'The Studio,' 'The Penguin' and Julie Andrews are among the winners at the Creative Arts Emmys

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Julie Andrews won her third Emmy Award at age 89 Saturday at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, while “The Studio” will take nine trophies and “The Penguin” will take eight into next weekend's main Emmys ceremony.

Andrews won for best character voice-over performance for her work on Netflix's “Bridgerton,” her first Emmy since 2005.

“The Studio,” the Hollywood satire from Apple TV+ that is this year's top-nominated comedy series, won for its cinematography, production design, casting and other craft categories.

“Thank you, Sal Saperstein,” nearly all the “Studio” winners said from the stage, a running gag that is a reference to Ike Barinholtz's character who gets unexpectedly thanked on the show.

The show's winners got to use their real filmmaking chops to recreate a fake one, including Adam Newport-Berra, whose cinematography evoked the beauty the show's comic characters were trying to capture.

He won for a very meta episode called “The Oner,” in which an on-screen crew is trying to capture a long single shot in an episode that is itself done in a single shot.

“'The Oner' was sort of the pinnacle of what we were trying to achieve,” Newport-Berra said backstage.

In a similar visual vein, “Adolescence,” the acclaimed Netflix show where every episode is a single shot, won best cinematography in a limited series.

But it was one of only two Emmys won by “Adolescence” on a night when HBO's “The Penguin” dominated the limited series categories. The abundance of craft categories given out allowed it to win eight, including prosthetic makeup and visual effects.

“Andor," the Disney+ “Star Wars” series, won four in the drama categories.

The Creative Arts Emmys, where nearly 100 awards are handed out across two nights, are a precursor to the main Primetime Emmy Awards ceremony, which will air live on CBS on Sept. 14.

“This is the real Emmys,” presenter Maya Rudolph said at the beginning of the show at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. “This is that Emmys they couldn’t have the other Emmys without, cause nothing would get made.”

Julianne Nicholson and Bryan Cranston were winners in the guest acting categories that add some star power to the proceedings.

Nicholson trumped Oscar winners Jamie Lee Curtis and Olivia Colman to win her first Emmy for best guest actress in a comedy, for playing a character known as Dance Mom on HBO Max's “Hacks."

Nicholson, who is also nominated for best supporting actress in a drama for “Paradise” at next weekend's main ceremony, usually plays starkly serious roles, and loved going in a new direction on “Hacks.”

“It was so fun to just go balls to the wall in a way that I don’t usually get the opportunity to do,” she said backstage while holding her Emmy. “This was a huge surprise and something I’ve been searching for.”

Shawn Hatosy won best guest actor in a drama for playing the supervising doctor on “The Pitt” who is relieved by star Noah Wyle at the beginning of the all-in-a-day show then relieves him at the end of the intense medical series.

He used much of his speech to praise Wyle, who was in the audience and may be the favorite to win best actor in a drama next weekend.

“Your leadership, your performance on ‘The Pitt’ is extraordinary," Hatosy said from the stage. ”It is unbelievable being on the other side of what you're bringing."

The guest actors on “The Studio” made for an extra star-studded category, and gave luminaries Ron Howard and Martin Scorsese a chance to win their first acting Emmys. But it went instead to their Emmy veteran “Studio” castmate Cranston, who won his seventh after taking six in his years on “Breaking Bad.”

Merritt Wever won best guest actress in a drama for “Severance.” It was one of six Emmys won on the night for the Apple TV+ series, a fine showing but a relatively light load of trophies for the year's most nominated show that is among the favorites for best drama next weekend. It was a far cry from last year's Creative Arts Emmys, when “Shogun” broke a record for Emmys in a season with 14 before it went on to dominate the main ceremony.

The count suggested that next weekend's major drama categories could be wide open.

Another big nominee, “The White Lotus,” won just once Saturday, for its opening title music, and Hatosy was the lone winner for “The Pitt.”

Neither Andrews, nor Cranston nor Wever were at the ceremony, as can be common at the Creative Arts Awards. Nominees who were present as presenters, including Rudolph, Curtis and Howard, did not come away winners.

Andrews won her first Emmy for the special “The Julie Andrews Hour” in 1973 and another for "Broadway: The American Musical" in 2005. She has both an Oscar and a Grammy for playing Mary Poppins. She strangely lacks only a Tony to complete her EGOT status, despite being a giant of the Broadway stage in shows including “My Fair Lady.”

Sunday will be devoted to reality and variety TV. Kendrick Lamar and Beyoncé are both nominated for football halftime shows, while Barack Obama's competition for his second Emmy in the narration category includes Tom Hanks and Idris Elba.

This story has been corrected to reflect that “Severance” won six awards, not five.

