THE BEST AND WORST PARTS OF THE 2022 PRIMETIME EMMY AWARDS

There have been mixed reviews about the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards, which went down Monday night. Some liked Keenan Thompson as host; some found his emceeing weird. People took issue with some of the presenters, and others didn’t care. It was definitely a mixed bag of a show, which had its shining moments and others that fell a little flat, and some that were almost objectionable. 

Now no awards show pleases everyone. It’s just not possible. I thought that this year’s Emmys had enough pluses to make me feel good about looking forward to it, as I always do. Here’s a look at the biggest hits and misses at the 2022 Emmys, in my opinion.

HIT: THE HOSTING

Kenan Thompson was not bad, I thought. Yes, I’ll admit that my expectations were really low after last year’s emcee Cedric the Entertainer was such a bore. But Thompson held his own in the limited time that he was up there doing his thing. The Netflix digs were funny, because we know how things have been for the streaming giant lately. The humor, in general, wasn’t off the charts, but it was funny enough. That opening number was weird, for sure, but it was eccentric enough to like parts of it. And it recalled certain iconic TV themes, such as FRIENDS and GAME OF THRONES, which set the tone for a celebration of television. And for a television fan, that was nice. Could the execution have been better—absolutely! The music segues also left a lot to be desired. 

MISS: THE TRIBUTES TO TELEVISION

If the execution of the opening wasn’t quite up to the mark, the tributes to genres were even less than that. The idea was great—especially to celebrate TV staples, such as medical and crime procedurals that don’t make it to awards in general. However, it didn’t come together like it should have. The montages should have evoked a lot more in fans of TV who consume as much of the case-of-the-week stuff as they do all the high-profile, high-concept cable/streaming fare. It also felt a little out of place in parts. A little more thought should have gone into going from drama to comedy to medical drama to crime procedural, and where it was all placed. 

HIT: THE PRESENTERS

As much as the tributes didn’t quite make it, it was nice to see a few genre faces that haven’t been seen at the Emmys since procedurals have lost steam at the awards. Chandra Wilson, Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, and even Freddie Highmore—they were all lovely to see. Speaking of Chandra Wilson, I think Shonda Rhimes and Sarah Paulson were perfect as presenters for the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, also considering that Davis has starred in Rhimes’ GREY’S ANATOMY. Other presenters were also quite good to see. The three leads of ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING were funny and endearing and had the chemistry that we love them for. It was nice to see Sofia Vergara up there, and Selma Blair, who got cheered on, having recently overcome certain MS-related health issues. Okay, a Pete Davidson was an ill-fit for announcing outstanding comedy, but he was funny. They should have just had him present something else. And I wish Lee Jung-jae and Jung Ho-yeon, of SQUID GAME had been given more to present.

MISS: THE LIMITED TIME FOR ACCEPTANCE

Some of the presentations did fall flat, and used up more time than the show could afford. The little sketches with Homer Simpson and Kumail Nanjiani were really not that funny and could have been omitted, making more time for the acceptance speeches. More than a few recipients were taken by surprise with how the countdown for their acceptance started almost immediately and left them flustered and fumbling. It wasn’t fair to them. Sure, it was all probably in order to keep the show at three hours, but there were other ways to trim the time—ways that had to be adopted at the planning stage. 

HIT: ACCEPTANCE SPEECHES

Despite the limited time, some acceptance speeches and bits were excellent. Two particularly come to mind. Jennifer Coolidge was one of the winners who couldn’t handle the limited acceptance time, and pleaded them to let her stay on. The music got louder and changed, and things could have gotten awkward, as they have in the past. However, Coolidge did not let that happen. With her amazing stage presence and sense of humor, she did a little jig to play along with the music and it was a hoot! I laughed out loud, and I’m still laughing thinking about it. Sheryl Lee Ralph, on the other hand stole the show with her singing as she accepted the Emmy for comedy supporting actress for ABBOTT ELEMENTARY. And then she went on to give a powerful speech about believing in yourself and your dream. It was the best acceptance of the night. 

MISS: THE PRESENTATION FORMAT AND SEQUENCE

Time limits and all aside, the formats of the presentations themselves felt a little clumsily done. The sequence was a little too random, even if it would have been boring to go through comedy, limited, variety/sketch/talk/game, drama all one at a time. There should just have been some more sense to how one category went into another. And then, to make things worse, on some occasions, the nominees were announced before the presenters came to the stage and did their little bits. It should always be presenting bits first, then nominees and immediately after, the opening of the envelope. 

It should have been more like the presentation of writing for a limited series, by Mindy Kaling and B.J. Novak. They made harsh digs about how limited series makers had a lot less to do than network series runners do. It was somewhat true, okay, but a little harsh to bring up right when you're presenting an award for limited series. Yet, it followed the sequence of how a presentation should be.

