James Corden, RuPaul and Queer Eye nab Creative Arts Emmy Awards

James Corden's Carpool Karaoke segment featuring Paul McCartney beat Beyoncé's Homecoming concert movie to win the outstanding variety special (prerecorded) category. Photo / Getty Images

The United States' awards season is upon us.

While the Primetime Emmys kick things off properly on Monday (NZ time), the Creative Arts Emmy Awards have already happened — primarily so the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences could avoid a 15-hour broadcast.

The creative awards feature technical categories and a smattering of others. Here are the biggest takeaways so far.

Netflix owns the night. What's new?

Streaming service Netflix won 15 Creative Arts Emmys for its programmes, including Springsteen on Broadway. Photo / AP

At this point, Netflix cleaning up at an awards show is no longer breaking news. Last year, the streaming service received 112 nominations, becoming the first company in 18 years to beat HBO for the most nods. The behemoth continued on as an awards powerhouse on Saturday night, earning 15 Emmys. Programmes it won for included Springsteen on Broadway, Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj, Carmen San Diego, the Hannah Gadsby comedy special Nanette and Queer Eye. The closest competing network was National Geographic with eight wins, seven of those for documentary Free Solo.

James Corden beats Beyonce

The late-night talk show host might want to keep an eye out for the Beyhive. Though anyone with an internet connection surely thought Bey's Homecoming concert movie was one of the year's smash hits, Corden bested her in the outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) category. In fairness, Corden had some pretty strong ammunition: His Carpool Karaoke segment featuring Paul McCartney, in which the two drive around Liverpool and the former Beatle plays a surprise show at a pub, took home the prize. The most surprising aspect? Kanye West didn't show up with an unsolicited opinion.

The Simpsons are still at it

Both The Simpsons and Family Guy took home gongs: The Simpsons for outstanding animated program and Family Guy's creator, Seth McFarlane, for outstanding character voiceover. Image / Supplied

These old dogs are still up to their old tricks — namely, winning Emmys. The animated programme, currently celebrating its 30th anniversary, shocked everyone by taking home its 11th Emmy and first since 2008. GoldDerby, which sets odds on awards shows, gave the show a 9/2 chance of winning outstanding animated programme, the worst in its category. But something about Mad About the Toy, which follows Grandpa reflecting on his part in getting a gay man fired years earlier and trying to make things right with him, struck a chord with the voters.

Rachel Bloom receives a statue - and announces a pregnancy

Rachel Bloom arrives at night two of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards in Los Angeles. The comedian announced her pregnancy to reporters backstage after winning an award. Photo / AP

The multitalented comedian had a pretty nice evening. First, along with Adam Schlesinger and Jack Dolgen, she won an Emmy for outstanding music and lyrics for the song Antidepressants Are So Not a Big Deal, which appeared in her show Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, which streams on Netflix in New Zealand. And that was the second-most newsworthy thing about her night. After receiving the award, she told reporters backstage she was pregnant. "So, that's what's next for me. I might as well do it at an Emmy news conference. I was going to post an Instagram, [but] . . . I'm three months pregnant," she said. "So, I get to tell my child that she was with me when this happened, which is really cool!"

HBO dominates the documentary awards, leading with Leaving Neverland

The tremendously emotional HBO documentary tracing Michael Jackson's alleged history of sexually abusing young boys has made a lot of headlines lately, mostly due to Dave Chappelle poking fun at it in his latest special, Sticks & Stones. On Saturday, that conversation changed when it won the Emmy for outstanding documentary. HBO had a nice night, also taking home the trophy for exceptional merit in documentary film-making for The Sentence, which took on the complex topic of mandatory minimum prison sentences.

Seth MacFarlane ties record for most voiceover Emmys

The Simpsons wasn't the only long-running animated comedy recognised on Saturday. Remember that old cartoon Family Guy? Well, it's still on television and just earned its creator yet another Emmy. MacFarlane has won the award three times in the six years since outstanding character voiceover performance became its own category in 2014. (He won one before, when the character award was included in the outstanding voiceover performance Emmy.) With four under his belt, he's tied with Dan Castellaneta and Hank Azaria of The Simpsons for the record.

YouTube continues to compete

The online video streaming service won its first Emmy in 2013, a technical one for its personalised video recommendations. Well, it hasn't slowed down, earning four on Saturday night. Three went to Celine Desrumaux, Jasmin Lai and Bruno Mangyoku for outstanding individual achievement in animation for their work on Age of Sail. The other went to Nasa's interactive coverage of SpaceX's Crew Dragon test flight to the International Space Station, which was broadcast on YouTube.

RuPaul's just getting started

RuPaul poses in the press room with the Creative Arts Emmy Award for outstanding host for a reality or competition program, which he won for RuPaul's Drag Race. Photo / AP

After winning best host of a reality or competition programme for the fourth consecutive year for RuPaul's Drag Race, RuPaul is now tied with Survivor host Jeff Probst for the record. "I show up to work because I love drag queens, love dramatic people, love being around people who march to a different drummer," RuPaul said after winning. "Drag is dangerous. Drag is not politically correct," he said. "I know people say, 'You're mainstream' but drag will never be mainstream." The show, nominated this year for 14 Emmys overall, won outstanding hairstyling for a multicamera series or special and outstanding costumes for variety, nonfiction or reality programming.

• Full coverage of the Primetime Emmys, from 10am on Monday at nzherald.co.nz.