On Monday, your favorite teachers are facing off with scrappy soccer stars.
ABC’s “Abbott Elementary” and Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” are top contenders for best comedy series – one of the most hotly contested races in this year’s Emmy Awards (NBC, 8 EDT/5 PDT, and streaming on Peacock), which will be hosted by “Saturday Night Live” staple Kenan Thompson.
The ceremony, held at Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theater, will also see Hollywood names including Andrew Garfield (FX’s “Under the Banner of Heaven”), Elle Fanning (Hulu’s “The Great”) and Oscar Isaac (HBO’s “Scenes From a Marriage”) gunning for their first prizes. Here’s the play by play for TV’s biggest night:
Emmys 2022 winners list:‘Succession,’ ‘Ted Lasso,’ ‘The White Lotus’ lead nominations
Michael Keaton thanks the ‘doubters’ in night’s first speech
The first award of the night was presented by Oprah Winfrey to “Dopesick” star Michael Keaton, who took home the trophy for best actor in a limited series. “My face hurts from all the fake smiling I have to do,” Keaton joked on stage, before thanking his family “for never making me feel foolish.” He also nodded to the people who didn’t believe in him throughout his career: “I’ve had some doubters. But you know what? We’re cool.”
Kenan Thompson opens the Emmys with a TV-inspired dance
Thompson started the ceremony by walking through the crowd in a top hat, as he waxed poetic about what television means to all of us. “If it weren’t for TV, what would we do with our free time? Read a book?” he joked. “No one in this room has read a book in 50 years.”
The “SNL” vet then joined a slew of backup dancers for a vigorous dance medley set to famous TV theme songs: spinning an umbrella on a couch in a “Friends” homage, and donning a long, blond wig as the “Game of Thrones” theme played.
Selena Gomez, ‘Squid Game’ make history with Emmy nods
A handful of nominees set milestones with their nominations: Netflix’s Korean-language sensation “Squid Game” is the first non-English language show nominated for best drama series. And according to Variety, Selena Gomez is only the second Latina ever to be nominated for producing a comedy series (Hulu’s “Only Murders in the Building”), after Salma Hayek for ABC’s “Ugly Betty” in 2007.
On Saturday, Emmy nominees including Tony Shalhoub (Amazon’s “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) and Christina Ricci (Showtime’s “Yellowjackets”) gathered for a party in West Hollywood hosted by The Hollywood Reporter and SAG-AFTRA. Sheryl Lee Ralph, who plays God-fearing teacher Barbara Howard on “Abbott,” talked to USA TODAY at the event about earning her first-ever Emmy nod for the show.
“I had no idea how quickly my life would change with this nomination,” Ralph said. “The kind of phone calls you get. The way business changes. Everything has been so different.”
‘White Lotus,’ ‘Succession’ predicted to win big
In major categories, USA TODAY’s TV critic Kelly Lawler believes that HBO’s class satire “The White Lotus” should and will win best limited series, and the third season of HBO’s “Succession” will narrowly inch out Apple TV+ newcomer “Severance” for best drama series. Meanwhile, lead actresses Zendaya (HBO’s “Euphoria”) and Jean Smart (HBO Max’s “Hacks”) are predicted to win again for their respective drama and comedy performances.
Emmys move to Monday to avoid NFL conflict
Although the Emmys are typically held on Sundays, the ceremony moves to Monday every four years when the show airs on NBC. This is to avoid a conflict with the network’s “Sunday Night Football.” (Sunday’s game featured a faceoff between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys in the Lone Star State, with the Bucs reining victorious 19-3.)
Barack Obama, Adele pick up early prizes
A number of this year’s winners were already revealed earlier this month at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Late “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman earned a posthumous prize for outstanding character voiceover performance (Disney+’s “What If …?”), while former President Barack Obama picked up outstanding narrator (Netflix’s “Our Great National Parks”). British superstar Adele also got one step closer to EGOT status (signifying an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony Award winner) with an Emmy win for outstanding variety special (pre-recorded) for her CBS concert special “Adele: One Night Only.”
Contributing: Ralphie Aversa, Erin Jensen and Kelly Lawler
‘Squid Game’? ‘Abbott Elementary’? Who will (and who should) win at the 2022 Emmys
