This yr’s Emmys marked the occasion’s seventy fifth anniversary. As a part of the festivities, aired Monday night time, the ceremony held forged mini-reunions for a few of tv’s greatest exhibits: Cheers, The Arsenio Hall Show, Grey’s Anatomy, Martin, even Game of Thrones. It was a testomony to the best way TV has infiltrated common tradition—and the methods streaming has altered that affect ceaselessly, giving area to bizarre, genreless exhibits that may have floundered in prime time.

Take, for instance, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. That present has been operating for almost 20 years; it’s TV’s longest-running live-action sitcom. Yet, when the gang—Charlie Day, Glenn Howerton, Rob McElhenney, Kaitlin Olson, Danny DeVito—took the stage throughout the Emmys telecast, it wasn’t to obtain an award, it was to current one. During their pre-presentation bit, they requested round if anybody had an Emmy. DeVito was the one one who stated sure. That was for Taxi in 1981. “Rhea [Perlman] won four for Cheers,” DeVito cracked.

It’s Always Sunny then, would possibly simply be the proper present on the fallacious time. It’s an FX present with a faithful following that has develop into a binge-watch favourite on Hulu. It premiered in 2005, a scant two years earlier than Netflix started streaming, when awards darlings had been massive community exhibits like Lost and The Office. In the late-’90s and early aughts, even exhibits like The Sopranos acquired edged out by community dramas like The West Wing. (Sopranos acquired an Emmys tribute on Monday; West Wing didn’t.) Over time, Sunny gained followers through streaming (as did The Office), however by no means the awards recognition. Had it premiered on Hulu 10 years later, that is perhaps a a lot completely different story.

Reminders of this phenomenon had been prevalent all through the Emmys present. When the forged of Grey’s Anatomy got here out it felt like a flashback to the times when one demise on the present (you know which one) would ship the Television Without Pity web right into a (t)Izzie for per week. And Grey’s Anatomy is nonetheless on the air. It’s a beloved consolation watch, nevertheless it hasn’t been nominated for an Emmy since 2012.

That’s as a result of streaming, and status cable TV earlier than it, has reworked what folks watch and the way. Networks used to pump out big-budget, common exhibits like ER, and everybody would watch. That modified as exhibits like Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale grew to become actual contenders. They by no means acquired the viewership of, say, Everybody Loves Raymond, nevertheless it didn’t matter. They made streamers and small cablers—and people within the center like HBO Go/Max/and so forth.—look good.

This got here into focus Monday night time when Jon Hamm got here out to speak about Mad Men’s jaw-dropping 116 Emmy nominations and 16 wins. Technically, that’s just one extra win than a present like Raymond, however 32 million folks watched that sitcom’s finale. You understand how many individuals watched Mad Men’s when it aired? 4.6 million, in the event you embrace of us who watched it a number of days in a while DVR.