6 Memorable Moments From The First Ever Virtual Emmy Awards
From Jennifer Aniston’s fiery appearance to designer hazmat suits, here are some of the interesting moments from the first COVID-19 era Emmy Awards, or as host Jimmy Kimmel called it the "Pand-Emmys".
1. Jimmy Kimmel’s ‘deceitful’ opening monologue!
For a while, Kimmel had us believing that the Emmys was being held in a packed theatre. Whatever happened to this being a virtual ceremony? Turns out he was repurposing old audience footage laughing at his jokes. When the fake crowd was revealed (Kimmel spotted himself among the spectators), he said, “Wait that would mean that I’m up here alone, just like prom night.” And the seats inside the Staples Centre were filled with celebrity cutouts — and the real and really deadpan Jason Bateman.
2. Jennifer Aniston steals the show…twice!
A few days after her flirty Fast Times at Ridgemont High table read, Aniston had everyone talking when she came on stage to present the first award for Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series. Before she announced the winner, Kimmel sprayed the envelope with disinfectant, threw it into a bin and set it on fire. Aniston was on stand-by with a fire extinguisher to put the blaze out twice. Later on the show, Aniston was reunited with her Friends co-stars Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow in a sorta skit, with a surprise drop-in from Jason Bateman (him again).
They'll be there for you: This is the closest we have to a 'Friends' reunion at the Emmys 2020.
3. Hazmat Chic!
In another safe-distancing protocol gag, trophy presenters wore tuxedo hazmat suits. No kidding. The “safe and classy” suits were created by veteran top awards shows costumer Katja Cahill and Emmy executive producer Guy Carrington, and a real hazmat suit manufacturer. Can we order them online?
when you lose the emmy pic.twitter.com/ECkbGcoHBA
— ramy youssef (@ramy) September 21, 2020
4. The Emmys honour essential workers!
During his monologue, Kimmel mentioned how awards shows are a tad “frivolous and unnecessary” amid a global health crisis, so it was nice to see that the Emmys wasn’t just celebrating itself, but also the frontline and essential workers. What better way to do that than to include them — a history teacher, a UPS delivery driver, a truck driver, a rancher, and three doctors — present a few categories.
5. Freddie Highmore’s quaran-time dilemma!
In a pre-recorded segment, a bunch of celebs shared what they were up do during lockdown. For The Good Doctor star Freddie Highmore, he had a tough time staying out of the limelight. “Most actors have benefitted from the fact that we should all now be wearing a mask to go outside, and no one recognises them at all,” Highmore said. “For me, it’s the exact opposite. ‘Ooh, it’s the Good Doctor!'” Funny, that.
6. It’s still three hours long!
Seriously, it could’ve been shorter had it dropped a few sketches. The skit where Jason Sudekis underwent a nasal swab test for COVID-19 before presenting an award (“we’re just legally obligated to get COVID tests every hour”) could've been tighter, but the one featuring Barry’s Anthony Carrigan — as a postman from Russia who attempted to intercepted to Kimmel’s mail-in ballot ahead of the presidential election in November — is dead-weight.
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