Alrighty....we watched the 75th Annual Emmy Awards and all in all, it was a pretty good show. Of course, after the mess of the Golden Globes, anything would be better. There was tons of diversity on stage and as winners, that was great to see. Some of our faves won...some of our faves did not. It's always a toss up with these kind of awards. Beef, The Bear, and Succession pretty much swept the floor with everyone else. (Scroll down for the full list of winners.)
Probably the best aspect of the Emmys was the fact that they were able to mesh veteran actors and newbies so well. We saw a lot of fresh faces on the stage, as well as some truly iconic actors from TV's history. As a special treat, there were many TV shows that had mini-reunions on stage. Cast members from Cheers, Ally McBeal, Grey's Anatomy, All in the Family, Martin, Sopranos, and more. Comic veterans Carol Burnett and Marla Gibbs even had a nice moment. In between commercial breaks, we heard theme songs celebrating TV's past, including themes from Star Trek, The Golden Girls, Get Smart, The Twilight Zone, and more.
Another great aspect was the celebration of the black community, as the award show fell on MLK Day. The MLK theme and representation were woven into the ceremony so well, so it wasn't just an add-on to check a box.
As a host, Anthony Anderson did the job. The only thing we can't figure out is why they kept rushing all the acceptance speeches (how do you tell Jennifer Coolidge to shut up?) but still had time for long host bits that didn't quite land. The live singing seemed to be off sound and pitch-wise as well. In what little we did hear of the acceptance speeches, there was much talk about the fight for diversity, equality, and representation. There were also a lot of queer shoutouts.
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All in all, the show was enjoyable and concise. Let's hope other award shows follow suit. The brief return of Amy Poehler and Tina Fey makes us wish they would just host every award show.
The Queer Moments:
The evening shared many queer moments, here's a quick list of our faces.
GLAAD won The Governor's Award for LGBTQ+ advocacy. Well deserved. GLAAD, established in 1985 to fight the persecution of the media towards the community during the AIDS crisis, is pretty much responsible for curating every LGBTQ storyline and representation you see on screen. They make sure that our community is being depicted accurately and with care. GLAAD President Sarah Kate Ellis took to the stage and made a special plea on behalf of the trans community:
“The world urgently needs culture-changing stories about transgender people. More people say they have seen a ghost than know a trans person. When you don’t know people, it’s easy to demonize them. Visibility creates understanding and opens doors, it’s life-saving. Our community has achieved so much and yet, we are still being victimized and villainized with cruel and harmful lies. Sharing stories is the antidote. And now is the time to take action – to support everyone in the LGBTQ community, because this story is still being told and we all can be the heroes."
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RuPaul's Drag Race won yet again for Best Reality TV Competition Show. This is the fifth time the show has won the Emmy. He made a statement regarding the protests of drag queens reading books to children during library storytime: "If a drag queen wants to read you a story at a library, listen to her because knowledge is power and if someone tries to restrict your access to power, they are trying to scare you so listen to a drag queen."
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Jennifer Coolidge loving her gays. Jennifer Coolidge won for her pop culture-breaking performance in the second season of White Lotus 2. Of course, we all remember her iconic, "These gays, they're trying to murder me!" line in the series. Of course, she gave us a shout-out during her acceptance speech.
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Wins! Queer actors Niecy Nash and Ayo Edebiri both took home awards, a boon for both the black and queer communities.
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Elton John Makes EGOT! Elton won the Emmy for his variety special Farewell From Dodger Stadium. Not a bad way to say goodbye now making room on his shelf for an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony.
Alrighty, here's the full list of winners:
Lead actor in a limited/anthology series or movie
Steven Yeun, “Beef”
Lead actress in a limited or anthology series or movie
Ali Wong, “Beef”
Supporting actor in a drama series
Matthew Macfadyen, “Succession”
Supporting actress in a drama series
Jennifer Coolidge, “The White Lotus”
Supporting actor in a comedy series
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, “The Bear”
Drama series
“Succession”
Comedy series
“The Bear”
Limited or anthology series
“Beef”
Lead actor in a drama series
Kieran Culkin, “Succession”
Lead actress in a drama series
Sarah Snook, “Succession”
Lead actor in a comedy series
Jeremy Allen White, “The Bear”
Lead actress in a comedy series
Quinta Brunson, “Abbott Elementary”
Supporting actor in a limited or anthology series or movie
Paul Walter Hauser, “Black Bird”
Supporting actress in a limited or anthology series or movie
Niecy Nash-Betts, “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”
Directing for a drama series
Mark Mylod, “Succession” (“Connor’s Wedding”)
Directing for a comedy series
Christopher Storer, “The Bear” (“Review”)
Directing for a limited or anthology series or movie
Lee Sung Jin, “Beef” (“Figures of Light”)
Writing for a drama series
Jesse Armstrong, “Succession” (“Connor’s Wedding”)
Writing for a comedy series
Christopher Storer, “The Bear” (“System”)
Writing for a limited or anthology series or movie
Lee Sung Jin, “Beef” (“The Birds Don’t Sing, They Screech in Pain”)
Writing for a variety series
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”
Scripted variety series
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”
Talk series
“The Daily Show with Trevor Noah”
Reality competition program
“RuPaul’s Drag Race”
Variety special (live)
“Elton John Live: Farewell From Dodger Stadium”
What did you think of this year's Emmys?
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