“After Forever,” the Amazon Prime digital series co-created by Kevin Spirtas and Michael Slade and co-starring Atlanta’s Mitchell Anderson netted five Emmy Awards Friday and Sunday night in Pasadena, California at the 46th annual Daytime Emmy Awards.

The series also picked up Emmys for Outstanding Writing for Slade and Spirtas, Outstanding Direction for Jennifer Pepperman, Outstanding Supporting Actress for Erin Cherry and Outstanding Lead Actor for Spirtas.

In an emotional acceptance speech Sunday night at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Slade recalled the autobiographical inspiration behind the drama series that centers on Brian and Jason, a married couple, and the aftermath of Jason’s terminal cancer diagnosis. “I want to thank my partner on this project Kevin Spirtas for your incredible tenacity in making it happen. This whole thing started when Kevin said to me, ‘I want to do a story about gay men who aren’t thirty, who are grown ups. I had lost my partner a couple of years before to a horrible cancer diagnosis and I wanted the opportunity to turn the most awful thing that had ever happened into something beautiful. We created this show, full of pathos and humor to show people that there is life after grief and that you can still honor the love you have for the person who is gone and still move on to have a life as you continue.”

While a second season for “After Forever” hasn’t officially been announced, the show’s impressive Emmy hardware haul over the weekend quite likely made a positive impression on the folks at Amazon Prime (or perhaps a competing streaming outlet) to green light and perhaps finance a second season.

Going into the weekend, Atlanta’s Emmy nominee for Outstanding Lead Actor’s expectations were small. Last week, Mitchell Anderson wrote in his daily morning MetroFresh email to customers: “Keep your fingers crossed. I’m hoping that out of eight nominations, we can win one or two!”

Meanwhile, Anderson’s Atlanta culinary career also continues to thrive. His MetroFresh Midtown location at One Midtown Plaza on Peachtree Street is set to open this summer.

Richard L. Eldredge

Richard L. Eldredge is the founder and editor in chief of Eldredge ATL. As a reporter for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Atlanta magazine, he has covered Atlanta since 1990.