Far from the immense controversy around the slap given by Will Smith to presenter Chris Rock during the last Oscars, the return of the Emmys to a Los Angeles theater (a first since the pandemic), hosted by African-American comedian Kenan Thompson , passed off peacefully.
The most significant moments of the ceremony were those celebrating diversity on screen, an important subject that Hollywood has been trying to improve on for several years. Five highlights from the 74th Emmy Awards.
Kenan Thompson tackles Leonardo DiCaprio and Netflix
Dressed in black with a top hat and a tail coat, the master of ceremonies, the African-American actor Kenan Thompson, one of the leading figures of the American show Saturday Night Live since 2003, has swung a few well-felt pikes.
“The show tonight airs on NBC and Peacock. For those over 50, Peacock is NBC’s streaming service. For those under 20, NBC is a television channel that broadcast The Officee,” he said by way of introduction.
The comedian cleverly tackled Leonardo DiCaprio, mocked for systematically leaving his girlfriends once they passed the 25-year mark, like Camila Morrone this summer. “Zendaya is here tonight. She is 26 years old. A weird age, where you’re young enough to play a teenager, but too old to date Leonardo DiCaprio. “, launched Kenan Thompson, causing general hilarity.
The actor did not spare Netflix, which lost 970,000 paying subscribers to its service in the second quarter of 2022, signing the worst performance in its history. “Squid Game is a series about people in debt and desperate. Netflix is expected to join the cast of the series next year,” he pinged. The host of the evening also participated in a skit with Kel Mitchell. A meeting that delighted fans of the film Good Burger released in 1997.
Lizzo’s Empowerment Speech
The singer, the interpreter of good as hell and About Damn Time won the Emmy for Best Reality Competition Show. In her show, available on Amazon Prime Video and entitled “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls”, the star goes in search of plus size dancers to accompany her on stage.
“When I was a little girl, all I wanted was to see myself in the media. A fat person like me, black like me, beautiful like me, ”declared, moved, to applause Lizzo, dressed in a majestic red tulle dress. And to continue “If I could go back and say something to little Lizzo, I would say:” You are going to see this person, but bitch, it’s gonna have to be you!’” A poignant speech against fatphobia from the Grammy winner, always ready to defend black women, the LGBTQ community and women of all sizes.
Lee Jung-jae makes Emmy history
The star of the Netflix phenomenon series Squid Game Lee Jung-jae has become the first non-English performer to receive the Emmy for Best Actor in a Drama Series. A feat while facing serious competition: Jason Bateman for ozarkBrian Cox and Jeremy Strong for Succession, Bob Odenkirk for Better Call Saul and Adam Scott for Severance. The star of Squid Game will soon star in Disney+’s upcoming “Star Wars” series, The Acolyte.
“First of all, I would like to thank God above me,” he said in his acceptance speech for the award. “Thank you to the Television Academy. Thanks to Netflix. Thanks to director Hwang [Dong-hyuk] for bringing to life realistic problems that we all face in such a creative way, with an awesome storyline and amazing visuals. He continued his speech in Korean to thank the rest of the team for Squid Game.
Rewarded for his achievement, the mastermind behind Squid Game, Hwang Dong-hyuk was very honored. “I don’t think I wrote a page of history myself, because it was you who opened the doors to Squid Game”, launched the director. And to conclude: “We made history together and I really hope that Squid Game will not be the last Korean series at the Emmys”. The South Korean series Squid Game, nominated 14 times at the Emmys in total this year, therefore won 6 Emmys in total, including four Emmys at the Creative Arts Emmy, demonstrating once again after the Oscar for best picture for Parasite by Bong Joon-ho the success and growing importance of the South Korean audiovisual industry.
Sheryl Lee Ralph sings “Endangered Species”
We loved every moment of Sheryl Lee Ralph’s win for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her performance in Abbott Elementary on Disney+. From his shock at the announcement of his name to his triumphant singing “Endangered Species” by African-American jazzwoman Dianne Reeves to his inspiring speech.
Sheryl Lee Ralph, after singing her verses, reminded anyone who had a dream to keep hanging on to someone like Quinta Brunson, the creator and title role of the sitcom Abbott Elementary: “To anyone who once had a dream and thought that dream wasn’t, wouldn’t be, couldn’t come true, I’m here to tell you that’s what belief looks like,” a- she declared. The genuine emotion and power of the actress’s singing voice and spoken words sent shivers down the spine. A moment of great television, rare in ceremonies.
We can not recommend too much to watch on Disney + this nugget that is Abbot Elementary, hilarious mockumentary in the manner of The Office in an elementary school in a black district of Philadelphia, which takes the side of offering an outlet laughter around a crucial question, namely the inadmissible lack of means in American public schools.
Jennifer Coolidge’s Dance
Cranking up the music to interrupt awards acceptance speeches may work on mere mortals, but it’s powerless against the inimitable Jennifer Coolidge. The star of The White Lotus received the award for best actress in a miniseries on Monday, but struggled to express herself when she took the stage. As she began to thank her crew, the Emmys producers tried to cut her off by churning out the music.
The star of the saga American Pie refused to give up the stage, choosing instead to dance to the music. “Wait, wait,” Jennifer Coolidge said as the music sounded. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity (…) Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. Wait, wait! As the music got louder, she continued to dance as the audience laughed. Alas, she could not finish her speech…. It probably wasn’t what she originally had in mind, but it was definitely one of the most memorable moments of the evening.