Stephen Colbert proved to be a "mixed bag" as Emmy host

UPROXX

“The filmed musical opening was fun, if a bit of a cliche by now, and the initial phase of his monologue was fine, but then we got an extended Donald Trump harangue,” says Alan Sepinwall. “This was perhaps unavoidable given Colbert’s persona, the contentious mood of the country, and the particular mood of the night, when even some winners like (Donald) Glover and SNLer Alec Baldwin suggested their wins were a result of Emmy voters’ displeasure with the current administration. But when you take so many shots at POTUS and then bring out Sean Spicer — who for the better part of the year was the public face of the administration and Trump’s chief defender — as a comedy prop and act delighted to have him there (Spicer spent much of the night posing for photos with Academy members in the lobby), well, maybe you lose some of the moral high ground behind the screeds?” Another problem, Sepinwall notes, is the cutting off of This Is Us star Sterling K. Brown's speech. He notes that "Kidman ... is a big movie star, so she gets to talk as much as she wants, whereas Brown is a mere TV star, even at a TV awards ceremony, so nobody really cares what he has to say."

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• This ceremony showed that Trump is the new normal at awards shows
• There wasn’t much to grouse about, yet the Emmys still have a long way to go
• The Emmys figured out how to handle Trump
• Jimmy Kimmel wore a fanny pack carrying candy bars
• Sterling K. Brown got to finish his speech backstage
• Emmys announcer Jermaine Fowler was perhaps the most polarizing figure
• Colbert's breeziness didn't seem to suit the room
• Emmys are poised to have record-low ratings
• Colbert was genial, pointed, exuberant and a little outrageous