The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards kicked off with father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy taking the stage at the top of television’s biggest night, immediately winning over the audience with self-inflicted jokes about working together as a family.
“This is actually the first time we’ve had the opportunity to work together since our show “Shit’s Creek” ended, unless you count the time you tried to convince Ryan Murphy to cast us as the Menendez brothers,” Dan said. “Well, they weren’t twins,” Eugene joked.
The opening episode began with a round of cheers for the duo, who are the first father-son pair to ever host the ceremony, as they joked about their lack of hosting experience.
“We’re not stand-up comedians,” Eugene admitted. “Actually, I wouldn’t even call us hosts. We’re more like actors acting as hosts, which is a big gamble for us,” Dan added.
While providing a recap of the night’s antecedents, incl “Shogun,” “The Bear” and “Baby reindeer,” Dan called the series “strangely relatable” as he shared texts he received from his father before Emmys night, “The show is both terrifying and strangely relatable for anyone out there whose parents still haven’t mastered the art of texting,” Dan said.
The text that appears on the screen reads “letz host emmyys. colin ferell will be there. are you still in love?” As the audience bursts into laughter, Eugene replies, “I didn’t think these would become public.”
Dan then goes on to share another text which read “waltr okeef Jok – 2 mean?”
The Levys also joked about “The Bear” and its lack of humor despite being in the comedy category.
“‘I, I know some of you will expect us to joke about whether or not ‘The Bear’ is really a comedy, but in the true spirit of ‘The Bear,’ we won’t be making any jokes.”
Eugene and Dan Levy are no strangers to the prestigious Hollywood event as their Canadian comedy, “Schitt’s Creek,” swept the 2020 comedy categories.
Before the ceremony, Emmy’s producer Jesse Collins told “Good Morning America” having the couple host the evening felt like a “win”.
“When we talked to them in the first Zoom, you saw how they went back and forth,” Collins said. And you said, “this is a win.”
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