Christina Applegate brought down the house last night at the 75th Annual Emmy Awards.
The former Married…with Children star and Dead to Me actress walked on stage accompanied by host Anthony Anderson. She was greeted with a standing ovation. Applegate, using a cane, had tears in her eyes. The 52-year-old actress, who began her TV career as a baby in commercials, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2021.
She has not lost her sense of humour. “Body not by Ozempic,” she joked.
Applegate was there to present the first award of the evening, for Best Supporting Actress. It went to Ayo Edebiri for her work on The Bear. That restaurant-based series was one of the big winners Monday night, along with Succession, with both shows collecting six Emmy Awards.
The Emmys had been pushed back from last September due to the writers and actors strikes. Maybe the new date gave the producers more time for spit, polish and rehearsals or maybe there is a pent up energy, from participants and viewers, to see and receive a good show. Whatever the reason, these Emmys were brisk, classy and thoroughly entertaining — AND — miracles of miracles, they ended on time.
Anderson, who ran a tight show as host, jokingly called these the “Chocolate Emmys” as African Americans grabbed statue after statue. Besides Edebiri te winners included Quinta Brunson as Best Comedy lead on Abbott Elementary; RuPaul’s Drag Race; Trevor Noah busting up John Oliver’s Late Night monopoly by winning in his final attempt in the category; and Niecy Nash-Betts, who won a Best Actress Supporting trophy for the limited series Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story. This all seemed in keeping with the spirit of Doctor Martin Luther King, with the event taking place on his holiday in the U.S.
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In terms of diversity, the night was also a triumph for Asian-Americans. Lee Sung Jin won for directing and writing on Beef. Steven Yeun won as lead actor on Beef, which joined Succession and The Bear as one of the big winners Monday night on the Fox telecast.
The night also featured tributes to great TV shows from the past. Several members of Cheers, including Ted Danson, Kelsey Grammer and John Ratzenberg, gathered around the original bar as they announced two winners. Cast members from Martin, Grey’s Anatomy, and All in the Family survivors Rob Reiner and Sally Struthers, also took bows and awarded prizes. Natashia Lyonne and Tracee Ellis Ross dressed as Lucy and Ethel for a black and white conveyor-belt tribute to I Love Lucy. Other luminaries made the scene as presenters, including Dynasty‘s Joan Collins and Allie McBeal‘s Calista Flockhart.
The In Memoriam segment was a standout, perhaps the best award show salute to stars who had passed away in a calendar year I have ever seen. The apt choice of photos, the simplicity of presentation, the understated, beautifully performed music — and my God all those names — was in itself award-worthy.
