Though he's a first timer, Brooklyn Nine-Nine star Andy Samberg has all the qualification of a perfect Emmys host: He's attended quite a few awards shows, so he's right at home in a tux; he's been in front of hundreds of live audiences as an SNL cast member; he's funny; he's charming; and, as an actor who's made his mark mostly on television, he's a peer of almost every person who sat in the Nokia Theater Sunday night. (Oh, and Samberg's got an Emmy of his very own.) But, the resume doesn't really matter, does it? What matters is the show itself, and Andy Samberg's 2015 best and worst Emmys jokes were in a class all their own...
...perhaps because he's has a little practice. Way back in 2009, when he was still rocking his Hot Rod curls, Samberg hosted The MTV Movie Awards. Little did he know that emcee-ing the ceremony that awards the year's "Best Fight" and "Best WTF Moment" would be a rehearsal for the big time. The Emmys draw a much wider audience, and appealing to a huge variety of viewers without being painfully boring is the big challenge. That means that hosts like Samberg have to take some risks, which means some jokes to fly and others fall flat. With that in mind, here are his best and worst gags of the night.
The Best:
"And I'm white!"
The closing line of his Emmys song skewered Hollywood's diversity problem, and it wasn't Samberg's last joke at its expense.
"Racism is over, don't fact check that."
Sublime.
"You're gonna have to deal with the mean nun from Game of Thrones."
This was in reference to anyone whose speeches might be too long. Jane Lynch made a cameo as the most terrifying character on television, who wordy winners allegedly needed to face.
"Is it me or does Bernie Sanders always look like his flight is delayed?"
No one has been able to accurately put this into words before.
"If I wanted to see an intolerant lady dance, I would have gone to one of Kim Davis's four weddings."
Zing on the Kentucky clerk who's been in the news lately, and zing on Paula Deen on Dancing With The Stars.
"Schumer is really, really funny. You know. For a person."
Samberg sticks it to everyone who's ever set female comedians apart from their male colleagues.
"He escaped!"
This Adrien Brody-as-Houdini joke was easy... but still amazing.
"Here's my impression of the last season of Girls!"
If you don't know what he was referring to here, you may not want to. Either way, the joke got a shout-out from Marnie herself.
"The original cast of Taxi is here! That's right! Queen Latifah AND Jimmy Fallon."
They're old friends, so Samberg is totally cleared to poke fun at Fallon's notorious flop.
"I'd like to buy the world an Emmy."
If only.
"Welcome back to the spoiler awards."
That TV "In Memoriam" was a spoiler minefield.
"And of course, the guitar girl from the bar in True Detective Season 2."
Best sight gag of the night.
"Viola Davis and Robert Durst! I'm totally kidding, just Viola Davis."
DON'T YOU SCARE ME LIKE THAT, ANDY.
The Worst:
"Justin Timberlake is not coming."
Not really a bad joke, just bad news. Miss you, JT.
"And we also said goodbye to True Detective, even though it's still on the air."
Ouch.
"Get your house in order, Dagwood from Blondie."
Way too obscure, but I appreciate the effort.
"Guy kills so many predators. I guess he knows what he's doing."
Even Samberg knew immediately that this Arnold Schwarzenegger bit didn't work.
"I just gotta talk to Stacee Jaxx about Brian Wilson!"
This Paul Giamatti/typecasting joke could have come off better.
"These next stars are from Black-ish, they arrived here around four-ish."
This freshman breakout comedy deserved a better joke.
"I've never seen Olive Kitteridge, I've only seen half of Oliver Kitteridge."
*Groan*
"She plays a gynecologist on TV and he considers himself an amateur one."
Mindy Kaling and Zachary Levi get the middle school humor introduction.
"Our next presenter has two things in common with L.L. Bean."
At least L.L. Cool J thought it was funny.
On the whole, Samberg was a charming and thoughtful host. And he got us out early! Come back any time, my friend.
Images: Giphy (21)
