Some award shows can be slow and unappealing, while others prove to be absolutely captivating. This year’s Emmy Awards, which specializes in handing out hard-earned television awards, has fallen somewhere in between this scale of disappointing and enjoyable. On Sunday, September 20,, there were certainly some entertaining events that occurred; however, I also believe that the 67th Annual Emmys lacked the oomph that viewers were craving. Either way, they marked yet another night of contemplative TV.
Let’s start with the host, Andy Samberg. Samberg is famous for his role amongst the fantastically hilarious cast of “Saturday Night Live,” as well as playing the lead in the comedy show, “Brooklyn Nine-Nine.” While Samberg seems to always deliver with spontaneous jokes within the realms of these two shows, he failed to do so at this year’s Emmys. He made mediocre jokes, one about attending Kim Davis’ four weddings, roasted Bill Cosby and Jared Fogle, made jabs at the TV industry for its undeniable racism and sexism, and much more. These quips, which can simply be dubbed as “okay,” were then followed by Samberg standing in awkward silence, as if waiting for more laughs to be squeezed from the crowd (which of course, didn’t happen). I can only imagine the difficulty of hosting a major awards show, but Samberg’s deliverance of his jokes, as well as his timing, were certainly off.
The best move that Samberg could have possibly made was when he wished George R.R. Martin a happy birthday (because everyone should kiss the ground that Martin walks on for bringing us the amazing “Game of Thrones”). Samberg can also be praised for sharing his HBO Now username and password, [email protected] / Password1, with the world. This name and password proved to be correct, despite the fact that they were quickly changed by one of many possible viewers at home. I found that these small bits from Samberg were the only ones truly worth noting.
Despite Samberg’s average hosting job, comedian Amy Schumer earned a great deal of praise for her work, which is absolutely
well deserved. “Inside Amy Schumer” took home the win for “Outstanding Variety Sketch Series,” while Schumer was also nominated for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy.” During her acceptance speech, Schumer hilariously noted, “Thanks everybody who has helped me…the girl who gave me this smoky eye…” The cast and crew of “Inside Amy Schumer” were also nominated for several awards, including the superb writing behind the comedic show. Schumer deserves a pat on the back for the strides she has made for women in the field of comedy, especially this past year.
In addition to this, two well-respected actors, Jon Hamm and Peter Dinklage, were both recognized for their work. Hamm won the award for “Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series” for his role as Don Draper in the hit show “Mad Men.” Since “Mad Men” ended this past spring, Hamm satisfactorily earned an Emmy for a role in which he can’t possibly be nominated for again. And Dinklage, who has shined as character Tyrion Lannister in “Game of Thrones,” was successful at the Emmys as well. I believe that Dinklage is the only person capable of perfecting this character, and others must share the same opinion, since the actor won “Outstanding Supporter Actor in a Drama.”
Not everyone was able to walk away with an Emmy, though. The fact that Amy Poehler didn’t win an Emmy for her work in “Parks and Recreation” can be compared to a balloon that has been popped, deflated and turned into a shriveled piece of latex. It was expected that Poehler would definitely take home this award, especially because “Parks and Recreation” ended this past year. Poehler even went to the lengths of donning a hooded sweatshirt and a pair of sunglasses during the award announcement, which couldn’t have been funnier. However, the award was instead presented to Julia-Louis Dreyfus for her role in “Veep.” Sure, Dreyfus is hilarious, but this was also her fourth consecutive year winning this same award, which seems to be quite repetitive. I don’t think Poehler fans are ever going to be able to recover from this loss.
Lastly, I’ll end on a note of influential change – African American actresses such as Uzo
Aduba, Viola Davis, Regina King and Taraji P. Henson were all nominated for awards, marking wonderful advances in the world of TV. When Davis won the “Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series” — becoming the first black woman to do so in that category — for her work in “How to Get Away With Murder,” she beautifully said, “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there. So here’s to all the writers, the awesome people…who have redefined what it means to be beautiful, to be sexy, to be a leading woman, to be black.” Hats off to you, ladies.
