rift currently streaming.

Arcane co-creator Christian Linke was in attendance to receive the award. “Thank you for this. It’s a big deal for us as we come from video games. It’s been amazing to see the world embrace our characters and our stories, so thanks to Netflix, who believed in us from the beginning, thanks to Riot Games, who worked on the whole IP… and to all the people that have been with our game and League of Legends for the last 12 years or so who helped make it as big as it is now,” Linke said.

Arcane dives into the delicate balance between the rich city of Piltover and the seedy underbelly of Zaun. Tensions between these city-states boil over with the creation of hextech — a way for any person to control magical energy – in Piltover; and in Zaun, a new drug called shimmer transforms humans into monsters. The rivalry between the cities splits families and friends as Arcane brings life to the relationships that shape some of League of Legends’ famous champions including Vi, Jinx, Caitlyn, Jayce and Viktor. Based on the world behind the game League of Legends, the animated event series features a complex world filled with moral decisions, breathtaking animation and suspenseful storytelling.