Lily Iserson
A&E Editor Scheduled immediately after Wooster’s first week of classes, on a Monday of all nights, NBC’s airing of the 66th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards already felt like a background event, the kind of program audiences would disinterestedly check on Variety the day after. Only out of curiosity and a mercifully light homework load did I turn to Seth Myers, of Late Night fame, who chose to acknowledge the event’s awkward timing with his usual tongue-in-cheek: “This year we’re doing the Emmys on a Monday night in August — which, if I understand television, means the Emmys are about to get cancelled … NBC also decided to hold the Emmys a month early in August to avoid conflicting with Sunday night football, which is keeping with the actors’ tradition of running away from jocks.”
However true, the tone Myers set was blunt and depressing. Dozens of vindictive entertainment pundits ready themselves to critiscize the Emmys each year — must the event host cater to cynics?
Luckily, Myers saved his monologue with a couple of smart industry remarks and shout-outs everyone likes (“tonight, we are all Crazy Eyes.”) Although Myers’s bits weren’t surprising, he delivered his jokes with professional crispness, which greatly assisted the show’s pace. Overall, his grounded snark shone best with the help of partners, exemplified in SNL-nostalgic Amy Poehler skits as well as a whimsical crusade of unhappy New Yorkers with comedian Billy Eichner.
Of course, some of the show’s funniest moments weren’t planned at all — including Bryan Cranston and Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ impromptu embrace for the sake of a Seinfeld throwback, Sarah Silverman showing off her liquid pot in a pre-Emmys interview and Jimmy Fallon’s jump to steal Stephen Colbert’s Outstanding Variety Series prize: “Thank you so much, you know who you are, if you don’t know who you are, look yourself up on IMDb, it’s very comprehensive!”
As far as the major awards were concerned, to no one’s surprise, Breaking Bad swept the floor after a thrilling final season, earning its second consecutive win for Outstanding Drama Series, with Bryan Cranston for Best Actor, Anna Gunn for Best Actress and Aaron Paul for Best Supporting Actor. Happily, head writer Moira Walley-Beckett also won Outstanding Writing in a Drama for “Ozymandias,” an episode that (obligatory spoiler warning) capitalized on antihero Walter White’s inevitable self-destruction following his brother-in-law’s death.
Other notable wins included Cary Joji Fukunaga for his directing of True Detective (deserved for an artistically long shot and for the misfortune of enduring Breaking Bad’s clout), and Julianna Margulies of The Good Wife for Lead Actress in a Drama, her third career win. Moving over to comedy, Modern Family was somehow awarded Best Comedy for the fifth time in a row, despite widespread contempt and critics’ mutual agreement that (for god’s sake) it’s time to move on. Julia Louis-Dreyfus also won Best Actress in a Comedy for Veep (AARP later claimed the award on Twitter), while Jim Parsons won Best Actor in a Comedy for The Big Bang Theory, again.
Despite the surplus of repeated awards and few upsets, with the exception of Netflix’s losses (popular favorites Orange is the New Black and House of Cards went home empty-handed), the mood of the program was optimistically neutral. Save for Billy Crystal’s sobering testament to Robin Williams and an uncomfortably sexist skit featuring Sofía Vergara, the Emmys played on few emotions. Although most acts were indeed pleasant, and almost all awards deserved, with its reluctance to make waves, the show still suffered for its sleepy predictability.