Why Zendaya's Emmy Win Has People Shocked

The 72nd Emmys had predictable moments (did everyone call Schitt's Creek?) and slightly more unpredictable ones (who had setting fire to the first envelope at the start of the show?). But there was one win few people saw coming, and that went to Zendaya for Outstanding Drama Actress. In its list of Emmy 2020 predictions, Refinery29, which called its piece "Could Zendaya Actually Win An Emmy?" looked into its crystal ball and saw Jennifer Aniston for her star turn on The Morning Show. The New York Post guessed it would be Aniston, and called Aniston an out-of-the-box pick against Olivia Coleman's The Crown, and both Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh of Killing Eve.

And while Time writer Judy Berman said there was no clear winner in the category (and called it for Jennifer Aniston), it also raised a compelling reason why Zendaya should walk away from the trophy. Berman wrote, "A young multi-hyphenate who imbues her antihero character with the perfect mix of precocious gravitas and adolescent angst, she — along with co-star Hunter Schafer — was the best reason to watch HBO's druggy, depressive teen drama Euphoria. Sadly, it's hard to imagine the not-exactly-youthful Television Academy membership rewarding her performance."