The Emmys and How Elton John Went into the White Lotus: A Portrait of a Black Performer and an Emmy-Wonder
WINNER: Ali Wong (Beef)Dominique Fishback (Swarm)Jessica Chastain (George & Tammy)Kathryn Hahn (Tiny Beautiful Things)Lizzy Caplan (Fleishman Is in Trouble)Riley Keough (Daisy Jones & the Six)
WINNER: Matthew Macfadyen (Succession)Alan Ruck (Succession)Alexander Skarsgård (Succession)F. The White Lotus was directed by Murray Abraham, Michael Imperioli, Nicholas Braun and Theo James.
WINNER: Paul Walter Hauser (Black Bird)Jesse Plemons (Love & Death)Joseph Lee (Beef)Murray Bartlett (Welcome to Chippendales)Ray Liotta (Black Bird)Richard Jenkins (Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story)Young Mazino (Beef)
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There are a few major categories and there’s always plenty going on up and down the list. One story of note: With a win for his special Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium, Elton John reached a made-up status that it’s hard not to admire anyway — the EGOT.
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It’s often been the case that awards shows include a good number of Black actors as presenters, or as hosts like Anderson, but then don’t actually reward their work. Not so with these Emmys. The ceremony looked back at 75 years of Emmys and three of the first four women to take the stage were Black, including beloved icons like Arsenio Hall. Anderson called it “like MLK Day and Juneteenth rolled into one.”
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The mother of host Anthony Anderson will be yelling at the audience in place of the orchestra playing people off to trim speeches. It was clear that this was going to be awkward when she did it to Coolidge. The producers didn’t continue with it, fortunately. It’s not clear whether they ever intended to. Perhaps they didn’t, or perhaps they instantly realized it was not going to land the way they hoped. Don’t even think about playing the music.
The 75th Emmy Awards offered up nothing in the way of real surprise; practically every prize went to the frontrunner. Perhaps the closest the night came to a moment worth an eyebrow-raise was the In Memoriam segment that included a mournful rendition of the Friends theme song. Obviously, a very well-meaning attempt to recognize Matthew Perry, but that is not a song that translates into tears. The Golden Globe and Critics’ Choice awards were held in September, so a lot of these presumptive winners are still fresh off their wins.
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Three big shows dominated the major categories given out Monday night: Succession in drama, The Bear in comedy, and Beef in limited series. All three won the big prize in their category as best series. All three won both directing and writing awards. Three of them won multiple acting awards, two of which were for Beef and three for The Bear. Four out of 21 awards handed out in the three categories went to shows other than The White Lotus, Black Bird, and Abbott Elementary. The Jeffrey Dahmer story is a famous one. It seemed like maybe Ted Lasso might be in the race for its (likely) final season, or The Last Of Us might make a strong showing for its adaptation of a stunning video game. But it wasn’t going to happen. The favorites were in total control of the night.
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Coolidge’s win for her supporting work in The White Lotus wasn’t unexpected, given that she won last year, but along with the rest of the night, it did come as a real blow to Better Call Saul fans, myself included. People were hoping that Rhea Seehorn would win the trophy in her final chance for the work she did as Kim Wexler. In fact, Saul — a show a lot of its admirers think is better than Breaking Bad, from which it was spun off — won no Emmys at all. It ends an acclaimed six-season run with 53 nominations and no awards. That’s only fitting for a show about a bottom-feeder and repeat loser, like Jimmy McGill, and those who know. Especially about Rhea Seehorn.
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The TV of the past played a big part in remembering at the75thEmmys. Getting to see old sets, or rough approximations of old sets, was one thing this did well. Some of it was a little effortful, like Anderson doing a skit with Dylan McDermott about American Horror Story. We salute television on a generous curve. It usually gets a good B-plus.