Emmys Preview: ‘Happy Days,’ ‘SNL,’ ‘The West Wing’ Cast Reunions and Jelly Roll’s ‘In Memoriam’ Performance
Get ready for more nostalgia on Sunday’s 76th Emmy Awards — the second one this year, we keep reminding you — but with a twist. Unlike the 75th ceremony in January, which focused on cast reunions, this time the producers are mashing together iconic stars and their characters, past and present.
That means famous TV moms like Meredith Baxter (“Family Ties”), cops like Jimmy Smits (“NYPD Blue”), lawyers like Gina Torres (“Suits”), doctors like Zach Braff (“Scrubs”), TV villains like Giancarlo Esposito (“Breaking Bad”) and more. (And that’s just some of the names that have already been confirmed to present).
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“The response to January was incredible, and we felt like people really connected to the nostalgia,” said Dionne Harmon, who executive produces for Jesse Collins Entertainment along with Collins and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay. “So, we wanted to figure out a way to bring that nostalgia to the show on Sunday without doing the exact same thing. We really focused on television shows that everyone loved in January and Sunday, we’re going to focus on the characters, individual characters from all kinds of shows.”
Added Rouzan-Clay: “Instead of trying to top ourselves, we wanted to just make sure that it was different enough that people felt like we celebrated TV in a different way.”
That may also mean some unexpected faces in some of the categories. “When you think TV cops, are you thinking Niecy Nash?” Harmon said. “Probably not, but there’s ‘Reno 911!’ We wanted to cover the gamut of all kinds of TV moms, all kinds of TV cops, all kinds of villains. We think that people will have that moment of, like, I remember that!”
That doesn’t mean there won’t be some cast reunions on the show. Ron Howard and Henry Winkler are set to reminisce about “Happy Days” in honor of the show’s 50th anniversary — on an actual re-created set of the show’s famed Arnold’s Drive-Inn.
“I’m curious to see if you think we matched the jukebox,” Collins said. “There’s a whole jukebox conversation.”
The telecast, which takes place on Sunday, Sept. 15, live at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on ABC (repeating the next day on Hulu) will also celebrate the 50th anniversary of “Saturday Night Live” with a tribute. There won’t be a “Friends” tribute for show’s 30th anniversary, but there may be one more memorable reunion: Although the producers didn’t confirm a “The West Wing” tribute, they hinted at another “big one.”
It’s not hard to deduce what they’re talking about. It’s the 25th anniversary of “The West Wing,” and ABC’s press release last week announced presenters that included a who’s who of “West Wing” stars: Martin Sheen, Allison Janney, Dulé Hill, Janel Moloney, Richard Schiff among them.
Also, “Schitt’s Creek” co-star Catherine O’Hara will also be in the building as a presenter, so who knows — there will likely be some sort of collab between her and hosts Eugene and Dan Levy.
Speaking of the Levys, the producers were mum on how the hosts will open the Emmys, other than a promise that it will be comedy-centric.
“You’re gonna get everything that you want from them in that opening,” Collins said. “I want to say the opening segment that they’re going to bring to the show is going to set a great tone… This is material that has been developed between them. They’ve never done this before, and there’s never been a father and son team hosting the Emmys. I think everybody’s going to love it.”
The producers had already been brainstorming the “characters” concept when they landed on the Levys — who won Emmys for playing father and son on “Schitt’s Creek” — and realized it fit perfectly.
“We got off the very first meeting with them, and we all kind of looked at each other and said, ‘Yeah, this was, this was the move.’ Their energy after the very first meeting was exactly what we were hoping they bring to the show on Sunday.”
Meanwhile, Collins and team revealed that Jelly Roll will pause his current concert tour to drop by the Emmys and perform the show’s In Memoriam segment.
“He is literally stepping off tour for a day and going right back on the road when he’s done,” said Harmon. “So, we’re so grateful to him. Jesse did a lot of begging to get that!”
Said music director Rickey Minor: “I think that his decision of what particular song to do will touch everyone. I cry every time I hear it. Everyone at home, make sure you have tons of tissue around.”
The producers have also planned a special segment with John Leguizamo to focus on some of the history-making nominations and wins this year. (“Shogun” has already made the record books with the most wins for a program in a single year, while several other potential wins could make history on Sunday’s show.)
“It’s real-time, to integrate that into the show,” Collins said. “There’s going to be a great moment with John Leguizamo that will lead into a celebration of the changes that have been happening. But as all those other things you’re talking about unravel, we will address them throughout the show.”
With three days until the show, the show’s locked, but there’s three days for anything to happen. “We feel great,” Harmon said. “The stage is built, seat cards are out, scripts are flying back and forth.”
Today, prep increases with the talent coming in to rehearse. “The things that we’ve talked about for months now, we get to see them on their feet,” Collins said. “Today’s our first day on camera.”
As for logistics, Collins and team said the show is on a delay, in case there are any live interruptions from protestors or others. “It’s just something that if it happens, you have to go with it. The show keeps moving,” Collins said. “The security team at the Emmys and the Peacock Theatre is amazing. They’re ready to make sure this thing goes off without a hitch.”
With the presidential election coming up, the producers also know that presenters and winners may very well get political on stage.
“The beauty of this show is we have no idea what people are going to say,” Harmon said. “And sometimes people use this stage as a platform for what they believe in or what they’re feeling. If it happens, it happens, and we’ll be ready either way.”
Quipped Collins: “We don’t have a plan, but we have concepts of a plan.”
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