2022 Emmys reaction
The 2022 Primetime Emmys took place Monday, Sept. 12, resulting in a charming, nostalgia-filled and ultimately predictable awards ceremony.
This year, the Emmys took place on NBC, which tapped comedy icon Kenan Thompson to host the event.
Thompson was an excellent choice for a host. Not only is he hilarious, but he is also the longest-running comic on NBC, going on his 19th season on “SNL.”
Just to emphasize how long Thompson has been on “SNL,” he started on the series in 2003. Most first-years at Penn State were born from 2003 to 2004.
The self-proclaimed “mayor of television” delivered an overall solid job as host.
The opening dance sequence to different iconic TV theme songs was cute, but overstayed its welcome. It was odd that all the themes used weren’t nominated; none of them were even on the air anymore.
However, Thompson delivered a favorable opening monologue.
Thompson is known for being loveable and reliable. He did his best to make the dance sequence as entertaining as possible and was much better suited during his other hosting duties.
Iconically, Thompson reunited with his ‘90s collaborator, Kel Mitchell. This wasn’t the only dynamic duo who appeared together again at the Emmys this year.
Typically, the award shows pair random celebrities together while presenting. This year’s Emmys cleverly decided to have already established teams present together.
Former cast members and writers on “The Office,” Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak, joked about the complicated relationships that grow from writing on a network sitcom while presenting for outstanding writing for a limited series.
The two formerly dated during the sitcom’s run, and many fans theorize that the two are together in some capacity now.
Former “Weekend Update” co-anchors Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers joked about Poehler being an unsupportive actress during their run on “SNL” while presenting for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy.
Reuniting these duos was a resourceful way to create viral moments without relying on trends. Any casual fans would be pleased to see these pairs come together again, thus creating more buzz around the awards.
The night was largely wholesome, especially in comparison to the Oscars that took place earlier this year.
The only controversy that seemed to occur during the night resulted in a presenter bit from Will Arnett and Jimmy Kimmel.
While presenting for outstanding writing in a comedy series, Arnett dragged a “sad” and “drunk” Kimmel onto the stage, joking that this was like the 13th time Kimmel had lost an Emmy (for outstanding variety talk series.)
This bit was hilarious while watching, but once Quinta Brunson got on stage to accept her award, Kimmel should have gotten up and out of the way.
He didn’t, though, and the internet was rightfully angry. Kimmel should’ve let Brunson have her monumental moment as the first black woman to win in the category.
Another issue with the night was that the winners were not given enough time to make their acceptance speeches. Understandably, NBC needs to keep the show moving, but it was becoming repetitively disrespectful to the night’s winners.
Speaking of the night's winners, nearly all of them were predictable, but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
TV has been exceptional recently, and the way these categories were stacked, it did feel like it was anyone’s award to win despite most of them having an obvious favorite.
In the limited series categories, “The White Lotus” was the big winner, taking home every award it was nominated for, including supporting actress, supporting actor, writing, directing in a limited series and outstanding limited series.
Lizzo received her first Emmy for outstanding competition program for her series “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.” Her empowering win now puts the pop star halfway to the coveted EGOT.
It wasn’t shocking to see “Succession” take home the outstanding drama series award. However, it was nice to see “Squid Game” receive awards in directing and acting, especially considering it was a foreign show.
It was also exciting to see Zendaya win for her role as Rue on “Euphoria.” She is now the youngest two-time winner of any Emmy in history.
The comedy categories were predictably split between “Ted Lasso” and “Abbott Elementary.”
Jason Sudekis beat out his fellow “SNL” alumni for outstanding lead actor in a comedy, and “Ted Lasso” took home the outstanding comedy award for the second year in a row.
It was exciting to see “Abbott Elementary” beat the titan that is “Ted Lasso” in some categories as it is the only network comedy nominated.
Most notably, Sheryl Lee Ralph had a compelling acceptance speech for her win. It was definitely the most notable win of the entire night.
“Abbott Elementary’s” wins couldn’t have come at a better time as the series will receive a full 22-episode second season beginning Sept. 21.
Major streaming services like Netflix and HBO Max are struggling now, and as a new network comedy, “Abbott Elementary” made the most significant statement last night.
Television's biggest night was a success. As the entertainment industry and its trends are changing quicker than ever, it was a good insight as to where the future of TV is headed.
Sophia D’Ovidio is a second-year majoring in communications. To contact her, email sgd5184@psu.edu.