Another jarring thing was the ‘in memoriam’ section, which didn’t focus on the names on the screen for those viewing from home. We didn’t need to see the performer, John Legend, if it came at the cost of seeing the names of people who passed away in the last year. The live directing should have been done such that we saw those visuals being presented. Also, it seems they even forgot a few names of recently deceased individuals, such as Olivia Newton-John. 

HIT: THE WINNERS

Despite the event’s flow being all over the place, and a number of directing issues, the results of the awards themselves were very satisfying for the most part. The wins were not as predictable as one might have thought they might be. Sure, DOPESICK deserved more than THE WHITE LOTUS did, but we were prepared for what happened. What I wasn’t expecting was ABBOTT ELEMENTARY not winning comedy, but was happy to see the better show—TED LASSO—winning instead. I was unhappy that the fantastic SEVERANCE and the captivating YELLOWJACKETS and the lovely ONLY MURDERS didn’t win anything. However, SQUID GAME and Lee Jung-jae made Emmys history, and there were some pleasant surprises as well, such as Sheryl Lee Ralph and Matthew Macfadyen—who was excellent in SUCCESSION season three. SUCCESSION had to win drama, and it deserved to. I wish showrunner Jesse Armstrong hadn’t made that joke about England’s new King Charles (about how the show’s win had more to do with voting than Charles’s succession after Queen Elizabeth’s death), but Brian Cox set him straight by telling him to keep it ‘royal-less’. 

And that’s how it all came to an end. It wasn’t a perfect show, but it was nice enough.

Here’s a list of all the winners across drama, comedy and limited series: 

DRAMA SERIES

Outstanding Drama Series

BETTER CALL SAUL

EUPHORIA

OZARK

SEVERANCE

SQUID GAME

STRANGER THINGS

SUCCESSION

YELLOWJACKETS

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series

Jodie Comer, KILLING EVE

Laura Linney, OZARK

Melanie Lynskey, YELLOWJACKETS 

Sandra Oh, KILLING EVE

Reese Witherspoon, THE MORNING SHOW

Zendaya, EUPHORIA

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series

Jason Bateman, OZARK

Brian Cox, SUCCESSION 

Lee Jung-jae, SQUID GAME 

Bob Odenkirk, BETTER CALL SAUL

Adam Scott, SEVERANCE

Jeremy Strong, SUCCESSION

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series

Patricia Arquette, SEVERANCE

Julia Garner, OZARK

Jung Ho-yeon, SQUID GAME

Christina Ricci, YELLOWJACKETS

Rhea Seehorn, BETTER CALL SAUL 

J. Smith Cameron, SUCCESSION

Sarah Snook, SUCCESSION

Sydney Sweeney, EUPHORIA

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series

Nicholas Braun, SUCCESSION

Billy Crudup, THE MORNING SHOW

Kieran Culkin, SUCCESSION

Park Hae-soo, SQUID GAME

Matthew Macfadyen, SUCCESSION 

John Tuturro, SEVERANCE

Christopher Walken, SEVERANCE

Oh Yeong-su, SQUID GAME

Outstanding Directing for a Drama Series

OZARK: ‘A Hard Way to Go’ – Jason Bateman 

SEVERANCE: ‘The We We Are’ – Ben Stiller

SQUID GAME: ‘Red Light, Green Light’ – Hwang Dong-hyuk

SUCCESSION: ‘All the Bells Say’ – Mark Mylod 

SUCCESSION: ‘The Disruption’ – Cathy Yan 

SUCCESSION: ‘Too Much Birthday’ – Lorene Scafaria 

YELLOWJACKETS: ‘Pilot’ – Karyn Kusama 

 

Outstanding Writing for a Drama Series

BETTER CALL SAUL: ‘Plan and Execution’ – Thomas Schnauz 

OZARK: ‘A Hard Way to Go’ – Chris Mundy

SEVERANCE: ‘The We We Are’ – Dan Erickson 

SQUID GAME: ‘One Lucky Day’ – Hwang Dong-hyuk 

SUCCESSION: ‘All the Bells Say’ – Jesse Armstrong

YELLOWJACKETS: ‘F Sharp’ – Jonathan Lisco, Ashley Lyle, and Bart Nickerson 

YELLOWJACKETS: ‘Pilot’ – Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson 

COMEDY SERIES 

Outstanding Comedy Series

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY

BARRY

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM

HACKS

THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING

TED LASSO

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

Rachel Brosnahan, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

Quinta Brunson, ABBOTT ELEMENTARY

Kaley Cuoco, THE FLIGHT ATTENDANT

Elle Fanning, THE GREAT

Issa Rae, INSECURE

Jean Smart, HACKS 

Outstanding Lead Actor In a Comedy Series

Bill Hader, BARRY 

Donald Glover, ATLANTA

Nicholas Hoult, THE GREAT

Steve Martin, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING

Martin Short, ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING

Jason Sudeikis, TED LASSO 

 

