Emmys Reward Taking on Trump: ‘Saturday Night Live’ Surges, Fallon Gets Snubbed
Voters lavish nominations on “SNL” after a season dominated by Alec Baldwin’s blistering caricature
Ryan Gajewski | July 13, 2017 @ 10:23 AM
Last Updated: October 7, 2020 @ 12:49 PM
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Emmy voters rewarded shows that took on Donald Trump, but snubbed Jimmy Fallon after the “Tonight Show” host largely gave the president a pass.
The most obvious example is “Saturday Night Live,” which earned 22 nominations — tied for the most of any show — after a season in which Alec Baldwin regularly savaged Trump as an incompetent, blithering sexist and racist, and Melissa McCarthy played White House press secretary Sean Spicer as a bullying blowhard. The real Trump took to Twitter to blast the show back.
Baldwin, McCarthy and Kate McKinnon — who plays Hillary Clinton and Kellyanne Conway — all earned acting nominations.
Notably missing from the Best Variety Talk Series mix was ex-“SNL” star Jimmy Fallon. This was the first time “The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon” was omitted from the variety-talk category since the NBC show’s February 2014 launch.
Fallon has been accused of going soft on Trump, particularly in a September 2016 interview in which he ruffled the then-candidate’s hair.
In place of “Fallon” in the category are such politically minded late-night series as “Last Week Tonight,” “Full Frontal With Samantha Bee,” “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” and “Real Time With Bill Maher.”
Sidelined was “Late Night With Seth Meyers,” even though that show has offered some of the most scathing critiques of the White House. The show did earn a nomination for Outstanding Writing For A Variety Series.
“The Daily Show,” the Trevor Noah-hosted series that dominated the Emmys during the Jon Stewart years, did not receive any nominations this time around, but its supplemental content was nominated for short-form variety series.
Another sign that politics may have been on voters’ minds was the fact that outspoken Trump supporter Jon Voight, who landed a supporting-actor nod last year for Showtime’s “Ray Donovan,” was absent from the category this year.
Meanwhile, there’s no question that Netflix’s “House of Cards” and HBO’s “Veep” are perennial awards-season magnets. But the Emmys prominence of those shows, plus Hulu’s dystopian “Handmaid’s Tale,” signal that voters are looking for even more politics, rather than an escape from them.
Emmy voters seem to be in a fighting mood.
10 Stars Who Just Need an Emmy to EGOT, From Elton John to Stephen Sondheim (Photos)
The EGOT -- an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony -- is among the greatest and most elusive honors in entertainment. These stars are (or were) close to achieving it.
Elton John, composer and musician (1947-) Grammy: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group, "That's What Friends Are For" (1986); Best Instrumental Composition, "Basque" (1991); Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" (1994); Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, "Candle in the Wind" (1997); Best Show Album, "Aida" (2000) Oscar: Best Original Son, "Can You Feel the Love Tonight" from "The Lion King" (1994) Tony: Best Score, "Aida" (2000)
Stephen Sondheim, composer and lyricist (1930-) Grammy: Best Show Album, "Company" (1970); Best Show Album, "A Little Night Music" (1973); Song of the Year, "Send in the Clowns" (1975); Best Show Album, "Sweeney Todd" (1979); Best Show Album, "Sunday in the Park With George" (1984); Best Cast Show Album, "Into the Woods" (1988); Best Show Album, "Passion" (1994); Oscar: Best Original Song, "Sooner Or Later (I Always Get My Man)" from "Dick Tracy" (1990) Tony: Best Musical, "A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum," (1963); Best Score and Best Lyrics, "Company" (1971); Best Score, "Follies" (1972); Best Score, "A Little Night Music" (1973); Best Score, "Sweeney Todd" (1979); Best Score, "Into the Woods" (1988); Best Score, "Passion" (1994)
Joel Grey, actor (1932 - )
Grammy (2): Best Musical Theater Album, "Cabaret" (1968) and "Chicago" (1998)
Oscar: Supporting Actor, "Cabaret" (1972)
Tony: Featured Actor in a Musical, "Cabaret" (1967)
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Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, composers (both 1985 - ) Grammy: Best Musical Theater Album, "Dear Evan Hansen" (2018) Oscar: Best Original Song, "La La Land" (2017) Tony: Best Original Score, "Dear Evan Hansen" (2017)
Henry Fonda, actor (1905-82) Grammy: Best Spoken Word Album, "Great Documents" (1977) Oscar: Best Actor, "On Golden Pond" (1981) Tony: Best Actor, "Mister Roberts" (1948); Best Actor, "Clarence Darrow" (1975)
Oscar Hammerstein II, lyricist and producer (1895-1960) Grammy: Best Original Cast Album, "The Sound of Music" (1960) Oscar: Best Original Song, "The Last Time I Saw Paris" from "Lady Be Good" (1941); "It Might As Well Be Spring" from "State Fair" (1945) Tony: Three awards for "South Pacific" (1950); Best Musical, "The King and I" (1952); Best Musical, "The Sound of Music" (1960)
Alan Jay Lerner, lyricist and writer (1918-86) Grammy: Best Original Cast Album, "On a Clear Day" (1965) Oscar: Best Original Screenplay, "An American in Paris" (1951); Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Original Song, "Gigi" (1958) Tony: Best Musical, "My Fair Lady" (1957); Best Original Score, "Gigi" (1974)
Frank Loesser, composer (1910-69) Grammy: Best Cast Album, "How to Succeed..." (1961) Oscar: Best Song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside" from "Neptune's Daughter" (1949) Tony: Best Musical, "Guys and Dolls" (1951); Best Musical, "How to Succeed..." (1962)
Jule Styne, composer and songwriter (1905-94) Grammy: Best Cast Album, "Funny Girl" (1964) Oscar: Best Song, "Three Coins in the Fountain" (1954) Tony: Best Musical and Best Score, "Hallelujah Baby" (1968)
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A select group of entertainers can round out their trophy cases with a competitive win from the Television Academy
The EGOT -- an acronym for Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony -- is among the greatest and most elusive honors in entertainment. These stars are (or were) close to achieving it.
