Comedian Vir Das has created history with a win at the International Emmy Awards 2023. The comic-turned-actor saw his show Vir Das Landing win the Best Comedy Series award at the prestigious event. The show tied for the award with the hit British teen sitcom Derry Girls. Two other Indians – Jim Sarbh and Shefali Shah – were nominated at the awards but failed to win.
Vir Das’ comedy special streamed on Netflix in 2022 and was vying in the Best Comedy series alongside Derry Girls, France’s Le Flambeau annd Argentina’s El Encargado. The win is Vir’s first International Emmy Award.
Jim Sarbh, meanwhile, had been nominated in the Best Actor category for his performance as Hom Bhabha in SoyLIV’s Rocket Boys. But he eventually lost to Martin Freeman, who took home the award for his role in The Responder. Similarly Shefali Shah, who was nominated for Best Actress for her perfomance in the Netflix show Delhi Crime, lost to Karla Souza.
The International Emmys are given out by International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. While the original Emmys honour American shows, the International Emmys are open to shows of all languages from outside the US. This includes Indian TV and OTT content as well.
Earlier in the night, a special International Emmy’s Directorate Award was bestowed upon producer Ektaa Kapoor. The honorary Emmy celebrates excellence in television entertainment across all fields and Ektaa is the first Indian to receive it. In a statement released to the media, she said, “Television has been instrumental in helping me discover my identity, particularly as a woman working to make stories for women. This award allows me to represent them and our shared accomplishments on an international level.”