For more coverage on this year’s Emmy Awards and recent television shows, visit: https://apnews.com/hub/television

CORRECTS YEAR - Maya Rudolph attends night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

CORRECTS YEAR - Maya Rudolph attends night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

CORRECTS YEAR - Julianne Nicholson poses in the press room with the award for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for "Hacks" during night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

CORRECTS YEAR - Julianne Nicholson poses in the press room with the award for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for "Hacks" during night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

CORRECTS YEAR - Adam Newport-Berra poses in the press room with the award for outstanding cinematography for a series (half-hour) for "The Studio" during night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

CORRECTS BYLINE - Gwendoline Christie attends night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Malin Akerman, left, and Brittany Snow attend night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Maya Rudolph attends night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Maya Rudolph attends night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Julianne Nicholson poses in the press room with the award for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for "Hacks" during night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

Julianne Nicholson poses in the press room with the award for outstanding guest actress in a comedy series for "Hacks" during night one of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Saturday, Sept. 6, 2024, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Richard Shotwell/Invision/AP)

FILE - Emmy statues are seen at the 70th Primetime Emmy Nominations Announcements at the Television Academy's Saban Media Center July 12, 2018, in Los Angeles. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)

It was at a relatively minor event in upstate New York in September 2022 that Ilia Malinin, the self-anointed “Quad God" who was fast becoming the biggest name in figure skating, finally landed the jump that so many people had thought impossible.

Others had tried quad axels in competition over the years. All of them had fallen. That extra 180 degrees of rotation — necessary for the only jump in skating that starts with a forward-facing entry — proved to be a half-revolution too much.

So when Malinin landed it inside the arena made famous by the U.S. hockey team's upset of the Soviets at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, it not only sent shockwaves through the tight-knit skating community but made headlines around the world.

“My mind was just blown,” said two-time Olympic skater Jason Brown.

Yet by conquering the gravity-defying jump, Malinin also raised an important question: What comes next?

The six main jumps in figure skating have been standard since the early 1900s. The only difference between then and now is the number of revolutions. Dick Button landed the first double axel in 1948, and the first triple jump four years later. Kurt Browning landed the first quad, a toe loop, in 1988, and it was 10 years before Timothy Goebel landed the first quad salchow.

By landing the quad axel, Malinin may have maxed out the boundaries of human performance. Most sports scientists agree that the speed and amplitude necessary for five-revolution jumps truly is impossible, leaving figure skating at a crossroads, where a dearth of innovation threatens to take the shine off a sport already fighting to maintain popularity.

“I think it's kind of natural that we were going to get to this point,” said Malinin, the overwhelming favorite to win gold for the U.S. at the Milan Cortina Olympics. "But I haven't reached my top, whether it's in the technical and how much I can jump and spin, but also in the creativity.”

Malinin, 20, points to his signature “raspberry twist,” a somersaulting spin unlike anything that anybody else does. He created it himself, and it tends to bring down the house whenever he throws it down near the end of his programs.

Yet the flashy maneuver also underscores one of the inherent problems with trying to be creative: It doesn't get rewarded.

The International Skating Union has rigid requirements for both short programs and free skates, and it rarely pays off to deviate too far from the script. Malinin might not get a lot of extra points for landing his raspberry twist, for example, since it is not one of the six standard figure skating jumps, but a failure to land it could cost him dearly.

“Absolutely, there are a lot of things I've wanted to try,” Malinin told The Associated Press, “because I think it would be really cool and appealing. But it's a bigger risk for the program itself, and the system and scoring means it doesn't make sense.”

In other words, what's the point in trying to innovate?

“There are so many rules in your programs that you don't have too much wiggle room,” said Alysa Liu, the reigning world champion. “A lot of these rules really restrict us. Like, all of our spins look the same now, but they could look so different."

“One of my training mates, Sonja Himler, does these incredible programs," added Amber Glenn, a three-time U.S. champion, and along with Liu one of the favorites to win Olympic gold for the American team in February.

“Like, she spins the other way, jumps the other way — really cool things that, you know, someone who's watched a little bit of skating will be like, ‘Oh, I’ve never seen that before,'” Glenn said. “Whereas if I go and do, you know, the norm, and do it well, versus what she does, my scores will be better, even though what she does is way more impressive, in my opinion.”

Justin Dillon, the manager of high performance at U.S. Figure Skating, acknowledged having had hard conversations with some skaters about their programs. They may have planned something unique or interesting, but the risk wouldn't be worth the reward.

“I encourage individuality, and bringing it to the ice,” Dillon said, “but if they do something so avant-garde that it doesn't check those boxes, then it really doesn't serve them. It doesn't always mean throw it out, but what can we do to make it a home run?”

To its credit, figure skating's governing body has loosened some restrictions in recent years. The backflip, which was long banned in competition because of its inherent danger, is allowed now, though it also doesn't carry a whole lot of scoring weight.

Is that hold-your-breath element of risk and uncertainty the next big step in skating?

“I mean, you're cringing. It legit scares me," Glenn said of the backflip. “If you can do it, great. I think it's so fun. I want to learn it once I'm done competing. But the thought of practicing it in like, a warmup or in training, it just scares me.”

Brown has never been able to consistently land quad jumps in competition. Instead, he relies on near-perfect execution of triple jumps, along with arguably the best artistry in figure skating, to consistently challenge for podium placements in major competitions.

Maybe, Brown mused, the next innovation in figure skating has nothing to do with extreme feats of athletic ability.

“I have so much respect for the ways in which people are pushing the sport technically,” he said, "but I think the more that people fixate on executing an element, the less risk people take artistically, because they’re already taking these risks technically. And it is very hard to do both. So maybe the next step for figure skating is to reward the story we're trying to tell."

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Amber Glenn skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Amber Glenn skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Ilia Malinin skates during the "Making Team USA" performance at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Ilia Malinin competes during the men's free skate competition at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Saturday, Jan. 10, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)

Ilia Malinin competes during the men's short program at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2026, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Stephanie Scarbrough)