Seth Rogen took the first Emmy of his two-decade career, winning the lead actor in a comedy prize for his role as purist studio chief Matt Remick in his Apple TV+ show The Studio, while Hacks star Jean Smart won lead actress in a comedy, her seventh Emmy of a long and illustrious career, as the 77th Emmy Awards kicked off in Los Angeles.”
“You honor me so much,” said Smart, as the Deborah Vance actress paid homage to her HBO show’s cast and crew. “Let’s be good to each other; let’s just be good to each other.” Smart has won the award all four seasons the mentor-protege comedy has been on the air.
Meawhile, Rogen won his first-ever Emmy after nine nominations. “I so could not wrap my head around this happening .. .I’ve never won anything in my life,” he said. Before this year, Rogen’s last notable win came for “Best Gut-Wrenching Performance” at the MTV Movie Awards a decade ago. Shortly after, veteran actress Katherine LaNasa also won her first-ever Emmy, a supporting actress in a drama prize for her role as a tartly wise head nurse on The Pitt.
An SNL-style cold open kicked off the Emmys with host Nate Bargatze playing a scientist inventing television and explaining to his assistants what the future of television will look like. (“What is streaming sir?” A new way for companies to lose money.”) The sketch also made the requisite joke about The Bear not being a comedy and noted that there will one day be “a world where the finest artists create stories of staggering beauty that millions of people will watch — on their phone while sitting on the toilet.”
Stephen Colbert introduced the first award of the night, for lead actor in a comedy, telling the audience “While I have your attention, is anyone hiring? Because I’ve got 200 very well-qualified candidates available tonight.” The recently canceled Late Show With Stephen Colbert is seeking its first-ever top Emmy for late night show, just eight months before it embarks on its last opening monologue.
Bargatze tried to incentivize shorter speeches by saying he’ll deduct from and add to a $100,000 donation to the Boys and Girls Club of America based on whether acceptance speeches went under or above 45 seconds. There was no penalty, though, for Jennifer Coolidge’s extended riff presenting lead actress in a comedy.
The night took on an early tone of gratitude. “I don’t know what to say. This is so nice. I appreciate you all,” Rogen said, before leaving the stage.
More to come.
