Hollywood may be out of touch – but their Emmy awards speeches made them human

Last night, the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles was lit up with hundreds of dazzling smiles and perma-tanned visages. Assembled across the auditorium like a tidal wave of couture sweeping towards the stage, the great and good of the television industry gathered to watch host Anthony Anderson conduct proceedings at the 75th Primetime Emmys, which had been delayed from September due to strike action among American creatives.

The halcyon days of awards shows are – it seems generally accepted – over. Think back to the 1998 Oscars ceremony, say, where 55triumph over , or the 1986 Emmys, where a 35-million strong audience watched a shindig hosted by David Letterman and Shelley Long. Recent editions of these shows have been far less of an event: the 2021 edition of the Oscars hit a record nadir of 10 million viewers, while last year’s Emmys staggered towards the 6 million mark. Thus the televisual event itself has been transmogrified, turned from a three-hour endurance test into . And nothing does better than a good acceptance speech.