The recent long weekend was a treat for film/television enthusiasts, who enjoyed back-to-back awards shows: the Critics' Choice Awards and the delayed Emmy Awards, which were postponed due to a strike by writers and actors.
Chelsea Handler was the host of the Critics Choice Awards and did a great job. The previous award show hosted by Jo Koy was a disaster, and Handler made fun of it, which was funny. Her jokes were well received, and there was a positive energy in the room. She even managed to make Victorian child Cillian Murphy blush. I didn’t even know he was capable of doing so.
But the budget at the Critics Choice Awards must have been pennies. The ceremony was held at the Santa Monica airport…what? The meals they gave to the celebs looked worse than what corporate America gives employees instead of bonuses. Saltine crackers and Ritz crackers with some molded ham and cheese, calling it a charcuterie board, cold stale pizza in a bag, and Baja Fresh chips. Where was the budget? I know celebs barely eat, but I would be embarrassed if I had catering that bad for a bunch of millionaires.
In a turn of events, Mark Ronson should have never ripped up his acceptance speech last week because somehow he won for the god-awful “I’m Just Ken.”
The Irish streak continued for Ayo Edebiri, who swept award season for her role in The Bear. She even gave a shout-out to Ireland. She is truly the people's princess. But sadly, Cillian Murphy was left empty-handed. Hopefully, the luck of the Irish comes through at the BAFTA and Oscars.
During the 75th Emmy Awards, the ceremony paid tribute to all forms of television, including classic sitcom themes such as The Facts of Life and Good Times. It reminded me of how much I love television and how we need to bring back theme songs. The ceremony also brought back cast reunions of some of our favorite shows, including Cheers, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and Ally McBeal. I have never watched an episode of Ally McBeal, but I remember how significant it was in pop culture with the baby dancing scene. I got a little teary-eyed when I saw Calista Flockhart and the rest of the cast dancing together in the bathroom."
The cast of Martin reunited and reminded us that even though the show was successful and had many memorable episodes, they never received an Emmy nomination. It's not surprising when you realize Quinta Bruson, who won the Best Comedic Actress award, is the first Black actress to win in the last four decades. The Emmys have been around for 75 years, yet only two Black women have won the award.
Several TV icons, including Dame Joan Collins, Marla Gibbs, and Christina Applegate, also made guest appearances.
But my biggest grievance of award season is The Bear being categorized as a comedy. I’ve watched the first season, and I hate to admit but not one time did I chuckle, find an episode amusing, or laugh out loud, and yet it continues to be in the Comedy category, which I think is a slap in the face to actual comedy writers who deserved recognition for their hard work. The Bear swept every category in comedy, beating out shows like Abbot Elementary, Ted Lasso, Jury Duty, and many others. But I'm still happy for my girl Ayo Edebiri because, at the end of the day, I’m rooting for everybody regardless.
My other grievance is the last three award shows have only awarded three shows: Succession, The Bear, and Beef. I loved Succession and Beef, but it would have been nice to see some diversity in wins throughout the award season for television.
That being said, seeing Succession get their last round of awards did make it apparent that we’ll never have another eventful Sunday that features Successions. Those who never watch will never know what it was like watching Boar on the Floor, Kendall rapping to his father, or Connor’s Wedding live. It was truly the best of times.
The Emmys were great; it was the first time most winners were Black and Asian. This made non-minorities question the motives behind this and led to think pieces like this:
There’s no way that many non-white people can win on pure talent. It had to be because it was held on Martin Luther King’s birthday because, after all, this was exactly his dream.
xo,
britt