“Start with a joke,” many speakers are advised. And that’s exactly how Saturday Night Live head writers and Weekend Update hosts, Michael Che and Colin Jost began as hosts of Monday night’s 70th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Diversity, a major topic for the entertainment industry, in general and award shows, in particular, was gris for their mill.
Photo Courtesy of US Weekly
When announcing Black-ish as a nominee, Mr. Che joked about his own skin color stating, “‘Black-ish’ is also how I’ve been asked to behave tonight. So we’ll see how that goes.” Soon after, he contrasted the plot of another nominated show, “The Handmaid’s Tale” in which people are violently forced to work and make babies, to “history” for the black community.
Another issue at which the two poked fun was this year’s rise of streaming services, specifically Netflix. Mr. Che joked “Our network, NBC, has the most nominations of any broadcast network. Which is kind of like being the sexiest person on life support.”
Presentation Skills
Nor did the two shy away from political commentary. Mr. Jost commented, “I don’t know if you know this–the first Emmys were held back in 1949. Things were very different back then–gas was 17 cents a gallon, a new home cost $7,000, and we all agreed that Nazis were bad.”
He followed with “Roseanne” was cancelled by herself, but picked up by white nationalists.”
The pair also lightly touched on such current issues as #MeToo: “It is an honor to be here sharing this night with the many, many talented and creative people in Hollywood (pause) who haven’t been caught yet.”
They did it well. As always, the two were having fun themselves, skillfully and joyfully presenting satire on the world today, while engaging their audience with laughter.