after being delayed due to the wga and sag strikes last summer, the 75th primetime emmys finally aired monday night. here’s my quick rundown of the good, the bad, and the in-between.
the good (there were lots of them!)
ayo edebiri winning supporting actress for the bear. what a glorious day for the nation of ireland.
i truly think 2024’s gonna be The Year of ayo edebiri (like 2023 wasn’t one already…) she’s such an amazing comic actress, like with this monologue from bottoms that was TOTALLY IMPROVISED??
the acceptance speeches
“probably not, like, a dream to immigrate to this country and have your child be like, “i wanna do improv!””- ayo edebiri
matthew macfayden thanking both his on-screen wives, sarah snook and nicholas braun
john oliver winning the emmy for scripted variety series and listing liverpool team members so he can get played off by host anthony anderson’s mom
“i wanna thank me.”- niecy nash-betts
jennifer coolidge thanking “all the evil gays”
speaking of the bear, their big celebratory kiss after their win for outstanding comedy series
BEEF SWEEP!! there’s something about the phrase “emmy winners steven yeun and ali wong” that just hits, you know?
playing the community theme as joel mchale and ken jeong walked out to present the reality competition program award AND cutting to donald glover during their bit? my #andamovie crumbs…
amy poehler and tina fey reuniting for a special emmy edition of weekend update, where they even poked fun at mean girls: the movie adaptation of a musical adaptation of a movie adaptation of a book. quite frankly, i thought they were gonna start the snl50 promo here. i guess not.
the bad (think “oh, that’s not—”)
putting ellen coming out, 9/11, breaking bad, and a clip from the simpsons in the same highlight reel. was there a cohesive theme to that, or was this the point in the broadcast where they just went “ah fuck it, no one’s really paying attention anyways”?
rapping your acceptance speech is a move, i suppose? i saw someone online compare it to the slam poetry scene in 22 jump street and i let out a semi-ugly laugh at that. i’m sorry.
i understand the purpose of the in memoriam. however, was getting charlie puth to sing a song that’s now nearly 10 years old the best move? i don’t think so. the ending was sweet though.
the in-between (my mixed feelings)
roy wood jr mouthing “hire a host. please.” repeatedly as trevor noah was giving the acceptance speech for the daily show. he’s not wrong. it’s been…jesus christ, a year? since trevor noah left the show. those poor correspondents have been through enough.
the predictability of it all. there was a point in the broadcast where the second they announced a comedy award, i knew it was going to the bear (even though many, me included, make the argument that it doesn’t Necessarily count as a comedy). i’m not denying that the show’s great, but i’m saying there are other great shows in the running (barry, only muders in the building) that i think equally deserve that love.
all in all…
the emmys this year gave a glimpse into what an award show really should be: a celebration of tv, whether that’s through honoring the greats like cheers or letting the gang from it’s always sunny come on and take the piss out of the academy a little. compared to the golden globes a week ago, this is definitely a palate cleanser of sorts (or maybe the palate cleansing was what john mulaney’s governor awards monologue was for?)