Alright, let’s do this. 2015 Emmys Recap! Here are some photos of Andy Samberg and his wife, Joanna Newsom, on the red carpet. She wore Delposo and it was not well-received. Also not well-received? Samberg’s whole gig as host of the Emmys. I was trying to dissect it and I couldn’t really figure it out. Many of his jokes were actually funny, but I think the delivery – insouciant hipster who is somehow “too good” to host an awards show – made much of the show fall flat. I also believe that people were tired, sleepy and hot after walking the red carpet in 100-degree-plus heat. So, let’s dissect some of the biggest moments of the night, and keep in mind that we’ll be talking about the winners in greater detail in the fashion posts too. You can see the full list of winners here.
Andy Samberg’s musical cold open. I don’t understand why it’s a “thing” to do a musical bit at the opening now, especially when the show isn’t being hosted by a song-and-dance man like Neil Patrick Harris. There were cameos by Jon Hamm, Nathan Fillion, Kerry Washington and Bob Odenkirk and Bill Hader did a bit when the musical turned into Les Mis for no reason. The only place I really chuckled was at the end of the song which was “… and I’m white!”
Salad-tossing. Samberg had a LOL moment when he spoofed the salad-tossing moment from Girls. He spoofed it with the Emmy statute.
the gif of the night pic.twitter.com/wapwlFwCNm
— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) September 21, 2015
Jane Lynch. Why didn’t they get Lynch to host the Emmys? She would have been great. She did make a cameo as “the Mean Nun” from Game of Thrones. SHAME
One of the best jokes: “We said goodbye to True Detective, even though it’s still on the air.”
Ricky Gervais WINS EMMYS. Except not really. As Gervais pointed out, people will just run photos of him holding the Emmy, so as he presented, he tearfully posed with an Emmy, which gave us this:
Here's one for your records, @rickygervais. #Emmys #EWEmmys pic.twitter.com/pmlheV8PD9
— Entertainment Weekly (@EW) September 21, 2015
The Emmys love certain ladies. There weren’t a lot of one-offs, the Emmy voters tended to really love certain shows and give those shows several awards. Some of the one-offs were Allison Janney, who broke some kind of Emmy record and Regina King, who won her first career Emmy. Uzo Aduba also picked up another award for Orange is the New Black.
The Emmys love Veep. Veep finally dethroned Modern Family for Best Comedy, and Julia Louis Drefus and Tony Hale also picked up Emmys for their performances.
The Emmys love Transparent. Yes, in the same night that Buster Bluth (Hale) picked up an Emmy, so did George Bluth (Jeffrey Tambor). Transparent also won Best Director.
The Emmys love Olive Kitteridge. I tried to watch some of Olive Kitteridge and I guess I just didn’t get it? But Righteous Lady Frances McDormand won, as did Richard Jenkins.
The Emmys love The Daily Show. Just showing Trevor Noah that he has gigantic shoes to fill, The Daily Show swept the Emmys for Variety talk show for Jon Stewart’s final season.
The Emmys love Amy Schumer. Shumer got a prime presenting gig and Inside Amy Schumer won Outstanding Variety Sketch series. This was a moment to recognize Key & Peele, because they were equally brilliant to IAS and this was their final year, but I guess not.
Viola Davis is everything. We’ll be discussing Queen V in a fashion post, but suffice to say… she’s amazing. She made people cry: “The only thing that separates women of color from anyone else is opportunity.”
The Mad Men spoof. This was a perfect example of Samberg having the right instinct to start a great Mad Men spoof and then just drive it off the rails.
A nice moment for Tracy Morgan. Tracy is doing a lot better and he came out to present an award and everyone got the feels. It’s nice that he has so many friends in the industry. He was funny too, he made a “I’m gonna get some ladies pregnant at the after-parties” joke, and I love that they cut to Tina Fey because 30 Rock Love is forever.
