There was a lot to digest during Sunday night’s Emmy Awards broadcast, including the shocking twist of Hux beating The Bear to win best comedy, but what happened off-camera was far more enlightening. We were there to document the chaos, the ring kisses, the sloppy standing ovations and the mass exit to the lobby bar.
The feeling of taking pleasure in the misfortune of others is real
There was nothing wrong with Eugene and Dan Levy’s hosting or monologue. But the room was clearly craving some sarcasm, as evidenced by the big laughs when Eugene said, “In the spirit of The Bear, I’m not going to joke about it being a comedy.” That punch line hit the mark as well as any other that night. And it was pretty prophetic when the night’s final award revealed that Television Academy voters had chosen joke-joke comedy Hucks over the reigning restaurant drama. Some were outraged, others elated, and the coup was part of every conversation at the after-party.
Umm, where was everyone?
Notice the empty seats on TV? It wasn’t because there weren’t many people there. The orchestra box was full, but people kept streaming out to the lobby bar, where they spent nearly $20 on lukewarm cans of beer and, with no simulcast TV available, could only wonder what was going on onstage. One patron who had given up his prime front-row seat recounted being scolded for standing up mid-show. Apparently, producers were running out of people to fill the seats, and the exodus was gaining momentum.
Featured power dates
Seeing who’s hanging out together before and after the cameras roll is 98% of the fun of attending these events. So it was notable to many Tea Leaf readers in the industry that Disney CEO Bob Iger appeared on the carpet with his potential successor Dana Walden and her partner, fellow film industry colleague Alan Bergman. (Jimmy Kimmel, who stepped down as host of the Emmys and Oscars this year, also showed up in the same wave.) Iger and Walden reunited at Disney’s afterparty, where they welcomed talent including winner Jeremy Allen White and nominee Lily Gladstone, and the pair kissed their respective rings.
Nostalgia, like any other drug, can be abused.
If cast reunions and a parade of legendary actors made the first 2024 Emmys a success, the second took nostalgia too far. Guests were treated to marathons of TV theme songs during commercial breaks, and the crowd barely got excited when cast members from “The West Wing” and “Happy Days” met onstage. (With the exception of the SNL quartet, perhaps credited for their scathing mockery of boss Lorne Michaels.) But it was the pseudo-reunion of “TV dad,” “TV lawyer” and “TV cop” types that really caused chaos. “They didn’t even cast the best actors for those roles,” one nominee quipped shortly after the ceremony. “And, yeah, let’s celebrate something we can all agree on: love for cops.”
Nobody said drugs were easy.
Speaking of giving it your all… if you were wondering who was in that all-encompassing neon yellow bodysuit, it was Nymphea Wind, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race season 16. (She was dressed as a banana, which would’ve made more sense before she shed the skin.) Now, if you were also wondering if she could breathe well under that mask, the answer is no. Wind was constantly seen removing her face mask to take a breather, eventually retreating to the lobby bar with the other queens. The Drag Race contingent is usually a rowdy bunch, but that was noticeably less intense this year as the show’s winning streak ended.
Ramy Youssef, Everyone’s Friend
Yousef was in the lobby just before the comedy directing award was called, but was ushered back in just in time. Though he missed out on the directing award for “The Bear,” he returned to his seat just behind winner Chris Stoller and hugged him when his name was called. Moments later, Yousef also received a hug from SNL’s Bowen Yang, and was seen enthusiastically shaking hands with more attendees in the aisles than any other talent in the room.
consider his enthusiasm to have been subdued
Technically, no one’s missing from TV, not even Larry David. The “Crazy Energy” star was the only comedic actor nominee not in attendance when his category was called and ultimately won by Jeremy Allen White. But David’s substitution seems odd, since the famously awards-hating creator was actually on the road this weekend. Just 48 hours earlier, he and his wife had been at WME’s Pre-Emmy Party, which must have been enough for the gregarious actor.
Standing O Syndrome
Jean Smart, winner of Best Comedy Actress, received the first standing ovation of the night, for both her decades-long illustrious career and recent traumas (including heart surgery that delayed her third Emmy win for Hucks). But the audience, not keen to get up until the final hour, barely stayed seated for the names to be announced. First up was Jodie Foster. Hiroyuki Sanada and Anna Sawai, winners of the Shogun Award, both got up later in the night. By the time Hucks won Best Comedy, it was hard to tell whether the audience was on their feet for the show, to boost attendance, or just to get out of the Peacock Theatre as quickly as possible.
