The best and worst moments of the 2017 Emmys
The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards were dominated by a number of captivating women and one powerful man.
“The Handmaid’s Tale” on Hulu, about a slave-class enduring a misogynist dystopia, and “Big Little Lies” on HBO, about privileged wives and mothers and their domestic struggles, were the big winners at television’s top honours. “Veep,” HBO’s acid political satire about a female politico, was named top comedy for the third year in a row. And its star, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, won best actress in a comedy for the sixth consecutive year.
President Donald Trump, meanwhile, was the butt of many of the jokes, from host Stephen Colbert’s opening monologue onward. The ceremony was also a big night for a TV stalwart — “Saturday Night Live” — and a notably diverse pool of winners.
Below are some of the most memorable moments from the Emmy Awards ceremony.
Stephen Colbert sets a Trump-centric tone
Stephen Colbert has become the late-night ratings king by leaning heavily on Trump jokes, so it was no surprise that he did the same in his first stint as Emmy host. The fizzy opening song-and-dance number, which positioned TV as an escape from the world Trump has wrought, featured prime-time stars like Anthony Anderson, Allison Janney, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and FX’s animated Archer, a hip-hop interlude by Chance the Rapper and a troupe of tap-dancing female and male “handmaids.”
“The world may be the worst we’ve ever seen,” Colbert sang. “But it’s never been better on your TV screen.”
The sequence gave way to a monologue that set a Trump-bashing tone for the evening, as Colbert mocked the president less for his leadership than for being a former reality star who still resented the fact he was never awarded TV’s top prize.
“If he had won an Emmy, I bet he wouldn’t have run for president,” Colbert said. “So in a way this is all your fault.”
Sean Spicer goes Hollywood
Sean Spicer was star of one of 2017’s buzziest shows, a short-lived comedydrama that blurred the lines between fact and fiction.
The Emmys couldn’t resist calling the former White House press secretary out to parody his own performance (with Melissa McCarthy in the audience).
“This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period!” he said, recalling his stone-faced exaggeration about Trump’s inauguration. (“That really soothed my fragile ego,” said Stephen Colbert.) It was jarring, on a night wall-to-wall with jokes and earnest speeches about the Trump administration, to see one of its alumni trotted out like a reality-TV breakout character. But if the appearance was an attempt to rehab Spicer’s public image, the price was admitting that his credibility was now a punch line.
President Trump, Emmy punching bag
He wasn’t in the building, but Trump had a large presence at the Emmy Awards.
After Colbert razzed the president for never winning an Emmy for “Celebrity Apprentice,” Alec Baldwin — who won best supporting actor in a comedy for his portrayal of Trump on “Saturday Night Live” — picked up the theme.
“I suppose I should say at long last, Mr. President, here is your Emmy,” he said.
In some cases, the references were coy. Julia Louis-Dreyfus said “Veep” writers had scrapped a story line about impeachment “because we were worried that someone else might get to it first.”
Tatiana Maslany, introducing the best actress in a drama category, said the Claire Underwood character from “House of Cards” would be a great president because “she doesn’t tweet.”
When Dolly Parton, Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin presented together, forming a reunion of their 1980 movie, “Nine to Five,” Fonda noted that in the movie, they “refused to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot.” Tomlin added: “And in 2017, we still refuse to be controlled by a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot.”
Others were even less subtle. Donald Glover, who won best actor in a comedy, directly thanked the president in his acceptance speech.
“I want to thank Trump for making black people No. 1 on the most oppressed list,” he said. “He’s the reason I’m probably up here.”
A night of firsts
Donald Glover and Lena Waithe both made history with their wins; Glover was the first African-American to win in the best comedy series director category, for “Atlanta,” and Waithe was the first African-American woman to win in the best comedy series writer category. (She shared the award with “Master of None” series star and co-creator Aziz Ansari.)
The Handmaid’s Tale’ reigns
With the absence of HBO’s “Game of Thrones” from this year’s Emmy race, it was a great night for Hulu and “The Handmaid’s Tale,” its series based on Margaret Atwood’s dystopian novel.
It won best drama (beating out Netflix’s “The Crown,” “Stranger Things” and “House of Cards”); best actress in a drama (the excited and foul-mouthed Elisabeth Moss); best writing in a drama (the showrunner Bruce Miller); best directing in a drama (Reed Morano); and best supporting actress in a drama (Ann Dowd).