The Emmy Awards made a smart move during the ceremony that may have also been the awards show’s biggest mistake.
Tonight, the 75th annual ceremony took place at the Peacock Theatre in Los Angeles. Instead of playing music to cue the actors to wrap up their acceptance speeches, the Television Academy enlisted host Anthony Anderson’s mom, Doris, to keep everyone on track.
It seemed like a great idea at first, with Doris chiming in once the countdown clock neared zero. It appeared to light a fire for most of the speeches, making the actors wrap up in a timely manner. (FYI, there are 27 awards, so speediness is very important.) For the first couple of speeches, we thought the Emmys might have actually solved a problem no other award show has been able to.
But after a few awards, Doris’s commentary became somewhat of a problem because the actors giving speeches seemed to be thrown off and even appeared to lose their train of thought.
For example, Doris interrupted Jennifer Coolidge’s acceptance speech for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for The White Lotus. (Last year, she won the statuette for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.)
“I have to put this [Emmy] down,” Coolidge said. “I still don’t have the strength.”
At one point, Doris chimed in to cue Coolidge to wrap up. Although it provided comedic relief, it caused Coolidge to get flustered and forget what she was saying. As a result, the speech took even longer as the actress attempted to finish her statement.
We appreciate Doris’s dedication, but all things considered, maybe next year the Television Academy should stick with music.
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