Politics And Social Change Points Of Discussion At 2016 Prime Time Emmys

Fall had ushered cool, crisp air to Los Angeles – that is, until Emmy day.  Then the temperature spiked, and no tarp or handle of ceiling fans could quell the sweltering heat.  Seemingly un-phased, Matt Iseman, host of Emmy nominated reality competition program “American Ninja Warrior” wowed Dish Nation correspondent and upcoming co-celebrity on “The Apprentice” with a perfectly performed split.  Wiping his brow, he quickly retreated into the air conditioned entrance to the Microsoft Theater two hours before the ceremony began Sunday, September 18^th.

Although most celebs retreated quickly after completing the mandatory round of major network talk show interviews, they quickly found refreshment in the welcomed refreshment host Jimmy Kimmel provided, rousing early Tweets requesting Kimmel be the next Oscar host.  Kimmel’s opening spoof that put him in the back of O.J.’s  white Bronco, car-pool karaoke-ing to “Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go” with James Cordon and flying on the back of Drogon as he made his way to host the Emmys was followed by a round of politically charged jokes that got the crowd going.   After blaming multi-Emmy winning reality producer Mark Burnett for giving Donald Trump his entry into American pop culture, Burnett used his time on stage after winning the Outstanding Reality Competition award for “The Voice” to highlight the free publicity Kimmel gave the presidential hopeful.

After winning the award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy for his portrayal of Mrs. Basket on “Baskets”, Louie Anderson took a moment in the press room to elaborate on his acceptance speech remark indicating he channeled his mother’s stern looks.

“My mother was a tough but loving woman.  I stole everything from my mother (for this role), because in the end, your mother is always going to come out winning,” said Anderson.

He also thanked all those who were overly critical of his work over the years.

“Thank you to all of you who said ‘He hasn’t got a chance,’ because those are the words that drive you the most,” said Anderson.

Although Aziz Ansari was cut off before he could say thank you during his acceptance speech for winning “Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series” for his show, “Master of None,” he also expressed tremendous gratitude towards his parents backstage.  Being of Indian decent, he recalled being a young boy and watching them integrate into the white-dominated US neighborhood.  He, along with Asian-American co-writer Alan Yang, hoped their win could inspire other writers who didn’t fit the Caucasian role to make an impact on the characters seen in TV content.

Thrilled to have won the Emmy for “Outstanding Variety Talk Series for “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”, Oliver ducked the press questions related to Donald Trump.   He had more fun discussing his disappointment over Beyonce’s award show absence.

“I was delighted when I learned my seat was right behind hers.  I thought I could just stare at the back of her head and feel completely happy for a while,” joked Oliver.

While Jill Soloway, who had a repeat performance of last year’s win for directing on “Transparent” continued to voice her support for trans rights backstage, she was not afraid to share her opinion on Trump. After expressing concern about his fear-mongering and lack of tolerance, Soloway equated Trump to Adolf Hitler.

“I will call him out on this with every chance I get,” said Soloway.

Ryan Murphy and his team of Emmy winning producers behind Outstanding Mini-Series win for “The People V. O.J. Simpson” were able to place a positive spin on the importance of their show during the challenging political discourse US citizens are currently facing.  When asked why he thought retelling the story of the O.J. story hit a nerve, Ryan indicated people were able to see the story with fresh eyes.

“Race, gender, class and justice, the story touched on all these points,” said Murphy.  “What we tried to do was make it an even playing field, and show all the individuals involved as human beings.  When you look at it that way, it doesn’t seem so black or white.”

Rami Malek brought the night to an encouraging end in the press room.  Despite his disbelief on stage upon winning the award for Outstanding Male Actor in a Drama for his portrayal of Elliot on “Mr. Robot” (“Are you seeing this too?” he asked), he was extremely grateful the voters embraced someone with non-traditional looks.

“For me, noting I am not your typical leading man, this speaks volumes about where we are headed,” said Malik.  “Socially and politically we want the show to be as progressive as possible.”

See below for a complete list of the 2016 Prime Time Emmy winners:

(And click HERE for a list of all 2016 Creative Arts Emmy Winners)

Drama Series: “Game of Thrones” (HBO)

Comedy Series: “Veep” (HBO)

Mini-Series or Movie: “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story” (FX)

TV Movie: “Sherlock: The Abominable Bride (Masterpiece)” (PBS)

Variety Talk Series: “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” (HBO)

Variety Sketch Series: “Key & Peele” (Comedy Central)

Actor in a Comedy Series: Jeffrey Tambor, “Transparent”

Actress in a Comedy Series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, “Veep”

Actor in a Drama Series: Rami Malek, “Mr. Robot”

Actress in a Drama Series: Tatiana Maslany, “Orphan Black”

Actor in a Mini-Series or Movie: Courtney B. Vance, “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie: Sarah Paulson, “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Supporting Actor in a Drama: Ben Mendelsohn, “Bloodline”

Supporting Actress in a Drama: Maggie Smith, “Downton Abbey”

Supporting Actor in a Comedy: Louie Anderson, “Baskets”

Supporting Actress in a Comedy: Kate McKinnon, “Saturday Night Live”

Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie: Sterling K. Brown, “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story”

Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series or Movie: Regina King, “American Crime”

*Reality Host: RuPaul Charles, “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (Logo)

Reality Competition Program: “The Voice” (NBC)

Writing for a Comedy Series: Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, “Master of None” (“Parents”)

Writing for a Drama Series: David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, “Game of Thrones” (“Battle of the Bastards”)

Writing for a Mini-Series or Movie: D.V. DeVincentis, “The People v. O. J. Simpson: American Crime Story” (“Marcia, Marcia, Marcia”)

*Writing for a Variety Series: “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver”

Writing for a Variety Special: Patton Oswalt, “Patton Oswalt: Talking for Clapping”