There Was Something a Little Different About This Year’s Emmys

The 75^th Primetime Emmys—which aired on Monday evening via Fox—had one goal: to be better than last week’s Golden Globes. Thankfully for all who watched, the Emmys succeeded. How? With nostalgia, of course—given the semi-sesquicentennial anniversary of the awards, which was hosted by Black-ish actor Anthony Anderson, the theme of the night was the history of television. However, another theme clearly emerged throughout the ceremony, and I’m not talking about all the Philly tie-ins. (Abbott Elementary, It’s Always Sunny, and Eagles, what’s good?) With a Black host, multiple Black winners, and showcased reunions of underappreciated Black television shows, this may have been the Blackest Emmys in recent memory. Here are all of the moments that led to Anderson dubbing the night the “Chocolate Emmys.”

The ceremony took place on Monday evening, which also happened to be Martin Luther King Jr. Day. This is a happy accident, as the awards, which are usually hosted on a Sunday in September, were postponed for the second time in a row—the COVID shutdowns delayed the 2022 ceremony, and the Hollywood strikes delayed this one in 2023. Needless to say, the holiday served as an omen of an auspicious night for some hopeful Black nominees, and we were even treated to some presenters, like Peter Dinklage, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Jenna Ortega, shouting out MLK Day. To hammer things home even further, the Television Academy closed out the ceremony with a clip of Dr. King’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

The format of the evening was a nostalgia trip honoring the most popular TV series of all time, with mini cast reunions of hits like The Sopranos and Cheers taking the stage to present awards. Of course, this included popular Black series, with a nod to the Good Times theme song during Anderson’s opening bit, and a moment with some of the cast of Grey’s Anatomy, Shonda Rhimes’ flagship show that is also the longest-running prime-time medical drama in TV history.

The Television Academy also used this time to pay homage to plenty of Black TV series that were ridiculously popular in their day, but failed to receive the proper recognition they deserved at the time. The cast of Martin took the stage and practically said this was their redemption moment; Marla Gibbs of The Jeffersons presented a Supporting Actress award with Quinta Brunson; and Arsenio Hall hailed his own achievements before being rewarded for his years of interviewing rappers on his hit talk show with Black Bird actor Paul Walter Hauser’s Best Supporting Actor acceptance speech that somehow morphed into a rap.

It wouldn’t be the Blackest Emmys without some major wins! Several Black actors and show creators stood on stage with a golden winged woman in hand. The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, Abbott Elementary’s Quinta Brunson won Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, Niecy Nash-Betts won Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series for Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story—and gave the best speech of the night, with a special dedication to Black and Brown women who have gone “unheard yet overpoliced”—RuPaul’s Drag Race won Outstanding Reality Competition Program, and Trevor Noah won Outstanding Variety Talk Series for his work on The Daily Show. Noah also made history as the first Black person to win an Emmy for Outstanding Talk Series.

Additionally, there were some sweet tidbits from presenters, including Colman Domingo’s shout-out to the civil rights activist Bayard Rustin (whom he portrays in the film Rustin), and appearances from Tracee Ellis Ross, Taraji P. Henson, and Sheryl Lee Ralph.

We can’t forget Anderson, who pointed out the large number of wins for his melanated skin- folk by saying, “This is like MLK Day and Juneteenth all rolled into one,” adding in elated disbelief, “If I was nominated this year, I definitely would’ve won.”

But Anderson was actually upstaged by a special guest who really put the cherry on top of the Blackest Emmys Ever: Anderson’s mother, Mama Doris. One of the more successful bits of the night was Mama Doris acting as the human version of the play-off music for acceptance speeches, having her hold up a warning sign when time was almost up, and charmingly interrupting winners midspeech when it was. Luckily, only Jennifer Coolidge and John Oliver received the verbal scolding of a Black mother, an event Black children know (and fear) all too well. All things considered, if the Television Academy decides to stick with this theme, maybe they’ll hold the Emmys during Black History Month next year?