The 68th Primetime Emmy Awards didn’t lure in a larger audience than last year’s record-low viewership number. In fact, the ABC telecast dipped even further. Despite peak TV producing more great television than ever before, viewers haven’t been warming to the Emmys. Blame “too much TV” or a confusing September air date, but even though TV’s biggest night hasn’t been pulling in the same stats as yesteryear, the actual production has been, well, peaking.
LAST WEEK’S EPISODE: ‘Star Trek’: Will There Ever Be Another TV Show Like It?
Jimmy Kimmel did a fine job with his monologue. The speeches were on point, and there were plenty of surprise winners to keep everyone in the Microsoft Theater and watching at home on the edge of their seats. These key elements make up the foundation of any great awards show, making the 2016 Emmys a ceremony to remember.
Still, there were a few mistakes.
The prerecorded opening segment, in which Jimmy Kimmel struggles to make it to the Emmys on time, was redundant and mostly a miss. Having the “Stranger Things” kids hand out sandwiches to a supposedly hungry crowd also rang false, especially when remember how surprising and authentic it was when Ellen Degeneres delivered pizzas at the Oscars. Oh, and then “Game of Thrones” won far more trophies than it deserved.
IndieWire TV Editor Liz Shannon Miller and TV Critic Ben Travers discuss the good, bad and everything in between on the latest edition of Very Good TV Podcast. Don’t forget to subscribe via Soundcloud or iTunes, and follow IndieWire on Twitter and Facebook for all your pertinent TV news. Check out Liz and Ben’s Twitter feeds for more, more, more. Plus, don’t forget to listen to IndieWire’s other podcasts: Screen Talk with Eric Kohn and Anne Thompson, as well as Michael Schneider’s new podcast Turn It On, which spotlights the most important TV of each week.
Related News & Articles:
- Ben reviewed the telecast for IndieWire, in case you’re looking for a written assessment.
- Here’s the full list of Emmy winners, including Tatiana Maslany and Ben Mendelsohn!
- The Emmys got a huge makeover in 2016, even though “Veep” and “Game of Thrones” won the top trophies again.
- “The Americans” may not have won any awards Sunday night, but this was still “the year of ‘The Americans.'”
- “Game of Thrones” set a record Sunday night, and it may not be topped for many, many years to come.
Stay on top of the latest TV news! Sign up for our TV email newsletter here.
Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
