Eugene and Dan Levy hosted the 76 th Emmy Awards — or as Dan called it, “Broadcast TV’s biggest night for honoring movie stars on streaming services.” It was the year’s second Emmys show, since the 2023 ceremony got delayed by the strike until this past January. The father-son duo kept it light and affable and Canadian all night, reprising their Schitt’s Creek chemistry. The January ceremony went for low-key nostalgic charm; this was a rerun that turned into your basic blah-bath. Pretty standard for the Emmys, always the least glam, least magnetic of the Hollywood awards shows. After the pandemic and the strike, bland was probably the goal.
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Eugene Levy had a great line about The Bear, addressing this year’s biggest controversy: Why did this drama count as a “Comedy Series”? The Bear snagged more nominations than any comedy in history, with 23. “I know some of you might be expecting us to make a joke about whether The Bear is really a comedy,” he said. “But in the true spirit of The Bear, we will not be making any jokes.”
John Oliver had the night’s funniest highlight by a mile, when Last Week Tonight won for Outstanding Scripted Variety Series. First he said his son’s name wrong — it’s “Hudson,” not “husband,” which got an “ouch. ouch.” out of him. But when Oliver eulogized his late dog, the Emmy honchos stupidly tried to play him off. “We had the most fantastic dog,” he recalled. “We had to say goodbye to her.” As the orchestral strings started to blare, Oliver pointed at the music director and said, “Fuck you! I feel like Sarah McLachlan right now!” He milked it hilariously, dedicating the award to his pet. “She was an amazing dog, and this isn’t just for her. It’s for all dogs! All dogs! You’re very good girls, very good boys, you all deserve a treat!” Then he dared the Emmy honchos, “Play me off now! ”
The burning question of this year’s Emmys: Are Potsy and Ralph Malph OK? Why the hell weren’t they in on the Happy Days reunion ? It was neato to see Henry Winkler (the Fonz!) and Ron Howard (Richie Cunningham) goof off on the old Happy Days set in Arnold’s Diner to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Seventies’ favorite Fifties sitcom. (Arguably best known for inspiring a Nineties Weezer video.) But where were Donnie Most or Anson Williams? Hell, where was Mrs. C? Marion Ross is thankfully still among us, at 95 years young — she’s right in the sweet spot between Carol Burnett (93) and Dick Van Dyke (98).
No wonder it didn’t work when Winkler did his gag about knocking on the jukebox to make the music play — as everybody knows, the Fonzie trick of magically repairing appliances works best if Mrs. Cunningham is in the room calling him “Arthur.” But it’s always a delight to see Winkler mensch it up anywhere. Here’s a shout-out to the late great Tom “Mr. C” Bosley, Erin “Shortcake” Moran, Al “not so good, Al” Molinaro, and of course, Pat “Mr. Miyagi” Morita. As for Scott Baio: Sit on it, Chachi.
The Bear ’s cast cleaned up: Jeremy Allen White and Ebon Moss-Bachrach won, as they did in January, while Liza Colón-Zayas won Best Supporting Actress. She addressed her fellow Latinas, saying, “Keep believing and vote.” The Bear got upset by Hacks for best series , yet it still won 11 Emmys — breaking its own record for comedy wins. White might have been making a conceptual statement with his speech, since he had even fewer jokes than the show. No wonder his next role is Bruce Springsteen, since The Bear is a comedy series the way Nebraska is a comedy album.
The ever-flawless Jean Smart won Best Actress for Hacks . “It’s very humbling,” she told the crowd. “And I appreciate this, because I just don’t get enough attention.” Other acting wins included Shogun’ s Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, Fargo ’s Lamorne Morris, and, for The Morning Show, former Stillwater guitarist Billy Crudup. Jodie Foster took home her first Emmy, 48 years after her first Oscar nomination (for Taxi Driver ). “That’s just the message,” she said. “Which is love and work equals art.”
