Sometimes, the only way to solve a problem is to fail repeatedly until you figure out exactly where you went wrong. That was me this morning. I struggled to not only find a way to reach my ceiling's annoyingly chirpy smoke detector and change the battery, but also to find out how a tiny, mysterious piece of plastic fell out in the process. Luckily, I was able to accomplish both of my goals without a scratch on me. I can't say the same for last night's Emmys broadcast.
If audiences learned anything from the 2025 Emmy Awards on Sunday night, it's that no one in charge of these awards shows actually knows how to fix the problem with awards shows. Namely, why do their broadcasts feel overlong, tedious, and a bit too much like we're simply watching the industry pat themselves on the back? Emmys host Nate Bargatze even led an entire sketch at the beginning of the ceremony dedicated to the audience's complaints. In a bit reminiscent of his Saturday Night Live sketch on George Washington, he mocked how streaming services' rising price hikes and ad-supported tiers were "unfair to the consumer." And yet, the Emmys broadcast didn't end with Paramount's new management stepping out on stage to declare that they were offering audiences a better way to watch their product.
Instead, the Emmys placed the onus on the actors. Bargatze pledged at the start of the show that he would donate $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and add another $1,000 for every second that the winners' acceptance speeches remained under their 45-second time limit. But the money came with a catch. For every second an actor spoke over their time allotment, he would take away $1,000.
Naturally, the counter was in the red by the time that the show wrapped up three hours later. So, the bit backfired and Bargatze revealed that he and CBS planned to donate $350,000 regardless of the final tally—which was far below negative $60,000. Like I said, sometimes you need to fail first.
In Esquire's recap of the night's highs and lows the following morning, veteran entertainment journalist Anthony Breznican wrote that the gimmick, "did raise the stakes for an award-show format that can easily succumb to tedium, but it came at the cost of somewhat upstaging the honorees."
"It also unintentionally spoofed the innate narcissism at the heart of all awards ceremonies," Brenican continued. "Had the Boys & Girls been stuck in a pit with an ever-lowering blade swinging over them instead, would Cristin Milioti have still taken the time to say she wanted to 'freebase' the brain of The Penguin show runner Lauren LeFranc? Maybe. How many feet above them was that pendulum at the time?"
Still, speeches from Milioti and several other first-time winners including Tramell Tillman, Noah Wyle, Hannah Einbinder, and the fifteen-year-old Owen Cooper reminded viewers why we allow actors this platform to share their inspirational stories in the first place. (And if you ask me, it's all those long bits from the host and the presenters that draw out the show, not the winners—a.k.a. the people we actually want to hear from.)
As Breznican wrote, Milioti's speech after winning best actress in a limited series was actually one of the night's most entertaining moments. "She alluded to the off-the-charts antagonism and grief that has overtaken the country, making virtually everything else seem frivolous," he observed. And as Milioti stated, "It's very hard to make sense of being alive right now in this world, so I am deeply grateful for the bright spots."
You can read the rest of Breznican's thoughts on Emmys night here. He's officially joining the Esquire entertainment desk as a regular contributor this week, and we're overjoyed to have him on board.
I'll end this edition of The Cliff-Hanger with just one suggestion for the Emmys moving forward. Instead of shaming winners for taking their time to soak in the fact that they just became the first Black actor to win Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series (Tramell Tillman), or thank our country's unsung healthcare workers (Noah Wyle), or try to not be silenced by the same television station that just canceled their show (Stephen Colbert), how about we try our best to highlight the bright spots?
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