Here we have "The 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards" that took place a few days ago and I shall elaborate a bit now on this event that is basically considered the biggest (awards) night on (American) television these days. Yep, American. In contrast to the recent rise of Asian films at the Oscars, foreign productions have not really made it to the Emmys. Yet? Of course, the status of this event also has a lot to do with the tradition. In the title, you can read that it is only two more years and then there will be a pretty big anniversary (let alone the one 25 years later), so I really hope they get a bit on track again quality-wise. I mean this year's show was not a total disaster like the Grammys lately or so, but still really a lot to improve. The running time is okay I guess. It stayed under the 2.5-hour mark, but that includes the broadcast without commercials, so probably three hours with commercial breaks. Definitely should not be longer I'd say. A key problem here was really the host. I knew the name Cedric the Entertainer before watching this show, but was not really familiar with the stuff he did. Looking at his performance that night, it surely was not my loss. I definitely agree with the one other reviewer who wrote in the title of his elaboration that the host was weak. And that is still a gentle way to put it. I really hope they did not pick him for ethnicity reasons, but even if they did, there are many, many Black artists out there who certainly would have done a better job. Still love Chris Rock for example with what he did at the Oscars a few years ago. But back to this one here now: So yeah, CtE's segments were really weak. His opening monologue was already as forgettable as it gets and his segments later on were mostly pre-recorded and still offered almost nothing in terms of comedy value. Please don't let him host an event like this ever again.
Let me elaborate a bit on the winners: I think there were not too many surprises. Still some. One of the biggest was probably Colman taking home the win for Best Actress instead of Corrin. This also shows you how dominant The Queen was that night. But yeah, awards bodies clearly love Colman. Even her Oscar win was considered an upset a few years ago. On the comedy side, Ted Lasso was the dominant force. There was a little unexpected interference in directing and writing from the series Hacks though. But the acting categories were really a massive success for the Jason Sudeikis show. Kate Winslet was a factor too once again on the small screen and she managed to beat Anya Taylor-Joy in what was perhaps the closest race of the night. However, in the limited or anthology series category, the chess project prevailed. Luckily I could say. Not unhappy with Julianne Nicholson winning though as I have known her for a long time now, 20 years or so since her turn on Criminal Intent. Besides, freckles are always appreciated. The Limited or Anthology Series category I just mentioned already was also the end of the show, which surely felt surprising that they did not go with drama series here. However, the Oscars even put the actors last in the most recent edition, so the Emmys apparently thought they also had to had to come up with a little bit of a change there. It was alright, especially in terms of the winner for me it did feel like a bit of a highlight.
Maybe an even bigger surprise than Colman's win was Colbert winning for variety special. I think all four other nominees were bigger favorites according to the bookies, but you could say that the liberal American television industry had its moment there again in terms of a political statement. I was not happy about it all because Colbert is everything except unbiased television no matter what he does. The other category he lost of course and that went as always to Last Week Tonight. Acceptable. Another variety category included two nominees only. That felt like Best Song at the Oscars when the Muppets won if I remember correctly. Pretty strange, still no sympathy really from me here for the defeated nominee given the background of that show. They say there are no losers, but when only one nominee is not a winner it really feels that way. In addition, Hamilton triumphed over a one-man show and comeback releases from Friends and The West Wing. With the latter, chess was a factor too once again. I'd like to see that. Aside from that, RuPaul also won like every year, even if his children comment felt a bit awkward. The segment dedicated to the fallen was quite nice though. The song they played there this time. And with that I mean the song "River" as well as the two performers. Michael Kenneth Williams was the most recent death there, so he was featured a little more than the others, but it was okay. May they all rest in peace, also Alex Trebek for example. So this was the highlight or at least one of the highlights of the show. Another one was the presentation from the Schitt's Creek cast, even if I still don't have too much motivation to watch that show because I do not really like the man most of all behind it, but that was nice.
On the negative side, maybe even if it is personal perception, I do not like it if these shows become (too) political. Mentioned one winner already and another example would be when they included a video sequence that showed us a fly on former VP's head during an interview and they voiced said fly and it was just so cringe and unfunny. The expected pro-vaccination statement was included as well of course at some point and seeing Kate Winslet here during her speech, I must really say that I remember liking her back in the day, but now she has gone so far down for me and I don't really wanna see her anymore. Sad to see how she has become so artificial. Speaking of artificial, you can argue of course if you consider Jennifer Coolidge artificial, but I always find her entertaining really because of how different she is. Maybe some think she is unfunny, but there is no way she is not unique. So she was certainly a welcome inclusion as far as I am concerned here in contrast to Tracee Ellis Ross and some others too. Amy Poehler I have also been bigger on in the past, but I will admit her material here was not too bad. Short, but on point and funny. Patrick Stewart is always nice to see anyway. What else can I say? Oh yeah, some presenters I'd also put a question mark behind why they were even there. I mean nothing against Allyson Felix and what she has achieved, but evening television? And they did not even honor the best sports commentators that night or so. Made little sense to me. So yeah, this pretty much it then. I mean the expertise and experience was there for sure, also with the eternal Hamish Hamilton directing, but in terms of the quality of the broadcast one must say that the Emmys are nowhere near the level of the programs they are honoring these days. Surely a pity, but there is massive room for improvement and I hope they find a lot of it in the coming years.
The good news is that these shows always feel about the awards and that is how it should be. Already mentioned music awards shows and they get lost constantly in stage performances and do not feel essential at all anymore. Then again, I also would not know how they could mess up a television or movie awards show from this perspective, but hey telling enough that we must be grateful for something like this already that is almost a given to be honest. Maybe they could mess up with many trailers and previews or so. But these were left out completely I think this time. Good news. You can watch those on video websites if you care. Oh yeah, American Horror Story fans will surely also be happy about one winner in particular, even if he is not my total favorite from the show I guess. Speaking of AHS, Angela Bassett also got her big moment in the spotlight by announcing the final winner of the night. Debatable if she deserves it, but it's okay. Seth Rogen and Ken Jeong also presented awards by the way. Well, they are who they are. That is really it now. Overall, the weak and forgettable with this show was sadly more frequent than the quality elements and inclusions and that is why I have to give the outcome here a thumbs-down. I would not call it a failure though, so if you like awards shows and don't know/remember the winners (yet), then you can give it a go. My suggestion, however, is that you should watch the nominated and winning shows first. So you also have people and projects to cheer for, which is never bad. And maybe you would be happy that Bettany and the late Williams lost despite being frontrunners because you also would have voted in favor of others or maybe you would be really upset. But you will feel something, you will have an opinion at least.
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