Is Anyone Actually Excited to See Colin Jost Host the Emmys?

We’re about a month out from this year’s Emmy Awards, and I keep forgetting they’re coming up. Then I remember that SNL’s Colin Jost and Michael Che are hosting, and it all makes sense why I would shut that out of my brain.

Jost and Che are making the interview rounds promoting their gig, and I’m sure there are some people for whom this is stirring up some excitement, but I cannot and do not care enough to imagine who those people are. Because it’s hard to imagine that this won’t be the most boring Emmys possible.

In an interview with the LA Times, Jost answers the question “Are you fond of awards shows?” with an actual “Eh.” Which is a fine reaction for most people to have. You don’t have to like awards shows! Unless you’re hosting one and then maybe you shouldn’t have an “eh” opinion. That does not sound like it will make for great TV.

Colin’s big problem seems to be that the art that’s celebrated at awards shows is too good. Seriously. He’s apparently the exact reason why the Academy introduced that BS “Popular Film” category.

He followed up his “eh” by saying, “I think most of the time they’re way too self-serious and focused on things that 99% of the country doesn’t care about. At the end of the day, it’s adults getting trophies. Why should that be taken seriously? And remember when movies like “Gladiator” won best picture? Why can’t good, fun things win and not just good artsy things? They’re both good and the fun ones are sometimes a lot harder to make.”

Again, Jost doesn’t have to take television or film or other forms of art seriously. It seems a little odd that he would choose TV as his chosen profession then but, in his words, eh. But for the chosen host of this event to dismiss the accolades as meaningless is a total insult to the thousands and thousands of people who worked hard on making those shows.

In another recent interview with Vanity Fair, Jost and Che talked about how they were going to eschew politics. Jost “joked” that by the time the Emmys air–in a month–people won’t want to see issues like #MeToo talked about. “It’ll probably be #HeToo by then,” Jost said.

Imagine doing a joint interview with Michael Che of all terrible people and being the one coming away looking bad.

(image: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Want more stories like this? Become a subscriber and support the site!

—The Mary Sue has a strict comment policy that forbids, but is not limited to, personal insults toward anyone, hate speech, and trolling.—

Have a tip we should know? tips@themarysue.com

Author

Close

Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

twitter