Emmys EPs Tease Tributes for ‘SNL 50th,’ ‘Happy Days’ and ‘Characters You’ve Loved Over the Years’

As Jesse Collins Entertainment gears up to host the second Emmy Awards of 2024, the 76th annual ceremony is set to celebrate “SNL’s” 50th anniversary, “Happy Days” and “characters you’ve loved over the years.”

After the 75th Emmys saw reunions for TV classics like “The Sopranos,” “Cheers,” “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” and “All in the Family,” among others, EPs Collins, Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay hope to lean into nostalgia in a more character-driven way this year.

“We want to celebrate ‘SNL’s’ 50th — we got a great moment there,” Jesse Collins told TheWrap in a Thursday interview ahead of the show. “‘Happy Days’ — Ron Howard and Henry Winkler,” he said, with EP Dionne Harmon adding the team built a set for their onstage reunion on Sunday. The team remained tight-lipped on “one big surprise that [they] think everybody will love.”

“We loved the nostalgia of January’s show, and we wanted to bring that spirit to the show on Sunday without doing the exact same thing, so we’re really celebrating the characters that you’ve loved over the years — whether that’s TV moms, TV dads [or] villains,” Harmon said, noting the tribute is a “love letter to television.” “You’ll get to see all of these characters together, celebrating an archetype. You get the best of both worlds — you get the nostalgia [and] you also get the current characters of today.”

With the Emmy presenters , which were unveiled earlier this week, ranging from Viola Davis to Giancarlo Esposito, Candice Bergen to Don Johnson, Rouzan-Clay pointed out viewers can take their best guess at which character archetype their favorite presenters might fall into.

“It’s like a fun game you can play to figure out … who could be in the lawyer bucket? Who’s in the villain bucket? Who’s a cop?” Rouzan-Clay said. “All of the the presenters have played multiple roles, so [it’s] fun to see where we place people. Even as we were looking at booking, [there were] a lot of people who [we were like] ‘Oh, you can put this person in lawyer, but they can be a cop too.'”

Collins, Harmon and Rouzan-Clay tease below what viewers can expect from Eugene and Dan Levy as a hosting duo and reveal what they learned producing last year’s show — and their plan to tick up viewership.

TheWrap: There is obviously a much shorter gap between this and the last Emmys in January. How are you approaching that challenge of making this feel fresh and like a must-watch?

Collins: You start with the benefit of a whole new slate of nominees, and then you can just build out from there. We’ve got great hosts that are really excited — they’re going to bring their own energy to the show — and … a new concept, new presenters, it will feel very fresh and different with a couple of the pieces that people responded well from the last show, like the reunions.

Harmon: Our production designer, Brian Stonestreet, created a really beautiful set that also gives it a whole new look and feel.

What can viewers expect from the Dan and Eugene Levy hosting duo?

Collins: Comedy, pure comedy. Family.

Rouzan-Clay: Relatable comedy.

Harmon: Chemistry. [They’re] two people that have literally spent decades with each other. There’s a shorthand finishing each other’s sentences, giving each … a hard time — there’s just that familiarity that’s really awesome.

The ratings for the last few shows clearly haven’t been the highest. What conversations were had about ways to boost this year’s viewership?

Collins: I think it’s just about making sure that we have a great selection of presenters that represent people who are stars of television today that represent the shows that we’re watching, and then ones from yesterday, [and] finding that balance. And then you’ve just got great nominees — there’s a lot of curiosity to see who are going to win these awards at the end of the day.

The awards may be dominated by a few of the same shows winning lots of awards. How does that factor into your planning, if at all?

Rouzan-Clay: There’s new shows too. Obviously everyone’s looking at “The Bear” — we know they have a lot of nominations this year, but “Shōgun” snuck in there … as a brand new show with its first season. I think people are excited to see a lot of opportunity for firsts in terms of if they pick up some of these awards, so I think that there is opportunity for kind of a brand new slate, even though we know that there are some shows that have been on for a while that may win some awards.

Harmon: Even though some of the shows may be the same, the presenters are different and the hosts are different, so there’s always going to be a fresh energy to it.

Rouzan-Clay: Those acceptance speeches are going to be different, and we don’t know what those will be.

Are you planning on addressing the upcoming election?

Collins: We feel like it’ll happen organically. We all need to vote — we need to get that message out, so we feel like it will happen in the body of the show.

Harmon: In the end, this is a celebration of television — this is an escape from the craziness that we all see every day. At the core of it, it’s a celebration and we hope everybody does the right thing.

What are some things that worked well in January that you’re excited to carry on into this year?

Rouzan-Clay: People loved seeing those iconic sets, especially, when we were able to build the “Cheers” bar last year. I remember when it started coming together, we all walked onto the stage, and it was that moment of “this really feels like you’re in the set,” … from the pictures on the walls to the bar. We’re excited to do that this year with “Happy Days.”

Collins: Anthony Anderson was an amazing host last year, and he just set the tone and was fun and it was celebratory. I think that’s the key for one of these things, you’ve got to get a great host — and we’re fortunate enough to get great hosts this year, with Dan and Eugene. They’re just such a part of the community of Hollywood. They’re so funny. Everybody loves them. I think that will be a big key to the success of the show.

With Eugene and Dan hosting, can we expect a full “Schitt’s Creek” reunion?

Collins: That’s one that we’ve got to hold back, but I think it’s going to be great, and everybody will be happy with their performance.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

The 76th annual Emmys debut this Sunday, Sept. 15, 2024 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC.

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