Emmys: Anthony Anderson Pays Homage to the TV of His Childhood in Musical Monologue — Grade It!
Emmys viewers got a nostalgic walk through Anthony Anderson’s childhood viewing habits as he took the stage to open Monday’s Emmys ceremony.
The Emmys emcee entered the broadcast after a title card informed us we were watching Mister Anderson’s Neighborhood. He took off a fur coat, trading it for his tuxedo jacket as he sat down at a piano on a set reminiscent of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood and walked the audience through his formative TV viewing habits.
“I also learned a lot from the television shows that I watched growing up,” he said as a choir came out to join him in singing the theme songs to Good Times and The Facts of Life. Then Anderson donned a white dinner jacket reminiscent of Miami Vice while he transitioned onto the Emmys stage as Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight” played and Travis Barker accompanied him on drums.
Before he queued up the evening’s first award, Anderson warned the crowd that instead of music, his mother, Doris Hancox, would alert winner that they’d gone over their allotted speaking time. And Hancox didn’t wait, launching into her duties before Anderson had even finished his spiel. “Your time’s up, baby,” she yelled from her spot in the audience, directly behind 1923 and Shrinking star Harrison Ford.
The black-ish star hosted the live event, which was held at the Peacock Theater at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles Monday. Originally scheduled for Sept. 18, the ceremony was delayed by the 2023 Writers Guild of America and SAG-AFTRA strikes.
“When Fox asked me to host this historic telecast,” Anderson joked when his involvement, “I was over the moon that Taylor Swift was unavailable, and now I can’t wait to be part of the biggest night in television.”
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What did you think of Anderson’s Emmy opening? Watch it in the video at the top of this post, grade it via the poll below, then hit the comments!