Jon Hamm finally wins an Emmy. At long last! I truly was expecting Hamm to get snubbed yet again, but he ended up winning and giving us this amazing moment:
Jon Hamm Talks Emmy Stage Climb: "I Was Mortified" http://t.co/ror4zpZ3ak #Emmys pic.twitter.com/qtWkVGNzzv
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 21, 2015
Game of Thrones is still beloved. GoT won Best Drama, it won best writing and directing and Peter Dinklage won Best Supporting Actor. WORD. #WinterIsComing #AllTheEmmys
Photos courtesy of WENN.
I generally don’t find him that funny anyway….it was a bad opening
That no-talent clown always sucks. Who is he blowing?
Tina Fey and Amy P. were so much better at hosting award shows — Tina has a gleam in her eye and Amy has that sly smirk , so they’re always present and ready to say something funny but not crude or overdone.
He failed.
None of the guys have done as well the last few years, yet guys keep getting hired.
I always thought Biola should have won that Oscar a few years ago…
I only watched about 18 minutes, but I think he’s kind of cute. The jab at Kim Davis was worth the price of admission. Plus I just read Jon Hamm won an Emmy, so yay.
It was inoffensive and boring, which I guess in this day and age is somewhat of a win.
It was bland. Too much focus on the limited series nonsense as always. Andy’s a goofy geek. I always thought those teeth were fake, but I guess not. Did NPH host this last year? Whatever he hosted recently was horrible, so Andy seemed like a good step up from that. Would Ellen de G have been a better choice?
Last year’s host was Seth Meyers.
How forgettable.
I thought Samberg was fine. Not hilarious but a good host overall. I was however
underwhelmed by most of the looks – there were standouts in a good way, IMO they were Regina King and Viola Davis and Julia Louis Dreyfus – they all looked fab from head to toe
( would love to hang with three of them one day, they seem funny & encouraging.) I teared up during & after the Viola Davis speech.
I found many of the presenters to be lame- Henson & Howard were especially ‘unfunny’ to me & I muted many acceptance speeches because they were annoyingly long it seemed or smug ( am I reading Francis McDormand wrong or is she smug?)
So happy Tony Hale won, he is great on Veep but I will always hear ” hey brother” when he comes on screen.
ETA: Allison Janney looks fab, too.
“am I reading Francis McDormand wrong or is she smug?” She is SMUG. So smug and sits on a very high horse in a high and mighty way. I would never cross her lol
“Allison Janney, who broke some kind of Emmy record”
She tied Mary Tyler Moore and Ed Asner for performance Emmys (7), and they are all one behind the all-time champ, Cloris Leachman. Not too shabby (even though Anna Chlumsky was the more deserving winner).
Julia Loius Dreyfus is close in terms of wins, but I really think she is a tad over-rated. I mean, she beat out Jane Kazmarek for Malcolm in the Middle and Amy Poehler in Parks and Rec (even for their last seasons).
It’s so political. How can you choose who is better when it comes down to some of these performances? I get the impression that if a committee has to choose btwn JLD and Amy P..JLD gets the “elite” Hollywood vote and the (apparently smaller) crowd who likes that more “rebel” type of humor/comedy sketch thing, go for Amy.
I would have really loved to see Amy Poehler honored, but JLD is really fantastic on Veep.
I love Samberg — Brooklyn Nine Nine is one of my favourite shows now — but yeah, he fell flat last night for me.
His wife’s dress was … I don’t even know what adjective to use. It looked like my grandmother’s living-room drapes.
Ditto on everything. I’m a big fan of his but he wasn’t the best host,
And that dress is horrifying.
“We said goodbye to True Detective, even though it’s still on the air.”
HAHAHAHAHAHA
They’ve got a hellava press team working, though.
Even before the show was over, I had Facebook showing articles from the Washington Post and a Hollywood paper with headlines of “the funniest Emmy opening ever!”
(With 97.6% of all the comments saying “noooo, I was bored out of my mind”
I used to never miss the Emmys..this year I didn’t even know it was on until I spotted it while channel surfing…Maybe I’m getting old and apathetic..or maybe they aren’t such a big deal anymore…shrug.
I didn’t know they were on either because the Packers were playing!
