The 2017 Emmy Awards were full of highs and lows on Sunday night. From host’s Stephen Colbert’s opening monologue to the final award of the night, here are the show’s best and worst moments.
Best: Colbert’s opening musical number
Host Stephen Colbert opened the show with a musical number celebrating television as escapist entertainment in these tumultuous times. After jaunting through shows like “This Is Us,” “The Americans,” “Veep” and “Archer,” Colbert ended up on stage joined by a line of dancing Handmaids in a lively start to the show.
Worst: Sean Spicer cameo
The most surprising appearance of the night was Sean Spicer rolling out a podium during Colbert’s opening monologue to proclaim that this year’s Emmys will have the largest audience ever, “period.” A former White House spokesperson making a joke out of having lied to the country was supposed to be … funny?
Best: Donald Glover makes history
Donald Glover won the award for Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series, making him the first black director to ever win the category. He then dedicated a good portion of his acceptance speech to regular “Atlanta” director Hiro Murai, a small but significant reminder that the Emmys still have a long way to go in terms of diversity.
Worst: Rachel Bloom fails to make accountants exciting
The annual appearance of the accountants behind the vote tabulations at the Emmys is never going to be fun, despite Rachel Bloom’s valiant efforts. The “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” star’s musical number was fun, but also a sad reminder what a travesty it is that she was once again snubbed for a nomination — and omitted from the night’s big musical opening.
Best: That “9 to 5” reunion
Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda and Dolly Parton got one of the biggest reactions of the night when they came out to present an award together and proclaimed all these years later that they still refuse to be controlled by “a sexist, egotistical, lying, hypocritical bigot.” Bonus points for an improvised vibrator joke from Parton.
Worst: Thandi Newton?
If the Emmy’s misspell Thandie Newton’s name when they’re announcing the nominees for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, did she really lose?
Best: Lena Waithe also makes history
“Master of None’s” impeccable Season 2 episode “Thanksgiving” won the award for Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series, making Lena Waithe (who co-wrote the episode with creator Aziz Ansari) the first black woman to win in the category. Speaking for both of them, Waithe gave a powerfully concise acceptance speech about the importance of representation.
Worst: A saggy back half
Awards shows are long, and like any other the 2017 Emmys suffered from a boring last 90 minutes or so. The night had few genuinely surprising upsets and by the halfway point the ceremony settled into a predictable rhythm, making it feel like it dragged on for days.
Best: “Big Little Lies” stars champion female friendship
Accepting the award for Outstanding Limited Series at the Emmys, Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon used the platform to call for more stories about women on television. Kidman said “Big Little Lies” was born out of her friendship with Witherspoon, and forged by their shared “frustration” at the lack of good female stories. Given the show’s awards sweep, maybe Hollywood will finally heed their call.
Worst: Music plays off Sterling K. Brown
Sterling K. Brown seemed genuinely excited to win an Emmy for his work on “This Is Us,” so it was a shame when the band tried to cut off his speech. Nevertheless he persisted, shouting his speech over the music even after his microphone cut out.