There was an SNL “ reunion,” in anticipation of the upcoming 50-year anniversary. The Emmy announcer teased “a Saturday Night Live reunion you don’t want to miss!” though it turned out to be four faces who aren’t exactly rare sights on TV. Maya Rudolph (soon to return to the show, hopefully for the next eight years), Seth Meyers, Kristen Wiig, and Bowen Yang paid tribute to SNL ’s founder. “We hear that our dear friend, our mentor, Lorne Michaels, has been nominated for and lost the Emmy 85 times,” Wiig said, as they all consoled him with pep talks. Rudolph said, “Each and every one of those 85 times you lost, you were robbed. You hear me? Robbed!” Seeing Lorne laugh in the crowd was a bit startling in itself. “It gets better,” Yang assured him while pronouncing his name “Loren.”
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For some reason, the cameras could not get enough Jimmy Kimmel reaction shots all night — if you played a drinking game where you took a shot for every Kimmel close-up, you’d be almost as wasted as whoever came up with the idea to do a heartwarming tribute to TV lawyers. (“They better the human condition and uplift us” — okaaaay .) Steve Martin, Martin Short, and Selena Gomez did their killer power-trio banter, with castmate Meryl Streep cheering in the crowd. Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal reunited to present in Spanish, though the dynamic duo of Y Tu Mama Tambien didn’t make out. Joshua Jackson tried hard not to look pissed about walking on to the Dawson ’ s Creek theme.
Jon Stewart won for his bizarre return to The Daily Show, clinging to the memory of Y2K-era both-sides-ist humor like a World War I comic still doing jokes about the kaiser 20 years later. “You’ve made an old man very happy,” Stewart said, looking deeply miserable. The Emmy folks sent security guards out to clear the Daily Show team off the stage, after a not-especially-long acceptance speech.
Billy Crystal was looking and sounding hearty with his groovy beard, rolling out the Keith Richards “it’s great to be anywhere” joke. In the reality categories, The Traitors sashayed past RuPaul’s Drag Race . Padma Lakshmi, not necessarily recognized for her comedy chops, had a bit with Sam Richardson from Veep and I Think You Should Leave about her 17 nominations for Top Chef — and her 17 losses. She was a scream —the funniest she’s been on camera since she used to keep rolling her eyes on Top Chef at Toby Young’s dumb jokes. Greg Berlanti gave a touching speech upon winning the Governor’s Award. Candice Bergen did a well-earned J.D. Vance-Dan Quayle gag, with a big “meow” at the end.
Reservation Dogs ’ D’Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai wore a red handprint painted over his mouth , a righteous political gesture to express his solidarity with murdered Indigenous women. He also had one of the night’s most awesomely unguarded close-ups, when he couldn’t hide how miserable he was not to win Best Actor in a Comedy Series — he might not be much of a poker player.
Jelly Roll did the In Memoriam montage , honoring the TV figures who died in 2024. “I Am Not Okay” was a weirdly despondent choice for a song to sing at dead people — the unlikeliest pick since the Oscars had “Spirit in the Sky” a couple years ago, one of the most tasteless moments in awards-show history. But Jelly Roll gave it a heartfelt intro. “I believe that music can heal,” he said. “I also believe that storytelling is just as cathartic. I hope this song can act as a healing moment for those mourning the storytellers we’ve lost this year.”
Those storytellers included Shannen Doherty, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, Richard Simmons (inexplicably identified as a “TV Personality” rather than “Performer” or “Oldies Sweatin’ Pioneer”), Phil Donahue, Martin Mull ( Fernwood 2 Night forever), the suave Hollywood Squares host Peter Marshall, Louis Gossett Jr., Gena Rowlands, and Richard Lewis (oy, still in denial over that one). And don’t get me started about the late great Carl Weathers — the fact that we never got an Action Jackson II is a cultural atrocity. The segment left out Shelley Duvall and Joe Flaherty (despite having so many of his old SCTV pals in the house.)
But the biggest applause came for the two faces at the end: James Earl Jones and Bob Newhart. Kimmell came out to give Newhart a personal tribute, saying, “And the Emmy for Deceased Industry Professional We Will Miss the Most goes to …” Newhart had the most eloquent deadpan in the biz. “He did not have range,” Kimmel said. “He didn’t need to have range.” But that episode of The Bob Newhart Show where he has a near-death experience in an elevator shaft — dang. As Kimmel said, “Newhart was one of our most-loved and funniest people for more than 60 years, and we will miss him for many years to come.” Goodnight, Bob.
'Hacks' Wins Outstanding Comedy Series at 2024 Emmys: Comedy 'Can Bridge Divides'
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