The triumph or lack thereof of the Emmy Awards is frequently attributed to whoever hosts, and a high standard was notably established at the outset of the 2024 Emmys thanks to the father-son pair, Eugene and Dan Levy, who provided us with a seamlessly flowing event peppered with truly amusing instances—from Martin Short and Steve Martin making quips about Nicole Kidman’s frequent presence on television (Martin: “Whenever I spot an unfamiliar actor, I simply remark, ‘I adored your scene alongside Nicole Kidman,’ and most of the time, I’m not mistaken!”) to Jean Smart humorously acknowledging HBO while receiving her sixth Emmy. Presented below are seven outstanding highlights from this year’s Emmy celebration:
The Saturday Night Live-alum homage (of a sort) to Lorne Michaels
We’re invariably delighted to witness any combination of Maya Rudolph, Kristen Wiig, Bowen Yang, and Seth Meyers, and their lighthearted homage to Saturday Night Live originator Lorne Michaels’s numerous Emmy defeats (along with, as Meyers observed, a considerable quantity of victories) possessed the commanding and witty presence of an exceptional SNL sketch. I appreciate even the implied notion that Yang might believe Michaels’s name resembles “Lauren.”