Now that Hollywood is back in action after both the writers’ strike and the actors’ strike came to a resolution late last year, the much-delayed and much-anticipated 75th Annual Emmy Awards are here. While the Emmys are traditionally held in September, they were moved due to the strikes and and have landed during Hollywood’s traditional awards season, and, less traditionally, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day.
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This year’s shindig was hosted by actor and comedian Anthony Anderson, who is no stranger to the Emmys, having been nominated for multiple awards himself for his role on black-ish. He has a big job ahead of him as this is the awards’ diamond anniversary and producers are determined to put on a show. Not only will there be a cavalcade of actors being handed awards, but the ceremony will pay tribute to the history of television from the 1950s to the present with a slate of cast reunions, including for Ally McBeal, Cheers, and Martin.
There will undoubtedly be plenty of awards for The Bear and Succession, as well as a whole bunch of strange songs, jokes that flop, shocking snubs, and upsets. We are here to recount the good, bad, absolutely hilarious and hilariously awkward moments.
Best Time Keeping
Anderson kicked off the show with a little housekeeping announcement. The show was going to give out 27 awards, which means 27 acceptance speeches. To keep those speeches tight, he suggested just thanking “Jesus and your mama,” and to encourage brevity, his own mother, Doris Bowman, would be there to cut people off. To prove it, his mother shouted from the crowd, “Time’s up, baby, cut to the chase!”
The Emmys’ Most VMA Moment
Even though this was the Emmys and not the MTV Video Music Awards, Blink-182’s drummer Travis Barker showed up on stage to play the drum fill from Phil Collins’ “In The Air Tonight” in Anderson’s tribute to Miami Vice.
Best Way to Kick Off A Show
Christina Applegate, who shared her diagnosis with multiple sclerosis in 2021, got a standing ovation as she appeared on stage, mentioning her roles in Married… With Children, Samantha Who?, Dead to Me, and as a baby on Days of Our Lives. She joked the audience was “shaming” her disability “by standing up” and then chided the audience for clapping: “You don’t have to applaud me every time I do something!”
Most Enthusiastic Way to Announce A Winner
When Applegate announced The Bear‘s Ayo Edibiri as winner of Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series—for which Edibiri went on to give a humorous and meaningful speech thanking her family—she opened the envelope and yelled: “Ayo, get your ass up here!”
Best Back-to-Back Reunions
Lorraine Bracco and Michael Imperioli were invited as one of many cast reunions throughout the evening, as well as to mark the 25th anniversary of The Sopranos and announce the award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama. The award went to Jennifer Coolidge and when she arrived to accept her trophy, she was reunited with her The White Lotus Season 2 co-star, Imperioli.
Most Disappointing Casting Confirmation
When Coolidge won for her performance in The White Lotus, she naturally thanked creator Mike White. However, fans may not be thanking him in return, because Coolidge confirmed she won’t be back for future seasons. “He says I’m definitely dead, so I’m going along with it,” she said, before taking a moment to “thank all the evil gays” for making her an icon.
Best Beef and Best Bleep
Keiran Culkin started a tiny feud with Pedro Pascal during the Golden Globes and when Pascal came to announce an award at the Emmys, he used his moment to (jokingly) blow it up. Sadly, audiences at home didn’t get to hear exactly what he said about Culkin, because the entire line was bleeped, but based on the look on Culkin’s face, the war is not over yet.
Biggest Snub
While Martin was never nominated for an Emmy throughout its run in the 1990s, members of the cast (Martin Lawrence, Tisha Campbell, Carl Anthony Payne II, and Tichina Arnold) reunited on stage and pointed out all the reasons they should have been. That’s when Anthony Anderson joined them on the stage to thank them for their contribution to television history and to confirm that, indeed, they were never getting an Emmy.
Best Use of Time
As John Oliver accepted his award, he announced that he would not leave until he got played off by Anthony Anderson’s mom, so after making his thank you’s, he started listing every member of Liverpool’s soccer team and their positions. He got through three players when Bowman stood up and cut him off with one disappointed word: “Baby.” He quickly thanked Jesus and his family, as instructed, and took off.