There’s no denying that award shows are a dying breed. Ratings keep dropping, the shows keep dragging and the audiences keep losing interest — so much so that you can’t help but ask who these shows are truly for. Yet, as many serial crime shows have taught me, sometimes a mystery is only solved by going back to the crime scene with fresh eyes.
So, sit down, Benoit Blanc, Grace Ko is back on the Emmys case.
A key part of any award show is its host. A good host means an easy camaraderie is established between the host and both its star-filled audience and its at-home audiences. As evidenced by Conan O’Brien’s successful run at the 97th Academy Awards, a good host can make an award show appear more dynamic than it actually is.
This year’s host was stand-up comedian Nate Bargatze, whose signature style includes his deadpan delivery and sarcasm. Though arguably lesser known, Bargatze recently saw a popularity surge due to his appearance as a host on Saturday Night Live’s 49th season in 2023. Indeed, the awards show began with a sketch shaped after one of the more popular sketches of that episode, “Washington’s Dream,” in which Bargatze jokes about the many contradictions and strange norms in the landscape of television.
For better or worse, Bargatze’s sketch essentially replaced the traditional opening monologue that hosts give at award shows, causing a strange break where the Best Leading Actor in a Comedy Series award was presented before Bargatze came out again. Despite this slightly strange ordering of events, the idea Bargatze introduced to encourage shorter acceptance speeches was quite funny, yet still peculiar. Bargatze announced he would donate $100,000 to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, an organization focused on promoting various programs supporting children’s education and extracurriculars. For every second a winner went over the 45-second time limit, $1,000 would be removed, while $1,000 would be added for every second a winner was under the limit. While this plan was less than successful, as the final total was near -$50,000, a donation of $350,000 was announced at the show’s end.
Compared to last year’s 76th Primetime Emmys, the crowd did feel more keen to laugh despite Bargatze’s slightly nervous energy that resulted in a few awkward moments and name flubs. Perhaps my initial conclusions about the Emmys’ death was premature — the biggest piece of evidence still remains: the awards themselves.
There were moments during the ceremony where I was genuinely surprised and excited for the winners. Jeff Hiller took home the trophy for his performance as Joel in “Somebody Somewhere,” a show that was critically acclaimed yet maybe more unknown to the general audience. “Andor,” despite being snubbed in all of the ceremony’s dramatic acting categories, earned a very worthy win in the Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series category, which Dan Gilroy received for his work in the episode “Welcome to the Rebellion.” However, I was by far the most excited for Owen Cooper’s win for his role as Jamie Miller in “Adolescence.” At fifteen years old, Cooper became the youngest winner of the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie. In his speech, Cooper encouraged those watching to step out of their comfort zone. “Who cares if you get embarrassed?” said Cooper, “Anything can be possible.”
Cristin Milioti also took home a very deserved win for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie for her performance as Sofia Falcone in “The Penguin.” Having only been nominated during both the Screen Actors Guild Awards and the Golden Globes, it was wonderful to see Milioti’s absolutely electrifying performance as Falcone finally be awarded.
Additionally, Stephen Colbert received huge support from the crowd in response to CBS’s recent cancellation of his talk show, “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.” The cancellation came as a part of a wave of controversy during the merger between SkyDance and Paramount Global — the owner of CBS — that required the approval of the federal government. The merger was threatened by a lawsuit from President Donald Trump over his appearance in “60 Minutes,” resulting in a payout of $16 million by Paramount to settle the suit. Colbert criticized this decision and soon after, the cancellation of Colbert’s late night show was announced. Colbert and his team took home the award for Outstanding Talk Series, and Colbert gave a wonderful speech about finding love within loss as the crowd cheered for his win.
Yet, despite these more warming moments of the show, predictability still plagues the Emmys. There is no denying “Adolescence,” “The Pitt” and “The Studio” are wonderful and complex shows. Still, I couldn’t help but wonder if the future wins of multi-season shows, such as “The Pitt,” “The Studio” and “Severance” would eventually feel banal. These shows swept most of the acting and creative categories at the ceremony, and it felt cathartic given these shows are new players in television. However, so were “The Bear” and “The White Lotus,” before the curse of overexposure at the Emmys built a negative will against these shows.
In many ways, this year’s Emmys was a lot more interesting and dynamic than last year’s show, but old habits die hard. The potential of predictability’s return haunts this year’s ceremony as entire categories were swept again, yet here’s to hoping the Emmys continue to expand and are not lost in the deceptive comfort of commonality that acts to limit rather than open the doors for storytelling. The curtains are down, the show is finished and the case is closed: The Emmys live — at least for now.