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series

Alex Borstein, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

Hannah Einbinder, HACKS

Janelle James, ABBOTT ELEMENTARY 

Kate McKinnon, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Sarah Niles, TED LASSO

Sheryl Lee Ralph, ABBOTT ELEMENTARY

Juno Temple, TED LASSO

Hannah Waddingham, TED LASSO 

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series

Anthony Carrigan, BARRY

Brett Goldstein, TED LASSO 

Toheeb Jimoh, TED LASSO

Nick Mohammed, TED LASSO

Tony Shaloub, THE MARVELOUS MRS. MAISEL

Tyler James Williams, ABBOTT ELEMENTARY

Henry Winkler, BARRY

Bowen Yang, SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE

Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series

ATLANTA: ‘New Jazz’ – Hiro Murai

BARRY: ‘710N’ – Bill Hader 

HACKS: ‘There Will Be Blood’ – Lucia Aniello 

THE MS. PAT SHOW: ‘Baby Daddy Groundhog Day’ – Mary Lou Belli 

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING: ‘The Boy from 6B’ – Cherien Dabis 

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING: ‘True Crime’ – Jamie Babbit 

TED LASSO: ‘No Weddings and a Funeral’ – MJ Delaney 

Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series

ABBOTT ELEMENTARY: ‘Pilot’ – Quinta Brunson 

BARRY: ‘710N’ – Duffy Boudreau 

BARRY: ‘starting now’ – Alec Berg and Bill Hader 

HACKS: ‘The One, the Only’ – Lucia Aniello, Paul W. Downs, and Jen Statsky 

ONLY MURDERS IN THE BUILDING: ‘True Crime’ – Steve Martin and John Hoffman 

TED LASSO: ‘No Weddings and a Funeral’ – Jane Becker 

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS: ‘The Casino’ – Sarah Naftalis 

WHAT WE DO IN THE SHADOWS: ‘The Wellness Center’ – Stefani Robinson 

LIMITED OR ANTHOLOGY SERIES

Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series

DOPESICK 

THE DROPOUT

INVENTING ANNA

PAM & TOMMY

THE WHITE LOTUS 

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Toni Collette, THE STAIRCASE

Julia Garner, INVENTING ANNA

Lily James, PAM & TOMMY

Sarah Paulson, IMPEACHMENT: AMERICAN CRIME STORY

Margaret Qualley, MAID

Amanda Seyfried, THE DROPOUT 

Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Colin Firth, THE STAIRCASE

Andrew Garfield, UNDER THE BANNER OF HEAVEN

Oscar Isaac, SCENES FROM A MARRIAGE

Michael Keaton, DOPESICK 

Himesh Patel, STATION ELEVEN

Sebastian Stan, PAM & TOMMY

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Connie Britton, THE WHITE LOTUS

Jennifer Coolidge, THE WHITE LOTUS 

Alexandra Daddario, THE WHITE LOTUS

Kaitlyn Dever, DOPESICK 

Natasha Rothwell, THE WHITE LOTUS

Sydney Sweeney, THE WHITE LOTUS

Mare Winningham, DOPESICK

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

Murray Bartlett, THE WHITE LOTUS 

Jake Lacy, THE WHITE LOTUS 

Will Poulter, DOPESICK

Seth Rogen, PAM & TOMMY

Peter Sarsgaard, DOPESICK

Michael Stuhlbarg, DOPESICK

Steve Zahn, THE WHITE LOTUS

Outstanding Directing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

DOPESICK: ‘The People vs. Purdue Pharma’ – Danny Strong 

THE DROPOUT: ‘Green Juice’ – Michael Showalter 

THE DROPOUT: ‘Iron Sisters’ – Francesca Gregorini 

MAID: ‘Sky Blue’ – John Wells 

STATION ELEVEN: ‘Wheel of Fire’ – Hiro Murai 

THE WHITE LOTUS: Mike White

Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie

DOPESICK: ‘The People vs. Purdue Pharma’ – Danny Strong

THE DROPOUT: ‘I'm in a Hurry’ – Elizabeth Meriwether 

IMPEACHMENT: AMERICAN CRIME STORY: ‘Man Handled’ – Sarah Burgess 

MAID: ‘Snaps’ – Molly Smith Metzler (Netflix)

STATION ELEVEN: ‘Unbroken Circle’ – Patrick Somerville 

THE WHITE LOTUS: Mike White