Opinion: Emmy Awards 2020

On Sunday, Sept. 20,  the annual Emmy Awards kicked off its very first “part-live and part-virtual” ceremony. Award shows tend to always have a mixed reception with audiences and critics. Some find the shows a waste of time; celebrities pat each other on the back and play dress up and certain shows or movies always get snubbed for others that are way less deserving. But for others, myself included, we can’t help but just get swept up in the magic of it all. Even as I am swamped with six courses and adjusting to the perils of online classes I couldn’t help but drop everything I’m doing and find the right channel to watch the Emmys. Tuning in an hour late, but just in time to watch Dan and Eugene Levy accept Best Comedy Series for Schitt’s Creek, which is probably my favourite sitcom as well as one of my favourite shows ever. The rest of the night consisted of me happily watching mostly deserving nominees win their awards while surfing through what people are saying on Twitter. 

Tip: Check out Twitter or any social media to make watching award shows way more fun. Seeing GIFS, memes, edits and reactions happening in real-time is sometimes more entertaining than watching the show itself!

Now let’s look at the major takeaways, highlights and surprises from the Emmys! One of my favourite changes they made this year was that they had front line workers take up the majority of the award presenters. It was refreshing to see and very well-deserved. In fact, that was probably one of the great things about this year’s Emmy awards. It felt more down-to-earth. Although I do love seeing the glamorous red carpet, your favourite celebrities in the finest beat mug and draped in designer clothes with all its extraness, it’s actually comforting to see a lot of entertainment’s biggest names just cozied up with their loved ones in their living rooms. Of course many were still dressed up, however, but you get my point, Schitt’s Creek had their own little space in Toronto– almost like they were having its own ceremony (wouldn’t be surprised if they planned it because they knew they were going to win everything!). Seeing Dan Levy in the same kilt outfit he used in the series finale, Regina King and Uzo Aduba wearing Breonna Taylor shirts, Alex Borstein from The Marvelous Ms. Maisel being super extra on her screen. It was glorious to watch!

If you haven’t caught up on all the Emmy buzz, let me give you a deep dive into all the surprising achievements that happened this year. Schitt’s Creek became the first and so far only comedy series to ever sweep all major categories, as well as the first comedy series to sweep all four acting categories for a single season. Not only is it an achievement for any show to do that, but to see a Canadian show do that was surreal.

Another major highlight in the drama categories that broke ground was Zendaya winning best actress for Euphoria. It was so well-deserved as she played the hell out of her character Rue, but recently she has been headlined as the youngest actress to ever win an Emmy in that category. What people aren’t hearing enough of though, is that she is only the second Black actress to ever win in that category in all 72 years of the Emmys–he first being Viola Davis for How to Get Away with Murder not too long ago in 2015. It really puts things in perspective, doesn’t it? In a way, it makes Zendaya’s win more special but then you look at the history and think that it really took 72 years for it to finally happen. Not only that, but his year the Emmys set a record for most wins by Black actors in a single year, being seven. Regina KING was one of them who has now won her fourth Emmy, which tied her the record for most wins by a Black actress with Alfre Woodard. 

The night was surprisingly eventful considering the situation we are currently living in.. Schitt’s Creek is my favourite and I’m so glad it got the recognition it deserved, but even I didn’t think it would entirely sweep out every single comedy category. With that being said, let’s not forget the other amazing shows that were nominated. The Good Place was another comedy series that ended that gave us the laughs, feels and existential crisis that only that show can do. In one of his speeches, Dan Levy gave a quick mention to Issa Rae’s show Insecure. I’m so glad that he did too, because season four was its best season so far– a season that celebrated Black love, complicated friendships and British Kelli. If you’ve caught up with the show you know exactly what I’m talking about. Watchmen did a sweep on the Limited Series category, also deservedly so. It was a smart remake that dove into America’s complicated history with race and got better the more you watched. The only downfall is that it’s a series that you need to watch all the way through for the episodes to come together in the end. Succession mostly swept the drama category and while I’m only a couple episodes into its second season, I already know Jeremy Strong deserved his win just by seeing how incredible he was in the first season, especially in its finale. What I wasn’t expecting in the drama category was Billy Crudup winning for Apple TV+’s The Morning Show. I will say, his performance was the most surprising for a show that was as disappointing as it was mediocre. A lot of snark and wit definitely made him fun to watch. My theory is that they just wanted to give Apple TV+ at least one win. Since the streamer was basically promoting The Morning Show for Emmys before it even launched. 

The actual ceremony itself was nothing special. Jimmy Kimmel as the host was alright. He really was speaking the truth when he questioned why the Emmys would choose this year to have a host (since last year they did not). All the live segments to me were just either forgettable or cringe-worthy. The Jimmy Kimmel segments and Jennifer Aniston putting out a real fire at the beginning of the ceremony was more scary than comedic.

Another aspect of the virtual Emmys that I found both hilarious and sad at the same time was how the Emmy was delivered or not delivered to the nominees. How it worked this year was that the award was given in two ways: One was that people in hazmat suits would come to each of the nominees in the comedy categories (I’m not making this up). The delivery person would either give the award if the Emmy was won, but if not they would just leave! This is seen on the now trending video taken by nominee Ramy Youssef. 

The second way that the award was given was that the production team of the show would deliver a box and if the nominee wins, it would explode jack-in-the-box style with a confetti surprise! These were given to nominees of best variety talk series and best competition program. This one was a little better and less cruel than having the award be taken away from you by a person in a hazmat suit. But for those that did not win, it was revealed by talk show nominee Samantha Bee that all they got was a cheap bottle of champagne in the box. On one hand, it’s kind of hilarious that this was how they decided to give out the awards this year. On the other hand, it is extremely cruel to those that lost. Hey, at least it provided some really good content for Twitter. 

Overall though, all things considered, the Emmys this year weren’t as bad as you would expect. It had great pre-recorded segments, deserving winners and a sense of comfort knowing that these celebrities are going through the same thing as the rest of the world. It’s a sense of perseverance, a little bit of joy in the darkest of times. To see underdog shows and creatives winning big proves that good things can always happen even when we aren’t in the best situations. Award shows at the end of the day are meant to be escapist fun. A way for dreamers to see their favourite stories and figures celebrated. I am happy to say it accomplished just that, which is everything I need as someone who hopes to be a part of that industry one day.