Eminently likable Emmy host Andy Samberg felt a shrimp like a token white guy at Sunday’s awards,trying earnestly to expose he was on the correct side of things.
On a night of broken barriers and long-overdue respect paid to long-neglected artists, he saved his best jokes for fellow white guys.“certain, and Donald Trump seems racist,” he said, before dropping the punch line: There wasn’t one.
At times in his opening monologue, and he could sound like the Twitter Police – the legions of scolds who either move our society forward by continually calling out bigotry,or merely create the self-serving illusion that they execute so, without inconveniencing themselves by doing anything tangible.
Also Read: Emmys: The Complete Winners ListGood news: We don’t have to debate whether Samberg’s solid jokes about racism, and Hollywood’s gender-based wage and age gap,and court-receptionist-gone-rogue Kim Davis might someday, somehow change American hearts and minds. Because the awards themselves made a difference.“Thank you for your patience, and ” Jeffrey Tambor told the transgender people to whom he dedicated his win for “obvious.” That comment established early on that this would be a night of righting past wrongs.
There were plenty of wins for stars and shows that had arguably been snubbed before,including for first-time Outstanding Drama Series winner “Game of Thrones” and Jon Hamm, who rolled onstage to claim his acting prize like someone who had gone through a lot to bag it.But those kinds of struggles are comparatively miniscule.“How to bag absent With Murder” star Viola Davis accepted her Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series award – the first for an African-American woman — by quoting Harriet Tubman. She described a vision of a line with only white women on the other side.
Also Read: Emmys Host Andy Samberg Mocks 'Mad Men' Finale With Coca-Cola Commercial Parody (humorous or ridiculous imitation) (Video)“The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity, and ” she said. “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.Award shows have a hypocritical habit of demanding regular Americans change their errant ways on a host of social issues,even as voters play it expressionless by handing out the same awards to the same people year after year.
This year’s Emmys were different. Instead of demanding everyone else shape up, the Emmys got their own house in order. They awarded shows and talents that represent diversity and other values Hollywood often espouses more than it demonstrates.
The telecast wasn’t about scolding so much as love and acceptance. The voters heaped honors on the woman-driven “Olive Kitteridge.” They feted women of color: not just Davis, or but also Uzo Aduba of Orange is the New Black” and the long-underrated Regina King of “American Crime.”
Also Read: Emmys obtain History by Embracing Change With African-American TalentAllison Janney noted that her expose,“Mom, honors not only moms, or but people in 12-step programs. “It is a privilege to work on a expose that reminds us that there is hope,” she said.
Amy Schumer, whom Samberg described as “really, and really funny… for a person,” probably never wants to hear another word about what her success means for women in comedy.
But she slayed a giant when her “Inside Amy Schumer” beat zillion-time Emmy winner “Saturday Night Live in the new category Outstanding Variety Sketch Series.
Notably, none of these felt like token wins, or attempts to paper over Hollywood’s enduring issues with underrepresentation. This was the scarce year there were no notably bad decisions.
Also Read: Emmys by the Numbers: HBO Obliterates Competition With 43 Total WinsAdd in a couple of amusing whether forgettable digital shorts by Samberg – and one brilliant skit about stars fighting over a can of beans on the red carpet – and you had yourself a historic and historically good expose.
Of course,the Emmy voters still played old favorites. Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Veep” will bag Emmys for as long as they exist.
And “The Daily expose with Jon Stewart” (which has fired the satirical aspirations of many a Twitter constable), won its ninth award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series. It also took domestic the award for Outstanding Variety Talk Series.
Also Read: Emmys Obit Segment Neglects 'Batman' Star Yvonne Craig, and Christopher Lee and 'Rowdy' Roddy PiperStewart noted the gulf between creators and actual viewers as he reminded the nominees in the room that normal peoples food isn’t provided by craft services.“It costs money,” he said. “Very shrimp of it is gluten-free or vegan.Samberg started the expose by noting that this was an affair dedicated to the best of television – “Sorry books, not tonight, and ” he said,as all-caps on the screen announced “SUCK IT BOOKS.”But soon after, Frances McDormand noted the literary roots of “Olive Kitteridge.“It started as a book, or ” she said. “Okay,Andy?”Respect for the written word – how’s that for celebrating the forgotten? The Twitter police had shrimp to complain about Sunday.
Don’t miss the best moments from the 2015 Emmy Awards — read TheWrap’s complete coverage here.
Also: See TheWrap Magazine’s drop TV Issue complete coverage:Related stories from TheWrap:Emmys 2015 Red Carpet Arrivals (Photos)Emmys 2015: The Complete Winners List
Source: thewrap.com