Were they insanely late this year or am I wrong? For some reason I remember them being in late August/ Early September.
@boredblond This!
I guess he did a musical opening because a lot of people still only know him from Lonely Island? Just a guess? Also anyone else notice the guy from SNL was the only one not clapping when Tracey Morgan showed up?
I was going to say – Andy samberg not a song and dance man? Lonely Island have some really hilarious songs. I quote “I’m an ADULT” from Threw It on the Ground all the time.
I really liked Andy Samberg’s pre-taped skits…but otherwise his jokes kind of fell flat.
Loved the Adrian Brody joke. Julia’s jab at Ommpa Lompa-ican was pretty great as well.
Liked the surprises ( whoo….Regina King) and the not so surprising (love Viola Davis and the speech was dead on without a hint of condensending).
I still can’t believe Lena Headey didn’t win. It was a sure thing for me last night. Uzo Aduba also deserved it, but I was really rooting for Lena 🙁
+1. Especially with GoT winning everything else. I love Tyrion but how the hell did he win for his (non)performance in season 5 and Cersei didn’t?? At least she looked beautiful…
This. I love Uzo Aduba but Lena’s performance on the GoT finale was some of the best acting I’ve ever seen on TV. They’ll probably give her a redemption Emmy another year, but it sucks she didn’t get it for that scene.
As for Peter Dinklage… I like him a lot but I feel like he’s an overrated actor in GoT. Maybe overrated isn’t the word, but I feel like people keep nominating him and talking about him while there’s so many other great actors there. It saddens me to think Rory McCann and Charles Dance will never get an Emmy for their work in GoT. Tywin and the Hound were such layered and badass characters.
I’m not saying Uzo didn’t deserve it because Crazy Eyes is an incredible character and she is so talented, but this is exactly why I don’t watch these award shoes–they always pick favorites. Once they decide that they love a particular actor, actress or show, no one else really gets a fair chance.
As another poster mentioned–4 years in a row for Julia Louis Dreyfus for her acting in Veep? They couldn’t consider that she had already won 3 times for the same role and given it to another much deserving actress?
These award shows are always rigged and too many wonderfully talented actors, actresses are snubbed.
Plus can we admit that the smothering self-regard of Ms Uzo’s acceptance speech kind of let the air out of it? These people (hello, Miss Viola Davis) are some of the most pampered on the planet and when THEY WIN AN AWARD FOR PRETENDING TO DO STUFF, they get up and bloviate about what a struggle it all is. However, having spent a good deal of time in Hollywood I know that most actors are looney tunes with severe self-esteem issues. You think they’d enjoy it a little more.
I agree. So many of the speeches came across like you’d think they are curing cancer or saving babies…as if their acting is saving the world, one line at a time. Give me a break, get over yourselves.
@Ted Baxter: Your reference to “these people”, did you mean actors in general, or, with your examples of Uzo & Viola, were you referring to women of color? Was there a white female, or a male, who also had a speech that irritated you?
Also, I think you answered your own question…if many actors have severe self-esteem issues, the constant rejection – which is part of the job – would be especially depressing, year after year. So yes, getting thru that would be a struggle, in addition to the financial struggle.
Separately, they are at a gathering of peers & industry players, celebrating achievement – totally appropriate to be emotional or talk about struggles. They’re not at a fun promo appearance suddenly being inappropriate.
How did he suck? Has there been a really, really great host in the past decade that we can compare him too?
Clearly not Jane Lynch, who Kaiser doesn’t seem to remember her lukewarm turn hosting. The hosts are so hamstrung by the folks putting on the show, even when they bring their own writing team.
I think the host is his own biggest fan.
I hated his weirdly patterned suit and smug expression, and really struggled to understand him … he spoke way too quickly (was he nervous?) and hardly anyone laughed at his jokes … maybe they couldn’t understand him either?
Awful, awful, awful.
I don’t get the Veep love. i just don’t. I also thought JLD isn’t worthy of 4 years in a row.
