A live audience will feature as a backdrop to the Emmy Awards this fall, after last year’s semi-virtual show delivered catastrophic ratings amid a slew of on-stage political rants.
The 73rd annual Emmys at Los Angeles’s Microsoft Theater promises a “return to a live, in-person” event, CBS announced Monday. The September show will feature a “limited audience of nominees and their guests,” the network said, with Cedric the Entertainer as host in an effort to turn around 2020’s ratings disaster.
Last year’s event consisted of Hollywood elites airing personal grievances, cracking jokes about MAGA rallies, Donald Trump supporters, and quips of Russian election tampering.
Host Jimmy Kimmel joined Black-ish star Anthony Anderson to open with a chant of “Black Lives Matter” during the live broadcast, in a skit that saw Anderson lament how the awards show was forced to go virtual, stopping all the black nominees and winners from basking in their victory together.
“You know we have a record number of black Emmy nominees this year, which is great,” said Anderson, after joining Kimmel on stage. “This was supposed to be the blackest Emmys ever. You wouldn’t have even been able to handle how black it was going to be. But because of covid, we can’t even get in the damn building.”
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As Breitbart News reported, actor Mark Ruffalo called on viewers to vote for “compassion and kindness” in the presidential election that lay ahead.
“We have a big, important moment ahead of us. Are we going to be a country of division and hatred, a country only for a certain kind of people, or are we going to be one of love and strength, fighting so all of us have the American dream?” Ruffalo said. “That’s what we’re facing right now, so go out and vote for compassion and kindness.”
Actresses America Ferrera and Issa Rae portrayed the Hollywood television industry as bigoted towards ethnic minorities during their time in the spotlight, calling out industry gatekeepers who demeaned and insulted them at the start of their careers.
Ferrera recounted during a recurring Emmy segment dedicated to highlighting diversity in Hollywood that a casting director once asked her to change her accent during an audition. “Can you do that again but this time sound more Latina,” the casting director allegedly said.
“I am a Latina and this is what I sound like,” Ferrera replied. The Ugly Betty star said the experience fueled her desire to create more opportunities for “little brown girls to fulfill their talent and their dream.”
Netflix’s “Stranger Things” and Marvel’s “Black Widow” star David Harbour — who has an estimated net worth $6 million — claimed in a recent interview that he believes no one could disagree with socialism.
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Comedian Dave Chappelle used his chance to blast critics after winning an Emmy award for best Variety Special on Netflix.
“Boy, this comes as a complete surprise,” said Chappelle during his acceptance speech. “I mean, I read all the reviews and they said so many terrible things. They were embarrassed for me, I had lost my way, it wasn’t even worth watching — I hope all you critics learn from this. This is a teachable moment. Shut the fuck up, forever.”
Last year’s event also included more than 100 feeds from remote locations, as winners were awarded their Emmys by hazmat suit-wearing presenters.
The Emmy Awards will air Sept. 19 on CBS and will stream live on Paramount+.
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