Mariska Hargitay took on the 78th annual Emmy Awards on Monday night with a milestone assignment: she served as the first female Emmy host in 15 years. The night gave her plenty to manage, from multiple wardrobe changes to a run of scripted bits that ranged from charming to overly labored.
Hargitay came across as confident and willing to play along with whatever the telecast threw at her, even when the material leaned corny. One of the evening’s more groan-ready lines had her saying, “if you watched Hannah Montana, it’s now time to talk to a doctor about scheduling a Hannah Mammograma.” The opening number, built around a song celebrating TV screens as Hargitay supposedly watched them on a cross-country flight to the Emmys, was among the night’s shakier concepts.
The smart move: front-loading the stars
One of the strongest production choices came early. Producer Jesse Collins stacked the top of the show with actor award after actor award, giving the first stretch of the ceremony a steady parade of familiar faces and keeping the momentum moving for at least the opening hour.
Among the early highlights was Tom Pelphrey’s win for Task, which also put his relationship with Kaley Cuoco on display in real time. The broadcast also found lighter moments in the room, including repeated camera cuts to the Hacks table, where Megan Stalter appeared painted head to toe in gold like a living Emmy statue.
The fashion notes were not limited to Stalter. Noah Wyle’s dusty rose-colored jacket earned notice as one of the evening’s best style moments, while Stephen Root and Amanda Peet’s eyewear prompted a less charitable question about whether transition sunglasses had somehow made their way into Emmy gift baskets.
Sketches, jokes and one bleep too many
Not every comedy swing connected. A high-concept Special Victims Unit sketch built around whether Taylor Swift would attend the Emmys required considerable setup just to reveal that Swift had appeared in a pre-taped cop cameo. The bit did, however, land on a stronger final image: Hargitay and Swift silently facing the camera while positioned on either side of a fluffy cat.
The night’s best joke was a blunt one: “Dick Wolf’s real name is Richard Penis.” But the standards-and-practices moment that drew the most frustration came when John Mulaney was bleeped during his monologue about “men being men” before presenting the award for best actor in a drama. The source material notes that he appeared to be making a joke about going down on someone, but the interruption cut into a segment that also had Mulaney reading from Frank Vincent’s 2006 book, checked out from the Glendale Public Library.
Other presenter moments added to the unpredictability. Emilia Clarke spoke in high Valyrian, while Marcello Hernández invited Harrison Ford, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac and Matthew McConaughey to dinner.
Wins, speeches and pointed remarks
Stephen Colbert and his staff received a standing ovation after winning Variety Series. Colbert, appearing bearded, did not dwell on his cancellation, but he did use the moment to point to the role shows like his play in developing talent. “Fantastic incubator for young people to come in … that is the future of business that we have to look after,” he said.
Katie Dippold delivered one of the night’s most candid winner speeches after taking the writing Emmy for Widow’s Bay. “No one will ever step foot in my home without seeing this,” she said, before adding, “I will create a system of mirrors so that no matter where you stand in my home, this is going to be in your direct eyeline.”
Sally Field used her acting win for Incredibly Bright Creatures to make a pointed comment amid Paramount’s acquisition of Warner Bros. “We matter, our voices matter, our diversity and unique storytelling matters,” Field said. “We can’t let those voices be silenced, compromised or merged.”
Tributes and reunions
Michael J. Fox received the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award and a thunderous ovation, but the presentation hit a technical snag when the teleprompter type appeared to be too small for him to read clearly. Fox, who was in a wheelchair, had to ad lib before delivering his speech. He spoke about the work of his foundation and kept the tone light with jokes about Lola Falana.
The ceremony’s tribute elements varied in impact. The goodbye to Catherine O’Hara played as more heartfelt than Reba McEntire’s singing tribute to Dolly Parton, which was tied to the In Memoriam portion of the evening.
The reunion segments were mixed during the first two hours, but the arrival of Jaclyn Smith, Cheryl Ladd and “three time Emmy nominee” Kate Jackson from Charlie’s Angels provided a welcome jolt before The Pitt accepted its second consecutive win for Best Drama. Another reunion moment came with Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson, described as being back on TV together for the first time in 12 years.
The night also included a promotional misfire when the cast of the new Baywatch presented the Reality Competition Program award and used the moment to plug their Fox drama as “saltier than ever,” with “more action and less fabric.” The last line drew groans from the audience.
In the stranger-TV-production category, a Nutrafol hair-growth commercial appeared as an inset while a blurred view of the live Emmy stage remained visible. It was one more odd visual in a telecast that mixed strong wins, genuine emotion, ambitious staging and a few comedy concepts that needed sharper editing.