The real winners of the 2016 SAG Awards? Previous winners

The 22nd annual Screen Actors Guild Awards offered up a few new faces on the film side, with four first-time winners in the individual performance categories and a host of new SAG victors for “Spotlight” in ensemble cast.

But the ceremony’s main television prizes had less interest in seeking out new blood, instead awarding five of its six trophies to previous winners — not just previous winners, but last year’s winners — in the categories.

Uzo Aduba of “Orange Is the New Black,” Viola Davis of “How to Get Away With Murder” and Kevin Spacey of “House of Cards” all pulled off back-to-back wins in the individual categories, while “Downton Abbey” and “Orange Is the New Black” served as repeat winners for ensemble.

Screen Actors Guild Awards: Highlights and reactions | Winners list | Red carpet

Only Jeffrey Tambor of “Transparent” was a new winner, though accolades are nothing new for his performance as Maura Pfefferman.

Though perhaps disappointing and certainly slightly boring, it’s not particularly surprising that the Screen Actors Guild recognized the same performances this year.

1/11

Eva Longoria in a beaded mesh, body-baring Julien Macdonald dress with deep décolletage and a bare back.

  (Christopher Polk / Getty Images for Turner)

2/11

Maisie Williams in a blue Ermanno Scervino dress.

  (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times / Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP)

3/11

Sofia Vergara stuns in a bright pink dress by Vera Wang.

  (Al Seib/Los Angeles Times / Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

4/11

Alicia Vikander made our best-dressed list thanks to this sequin-covered dress by Louis Vuitton.

  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

5/11

Brie Larson turned heads in a pale blue, draped silk cady gown with thigh-high slit, Swarovski knot embellishments from the Spring 2016 Atelier Versace collection.

  (Jason Merritt / Getty Images for Turner)

6/11

Saoirse Ronan is pretty in a pale pink floral-embroidered tulle gown from the 2016 Transeason Michael Kors Collection.

  (Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Turner / Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

7/11

Rachel McAdams makes our best-dressed list thanks to this black, partly embroidered tulips guipure gown, with a full skirt and opening on the back from the Spring/Summer 2015 Elie Saab Haute Couture collection.

  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times / Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images)

8/11

Although we’re usually fans of Christina Hendricks’ red-carpet looks, this custom Christian Siriano gown struck an off note.

  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

9/11

Gaby Hoffmann

  (Frazer Harrison/Getty Images / Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images / Al Seib/Los Angeles Times)

10/11

One of our least-favorite looks of the evening was Kristen Wiig’s bespoke Roland Mouret jumpsuit.

  (Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP / Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images)

11/11

Gwendoline Christie

  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Television is a naturally cyclical beast. Entering the age of “peak TV” means that there are more shows on than ever and less time to actually watch them, meaning awards bodies often get locked into recognizing entities that they’ve already recognized because they are known quantities.

It’s a problem that plagues any organization that rewards television. But while the Emmys have taken steps to try to shake up their process and the Golden Globes often seem to constantly court whatever is the new, hot commodity on the TV scene, SAG seems particularly vulnerable to awarding its favorites time and again.

Perhaps the best example of this is during the run of “30 Rock” when Alec Baldwin won male actor in a TV comedy series an unprecedented seven years in a row. Given that this is the 22nd annual SAG ceremony, that means that Alec Baldwin has won 32% of all male actor in a TV comedy series SAG awards ever given.

“Downton Abbey” has won drama ensemble three of the last four years, while, before the reign of “Orange,” “Modern Family” won comedy series ensemble for four consecutive years. Three men have won male actor in a TV drama series in the 2010s — Steve Buscemi for “Boardwalk Empire,” Bryan Cranston for “Breaking Bad” and Kevin Spacey for “House of Cards” — but all won their awards back-to-back.

That said, as much as it feels like the SAG Awards recognize the same people year after year, it’s possible that some of that perception may be misleading.

For instance, since Baldwin’s streak in the male actor in a comedy category, the guild has recognized three different actors in three years — Tambor, William H. Macy for “Shameless” and Ty Burrell for “Modern Family.” Though Davis repeated in female actor in a drama series this year, the category has actually seen eight different women recognized in the last 10 years.

All of which suggests that as underwhelming as a year with five repeat winners in television categories might be, the odds are that it’s merely a fluke, not a full-blown trend.

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