So, if you made it through the Seattle Seahawks losing to The Tennessee Titans, you were able to see the Emmys happen right on time. Yes, that was a football reference, which might not have been entertaining for some, but were The Emmys entertaining this year? That responsibility would be placed on the shoulders of Cedric the Entertainer.
An altered rendition of Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” was Cedric’s choice for opening the show, with assistance of LL Cool J and other audience attendees as it was in itself was a tribute to Biz Markie whom passed away and was also mentioned in the Emmy Tribute – Those We’ve Lost. Anyone in the audio-visual department was cringing at all of those microphones floating around the crowd, but they seemed to be on as we did hear Billy Porter singing, but Rita Wilson sounded a little recorded. It was a good opening number, not the best in Emmy Opening History, but still entertaining.
Cedric’s monologue after the first commercial break consisted of a handful of COVID jokes, a little Nicki Minaj jab, a statement that they all needed to be vaccinated to attend. Then Cedric went onto state this wasn’t the Met Gala and everyone was dressed as normal rich people, well, except the gays and proceeded to call out Billy Porter and Dan Levy and would later mention Carl Clemons-Hopkins’ shoulders later. The gays and non-binary will represent. Was he pointing out that we are fabulous or that the LGBTQ+ always overdue it? Maybe black straight male comedians should not tell gay jokes, right Kevin Hart?
What was very evident from the many visuals of the room was that the venue was much smaller this year. COVID rules? People not getting the vaccine? Seth Rogen mentioned this in his quick presence on the presentation stage. “There’s way too many of us in this little room. I would not have come to this.”
Another fun moment in the show was the reunion of the cast of Schitt’s Creek for a quick moment for them to introduce a group of nominees. Their comedy was nice, welcoming, and made us miss that Schitty Creek.
A Schitt’s Creek family reunion should happen every single week #Emmys pic.twitter.com/Yd2HvTsPO1
— Nora Dominick (@noradominick) September 20, 2021
The “I Haven’t Won An Emmy” sketch was actually funny and we got to see daddy Scott Bacula.
Was The Emmy’s a great experience this year? Meh, it was all about the winners as they were really the focus of the event. Cedric didn’t do poorly nor was he phenomenal. As mentioned, the skit above was probably the funniest moment of the night.
If you are one about the fashions, definitely take a jump over to Variety.com where they have all of the Getty Images of the red carpet.
As for the – The Emmy Goes To recipients, here they are:
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series – Kate McKinnon was nominated for SNL, but Hannah Waddingham from ‘Ted Lasso’ was called to take the Emmy home.
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series – Bowen Yang was nominated for SNL but Brett Goldstein from ‘Ted Lasso’ took home the award. He was told not to swear but CBS had two long bleeps. Carl Clemson-Hopkins was also nominated, making Carl the first non-binary nominee.
Congrats @cclemonshopkins for making history as the first out nonbinary actor to be nominated for an Emmy in @TheEmmys 73-year history! 👏👏👏https://t.co/gYffXHynNn
— Equality California (@eqca) September 16, 2021
Supporting Actress in a Limited Series – Billy Porter and MJ Rodriguez presented the award and Julianne Nicholson of ‘Mare of Easttown’ won.
Supporting Actor in a Limited Series – Evan Peters, ‘Mare of Easttown’ was called to the stage to make his acceptance speech. Of course, we know Evan Peters from all of his roles on American Horror Story (pick any season).
Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series – This was writing for a particular episode of a series where Pose had a nod and the Mandalorian had two nominations. Peter Morgan and ‘The Crown’ won. This was the first time we were clued in to where that other room was they kept showing as CBS set up cameras in London for ‘The Crown’ had so many nominees.
Directing for a Drama Series – Jessica Hobbs, ‘The Crown’
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Gillian Anderson, ‘The Crown’
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series – Michael K Williams was mentioned by Kerry Washington as being so well missed. The Emmy went to Tobias Menzies of ‘The Crown’.
Writing for a Variety Series – ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’
Variety Talk Series – ‘Last Week Tonight with John Oliver’
Variety Sketch Series – ‘Saturday Night Live’
Best Writing in a Comedy Series – ‘Hacks’
Directing for a Comedy Series – Lucia Aniello, ‘Hacks’
Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series – Jean Smart, ‘Hacks’. It was clear she received the biggest applause of the night up to this point. She added a touching tribute to her husband who passes away 6 months ago.
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series – This award was presented by Jennifer Coolidge who received a great round of applause, too. The winner was Jason Sudeikis, ‘Ted Lasso’.
Outstanding Competition Program – RuPaul’s Drag Race
The Governor’s Award – Debbie Allen. Didn’t Debbie look great! She then received the longest standing ovation of the night. The tribute The Emmys gave her was very worthy of her history and her talents.
Directing for a Limited Series – Scott Frank, ‘The Queen’s Gambit’. His acceptance speech should have been in three parts and on 2 other nights. The music came up 3 times and he still kept talking.
Writing for a Limited Series – Michaela Coel, ‘I May Destroy You’
Leading Actress in a Limited Series – Kate Winslet , ‘Mare of Easttown’
Lead Actor in a Limited Series – Ewan McGregor, ‘Halston’ A Ryan Murphy / Netflix creation
Actress in a Drama Series – Olivia Colman, ‘The Crown’
Actor in a Drama Series – Josh O’Connor, ‘The Crown’
Variety Special Live – Steven Colbert’s Election Night 2020
Outstanding Variety Special Pre-Recorded – Hamilton
Congratulations to the cast and crew of #Hamilton on their #Emmys Award win for Outstanding Variety Special! pic.twitter.com/znbGu8hBQB
— Walt Disney Studios (@DisneyStudios) September 20, 2021
Outstanding Comedy Series – ‘Ted Lasso’
Outstanding Drama Series – ‘The Crown’
Outstanding Limited Series – ‘The Queen’s Gambit’
Did your show / limited series win?
Mama @RuPaul, @the_symonee, & @michellevisage better sissy that selfie! 🤩💅 (via @the_symonee on IG) #Emmys #DragRace pic.twitter.com/CTWW0XCgYy
— RuPaul's Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) September 20, 2021