The Emmys Just Brought Back the Best Part of the ‘90s (and Oprah)
Jimmy Kimmel broke out the bigs guns when it came to his opening monologue at the 72nd annual Emmy Awards. And by big guns, we mean a ’90s laugh track and throwback footage from previous events.
On Sunday, the television personality took the stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles to host the first-ever virtual Emmys. During the show, which was filmed in front of an empty theater, we surprisingly saw a crowd of people in the audience. However, while it may have looked real, we quickly realized that the producers opted to edit old footage in to make it look like there was an audience.
“It’s great to finally see people again," Kimmel said. How clever. And that wasn’t all the opening monologue had to offer. The room was also decorated with cardboard cutouts of several nominees. Not to mention, a '90s laugh track was used in the background. You know, to fill in all of the awkward pauses.
“As a comedian, getting no laughs—which is certainly something I’ve become accustomed to, even in front of audiences—is tough," Kimmel told People in an exclusive. "That’s the measure of whether something was funny. So the challenge is how to make it feel like not all the jokes are bombing."
This is the Emmys’ first-ever virtual ceremony. The show was initially supposed to take place at the Microsoft Theatre in downtown Los Angeles but it was announced in July that things would be moved to a virtual format, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Hey, we're just happy we got to see Oprah in the audience.
