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The January awards season got off to a very rocky start<\/a> at the Golden Globes last Sunday, during which comedian Jo Koy<\/strong> delivered the worst awards show emceeing this critic has maybe ever seen. But then Koy\u2019s former romantic partner Chelsea Handler<\/strong> restored balance with her solid (and slightly Koy-skewering<\/a>) stint hosting this Sunday\u2019s Critics Choice Awards. And thus the awards carnival marched on to tonight, for the long-delayed 2024 Emmys\u2014honoring the best television of the roughly defined 2022\u20132023 season. It was another improvement on the mess that was the Globes.<\/p>\n This year\u2019s ceremony, the 75th, was hosted by TV mainstay Anthony Anderson.<\/strong> He opened the show with a musical medley, riffing on sitcom theme songs of the 1980s. So, not exactly timely, but charming in its nostalgia, an earnest, goofy appreciation of the medium. Anderson then did a funny bit with his mom\u2014announcing that she would essentially act as the play-off music for speeches that went too long\u2014and that was it! Anderson kept it short, sweet, and totally alienating to Gen Z, a cohort I\u2019m sure advertisers were hoping to court, but who were probably never going to tune in anyway.\u00a0<\/p>\n Anderson\u2019s brevity was matched by much of the speeches, which were heartfelt but efficient. Perhaps it was the threat of Anderson\u2019s mother, who did occasionally make good on her promise, or it was just Fox trying to hurry through the show to get to the local news. Maybe other winners could have availed themselves of comedy-actress winner Quinta Brunson<\/strong> and Beef<\/em> creator Lee Sung Jin<\/strong>\u2019s interesting invention: As they gave their speeches, a text bar appeared at the bottom of the screen displaying the names of the people whom they also wanted to thank. That was a nice gesture\u2014insular, certainly, but who is this show for but the industry people who make it possible?<\/p>\n The broadcast had other appealing gimmicks. Throughout, presenters from classic shows\u2014The Sopranos,<\/em> Martin,<\/em> Cheers,<\/em> All in the Family<\/em>\u2014were reunited to pay homage to their series, sometimes on recreated sets. It was, sure, the Academy celebrating itself. But, again, who else is this show for? The Emmys is fighting an interest slump, and tonight the ceremony tried its hardest\u2014though not too aggressively\u2014to prove to its dwindling audience why the whole thing matters. I\u2019m not sure this particular campaign will win many hearts and minds, as that would require certain hearts and minds bothering to watch at all. But after a bruising six months for the business, I\u2019m sure the \u201cwhat wonderful things we\u2019ve made\u201d energy was appreciated in the room.<\/p>\n There were certainly meme-worthy moments, comedic and stirring, that might penetrate the membrane between the devoted few who watch the Emmys and the rest of the world: Niecy Nash Betts<\/strong>\u2019s stirring speech about speaking truth to power, Christina Applegate<\/strong>\u2019s wry humor about her MS and long tenure in the business, perhaps Pedro Pascal<\/strong> (in an arm sling) explaining facetiously that Kieran Culkin<\/strong> had beaten the shit out of him. Those clips, or others, will make their way around the internet, thus ensuring that this Emmys broadcast makes some cultural impact beyond its glittery echo chamber.\u00a0<\/p>\n