Sally Field won a Primetime Emmy Award for her role in “Remarkably Bright Creatures” and director Saul Metsztein won for “Slow Horses” during Monday night’s award ceremony. 

The two titles were among the six adaptations nominated for Primetime Emmy Awards, which recognizes excellence in television. 

Field picked up her fourth Emmy Award for her role as Tova, a widow who works at an aquarium in the Pacific Northwest and sparks friendships with an octopus (voiced by Alfred Molina) and her new co-worker played by Lewis Pullman. “Remarkably Bright Creatures” is a Netflix movie that adapted the book by Shelby Van Pelt.

The film also won the award for Outstanding Movie at Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, which took place earlier in the month. This was the second Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Field; the first came in 1977 for “Sybil.” She also won Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama series for “ER” in 2001 and “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series” for “Brothers & Sisters” in 2007. 

Metzstein won the award for Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series for directing the Season 5 episode “Scars” of “Slow Horses.”

The series is based on Mick Herron’s “Slough House” series of novels about disgraced MI5 agents to a unit led by Jackson Lamb, played by Gary Oldman. The series was also nominated this year for Outstanding Drama Series; Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for Oldman; Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for Jack Lowden; and Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series for Will Smith. It also received four nominations for the Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. 

The series also won an Emmy in 2024 for writer Smith and one for director Adam Randall in 2025. This was Metzstein’s first Emmy. 

Other adaptations recognized with nominations at this year’s Emmys included “All Her Fault,” “Margo’s Got Money Troubles,” “The Testaments” and “A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.”

About the writer

Danielle Haynes is the co-founder and co-editor of Booked & Screened, covering book-to-screen adaptations, film and TV development. It’s been a long time since she weeped during a movie, but “Remarkably Bright Creatures” did it.