I aso didn’t find anything Joyful about Olive Kitteridge either. I don’t understand those wins
I’m happy for Viola. That was the strongest category and I would have been happy for any of them to win. My daughter loved the Harriet Tubman quote.
“I don’t get the Veep love. i just don’t. I also thought JLD isn’t worthy of 4 years in a row.”
Could not agree more. I gave it a chance on multiple occasions and it just isn’t that good in my opinion. I also wish that these award shows would chill out with having favorites. There is absolutely no reason for them to award the same person 4 years in a row for playing the same exact role. There were other actresses who were better who lost out because they only award their favorites.
I actually had to fast forward some moments of the opening because, Christ, that was bad.
Ugh so bummed the Americans lost out on writing to GOT. The Americans is always getting overlooked. Very happy for Viola Davis though, but sad that Tatiana still hasn’t won yet.
Andy Samburg is the new Adam Sandler to me. I just do not find him funny. He reminds me of a kid in high school who can’t keep a straight face at his own shenanigans that are not even all that funny. He is way overrated.
On another note, GO VIOLA!!!! Love her.
I was also happy to see Jon Hamm win. Don Draper is one of the greatest characters of all time. Surprised to learn Mad Men never won any awards. The attention to detail for staying accurate to the time period alone deserved an award, let alone the acting which was supreme across the board. Mad Men was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen.
Yes, Mad Men really was a masterpiece. I will miss it for sure.
I did not like Adam Samberg hosting. He’s like Adam Sandler’s goofy younger brother. The jokes fell flat ( I only chuckled at he Kim Davis reference) and there just was no flow to it. I think there are a lot of other people that could have done a much better job.
What was with Christina Hendricks and her husband not even clapping for Jon Hamm’s win? They were the only ones in the front row that seemed pissed that he won. Kinda pathetic.
Writing was going in too many directions.
Lorne Michael Coffee mug and Red carpet metal detector beans from a can … Whaaaaaaaaaaaa?????
The writing was awful and in a sophomoric way, AS kept laughing at himself which made it worse. He thought he was great while the rest of us were lost.
Then the spoilers thing.
I’m thisclose to being finished with S of A ..
I’m so sad.
Call me crazy but I actually liked this awards show. I usually detest them but this was tolerable.
John Oliver was great, his Jeopardy rant cracked me up and I loved the intros the writers did for the Comedy writing nominations.
I do like Veep but I don’t think it deserved all its awards. I wish Parks and Rec had come away with something.
I just wish all award shows would dump the opening comedy monologue. They are never funny, and take up time that could be better spent in other ways.
And did anyone else notice that everything was dragged out for about the first 45 minutes, and then the rest of the show was like it was racing? At least they finished on time.
It was Will Forte in the out of nowhere Les Mis section of the cold open, not Bill Hader. Only thing I can think is that they wanted to include him to comment on his beard? Who knows!
Andy wasn’t any worse than NPH, who hogged way too much time showing himself off without being funny. Did anyone like seeing NPH parade in his jockey shorts? I was offended. Ellen isn’t a great host either – she did some really stupid & boring stuff at the Oscars, especially the pizza flop.
I wish Amy & Tina would host, or even Ricky Gervais who is at least funny while he’s skewering.
Agree.
Also think Andy brings a distinct NYC/improv/sketch vibe that’s not so much smug as it is a little skeptical/tongue-in-cheek about both big awards shows and hyped-up television series. His opening musical number wasn’t too much of a stretch from his (other genre) musical parody videos for SNL, either.
“I wish Amy & Tina would host, or even Ricky Gervais who is at least funny while he’s skewering.” This!
Adam is mostly harmless – show ended on time, so kudos to however that happened.
I can’t believe the girls re-enactment passed the censors.
Andy is much better in skits. He seemed very nervous and couldn’t relax into hosting without falling back into some of his comedy personalities.
Wow. I actually thought Andy was really funny – I like him. I agree with Lainey’s post today. He seemed to be relaxed and having fun. I also liked Ricky G., and Tina/Amy and Ellen. I guess I’m pretty easy – I don’t like monologue-type humor in general, so that’s my starting point.