It’s that time of the year again…Emmy season. I watch a lot of television shows and develop an emotional attachment to almost every single one of them, so this awards show is always one of my favorites. This year’s Emmy Awards were filled with star-studded casts as usual, but I would have to say that the presentation game this year most definitely held some of the best content in Emmys history.
There were many presenters at this year’s show with witty one-liners and classic digs at other Hollywood stars, but there were also several presenters with full-blown routines.
Here were the best five presenters at the Emmys this year:
5. Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers
Coming in at number five is Amy Poehler and Seth Meyers. There wasn’t much action going on, but their script was very funny, and they played very well off of each other.
These former SNL cast members went back and forth jokingly about how Poehler used to treat Meyers poorly on the show. He joked that she would constantly pinch him and steal his lines, which she then proceeded to do as she took over for him when they went to announce the nominees.
4. Mindy Kailing & B.J. Novak
We all know them and love them from The Office. Their characters had quite a complicated (but hilarious) relationship on the show, and they weren’t afraid to bring that banter with them when they were presenting the award for Best Writing in a Limited Series.
They started roasting the nominees for being nominated for an eight-episode series, as opposed to themselves having come from a 22-episode arch. They joked about having to form really complicated relationships with their co-stars during these times (which we clearly saw through their characters on the show). The Office has been off-air for almost 10 years now, but I still loved being able to see these two together.
3. Selena Gomez, Martin Short, & Steve Martin
Naturally, these three actors together are the funniest combination. The skit they performed was basically just a two-minute standup comedy routine with the best one-liners. This consisted of jabs at both men for being old, Short getting roasted for not being able to get work in film, and Martin breaking out into character as the voice-over for a mortgage commercial.
They didn’t win Best Comedy Series for their role on Only Murders in the Building, but these three definitely had one of the winning presentations.
2. Will Arnett & Jimmy Kimmel
The first three presenter groups that I mentioned had great comedic timing and a great script, but taking it outside the script was Will Arnett and Jimmy Kimmel. Their routine consisted of Arnett dragging Kimmel on stage by his feet while he was supposedly unconscious from drinking too much. To make it even funnier, it was alluded to that he was hitting the drinks pretty hard because it was the 13 time that he’s lost at the Emmys.
The skit kept going when Quinta Brunson came up to claim her award. She was playing into it by kicking him aside and saying “Jimmy wake up, I won – okay hold my phone.” This act went on for a solid three minutes but it did not disappoint.
1. Mariska Hargitay & Chris Meloni
Okay…I am not just saying this because Law & Order: SVU is the best show to have premiered in the history of television, but Mariska Hargitay and Chris Meloni were hands-down the best presenter pair at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards because their act was not just an act – it was an entire production.
The premise was that someone had stolen an Emmy, so the camera cuts to Hargitay and Meloni at their table needing to get up and go catch the perp. The audience then sees a compilation of different crime shows on the surrounding screens before the two emerge on stage having caught the guy. As they walk to the mic holding the Emmy, they exchange some funny banter including Hargitay subtly bragging about having won two Emmys already, but it doesn’t end there. They tease the audience while they lean in for a kiss, right before they cut it off and announce the nominees. I genuinely felt like I watched a movie.