The Emmys Tried a Controversial New Approach This Year. I Kind of Loved It.

"It's a near-Sisyphean task to make awards shows interesting these days. We know the drill when it comes to the Emmys: The host opens with a monologue that references the year's buzziest shows and actors, makes some risqué joke (usually about politics-a topic that was purposefully avoided this year), and struggles to get a laugh. Meanwhile, presenting actor duos try to pretend like they have chemistry with their assigned stage partner, and most winners drone on thanking a list of deserving people who have supported them throughout their careers. And all of this goes over the allotted network timeslot by, at least, a solid 20 minutes."

"After Bargatze's (surprisingly very funny) opening monologue-which came in the form of a skit about the birth of the technology for television, allowing Bargatze to make fun of the increasingly broken and senseless industry, while making a callback to his breakout Saturday Night Livesketches about the American Revolution-the comedian introduced a new tactic."

"He threw a dollar amount up on a screen, showing a total of $100,000. Bargatze claimed that he will donate $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Club of America (that being the awards ceremony's chosen charity, identified not only by the donation but by the child ushers from the organization helping the presenters and winners on and off the stage). At this announcement, the audience cheered, a moment that Bargatze instructed them to "remember" because he had another shoe he was waiting to drop. Bargatze then revealed that if a winner's acceptance speech went over the allowed 45 seconds, $1,000 would be deducted per every second they go over."

Awards shows follow a predictable formula: hosts open with monologues referencing the year's buzziest shows and actors, make risqué jokes, and often struggle to get laughs. Presenters frequently feign chemistry and winners deliver lengthy thank‑you lists, pushing ceremonies well past their allotted times. Nate Bargatze opened the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards with a skit about television's technological birth and callbacks to his Saturday Night Live sketches. Bargatze announced a $100,000 donation to the Boys & Girls Club of America and instituted a policy docking $1,000 for every second an acceptance speech exceeded a 45-second limit.

Read at Slate Magazine