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It’s a family event.
Father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy co-hosted the 2024 Emmys, which aired on September 15 on ABC.
Eugene, 77, and Dan, 41, opened their monologue with jokes about how the ceremony is “also known as broadcast TV’s biggest night for honoring movie stars on streaming services,” Eugene quipped.
Dan clarified how his name is pronounced if the night goes well, while Eugene said, “If things go south, my name is pronounced Martin Short.”
The duo briefly nodded to Hollywood history, by giving a reference to how the first Emmys in 1949 were hosted by Walter O’Keefe.
“And we are making Emmy history as the very first father-son pair to mention Walter O’Keefe since 1949,” Dan joked, referring to how the “Schitt’s Creek” stars and creators make history as the first-ever father and son to host the event.
The duo then took the time to single out many of the nominated shows, and talk about how they’re universally relatable.
“We’ve all had a codependent borderline homoerotic relationship with our boss, like Hannah Einbinder in ‘Hacks,’” said Dan, while Eugene looked dubious.
“And we’ve all done salacious tell-alls with the BBC to get back at a lying cheating ex, like Elizabeth Debicki in ‘The Crown,” added Dan.
Eugene also got in a sharp zinger at “The Bear,” which is nominated in the comedy category despite not being a comedy.
‘The Bear’ is nominated for 23 Emmys tonight, making it the most nominated comedy in history. Now I love the show, and I know some of you might be expecting us to make a joke about whether ‘The Bear’ is really a comedy,” he said.
“But in the true spirit of ‘The Bear’, we will not be making any jokes.”
Eugene and Dan also made Emmys history in 2020, becoming the first father and son to win big the same year.
Eugene took home the top prize for Outstanding Comedy Actor for “Schitt’s Creek,” while Dan won Best Supporting Comedy Actor. Dan also won for writing and directing, and both snatching the award for Outstanding Comedy Series as exec producers.
Dan rose to fame on “Schitt’s Creek,” but Eugene was already famous for appearing in comedies like the “American Pie” franchise and “Best in Show.”
The Emmy-winning sitcom, which also starred Catherine O’Hara and Annie Murphy and ran for six seasons from 2015 to 2020, followed the formerly wealthy Rose family as they lost their fortune, moved to a town they bought as a joke, and lived in a motel.
This year’s crop of nominated shows include “Baby Reindeer,” “The Bear,” “The Crown,” “Fallout,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Abbott Elementary.”
Stars among the nominees include Jeremy Allen White, Jennifer Aniston, Reese Witherspoon, Gary Oldman, Idris Elba, Jon Hamm, Steve Martin, Kristen Wiig and Maya Rudolph.
Dan, who is gay, also took the time to comment on how it’s a big year for “queer representation” on TV.
Dan singled out “Baby Reindeer” transgender star Nava Mau for her first nomination and “The Morning Show” star Holland Taylor for her ninth nomination, and gave a shout-out to “Fellow Travelers” stars Jonathan Bailey and Matt Bomer for “proving you can be nominated for playing gay, even if you’re not straight,” he quipped.
When Eugene added, “I’m particularly proud of my streamer, Apple TV+, which continues to proudly and visibly line itself up with the LGBTQ+ community,” Dan interrupted him to say, “That’s not what the plus stands for.”
The duo ended their monologue by calling it a “cruel joke” that they’ve been charged with cutting off overlong speeches, since, as Canadians, they find confrontation to be “anxiety-inducing.”
Dan joked that his father is fragile, and his nerves can’t handle it.
“I don’t wanna be alarmist here, but cutting you off could kill this man,” he said.