Nate Bargatze is gearing up for the 77th Emmy Awards, sharing insights and advice that will shape his hosting experience.
Nate Bargatze Prepares for the 77th Emmy Awards
Nate Bargatze helped roll out the red carpet on Thursday morning outside of the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles, kicking off the countdown to the 77th Emmy Awards, airing live Sunday on CBS.
Excitement for the Opening Segment
This year’s host, who appeared on the network’s “Comfy Blue Sofa” alongside Emmys executive producers Jesse Collins and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay before joining them and Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego for the rollout, told Gold Derby that he’s most excited for the opening segment.
“You want to hear that first laugh,” he said, “and you want to see that we’ve got the tone set.”
Advice from Jimmy Kimmel
While the first-time Emmys emcee is a practiced stand-up comedian and even hosted an episode of Saturday Night Live last year, Bargatze said he got awards show advice from an Emmys pro.
“Jimmy Kimmel told me to sit down when I’m backstage,” Bargatze said. “That was probably the most direct advice I got was, ‘Just sit down.’ So I’ve made sure that there’s a chair back there.”
Nostalgic Moments and Celebrations
In addition to the Grammy Award-winning comedian’s opening monologue, which may or may not include a nod to his popular George Washington character from his stints on SNL, Collins and Rouzan-Clay revealed a few nostalgic moments that will get the spotlight treatment.
“A lot of people don’t know this, but 40 years ago to the day the Golden Girls started on television,” Collins said, referring to the Sept. 14 Emmys airdate. “That was the first episode that was the pilot, so we’re going to celebrate that moment in TV history.”
Country music voices Reba McEntire, Karen Fairchild, and Kimberly Schlapman will commemorate that anniversary by singing the theme song on a recreation of the series’ iconic kitchen set.
Honoring Milestones
Other anniversaries that the Television Academy will be honoring during the awards are Law & Order’s 35th anniversary, with appearances from Mariska Hargitay, Christopher Meloni, and Tony Goldwyn. Also, Gilmore Girls stars Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel will be on hand to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary. Jeff Probst will cheer on Survivor’s 50th season, while Eric Dane and Jesse Williams will laud Grey’s Anatomy’s 20th anniversary.
Additional presenters include Brad Garrett, Young Mazino, S. Epatha Merkerson, Hunter Schafer, Ray Romano, and Ice-T.
In Memoriam Segment
For the In Memoriam segment, Grammy Award-winning musicians Vince Gill and Lainey Wilson will perform Gill’s “Go Rest High on That Mountain.”
Keeping the Tone Fun
While Bargatze, who said he grew up loving TGIF programming, Seinfeld, The King of Queens, and Everybody Loves Raymond, said he wanted to keep the tone fun, Abrego acknowledged that the killing of right-wing figure Charlie Kirk has had producers considering exactly how to respond.
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“We’ll be discussing it,” Abrego told Gold Derby. “We’re always going to have to choose the right tone.”
Celebrating Cultural Moments
“[The Emmys] really is about honoring what shows are reaching our members, what shows are reaching our audiences, what stories are having a real big impact, and celebrating that,” Television Academy President and CEO Maury McIntyre told Gold Derby. “I think that is something worth celebrating, especially at a time when we are a bit divided in this country. Let’s celebrate those cultural moments.”
Donation Tied to Speeches
Bargatze said he’s also looking forward to the speeches, especially now that he’ll be donating $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. The catch is that he’s tying the exact amount to how long winners speak once they receive their Emmy, in an effort to keep the scheduled three-hour timeline tight.
“They get 45 seconds. Every second they go over that, $1,000 will be pulled away from my donation to the Boys & Girls Club. But every second they go under, [$1,000] will be added,” Bargatze explained.
“I’m very curious about what’s going to happen,” the Nashville-born comedian added. “Are people going to just be like, ‘Thank you, good night,’ and then just really cost me the most money?”
Prepping for the Big Night
As far as how Bargatze is prepping the night before his big awards show appearance, he said fans and audiences might be surprised.
“I will be in Denver doing two shows,” he told Gold Derby. “One show Friday, two shows Saturday. So they’d probably be surprised at that.”
“But I like it,” he added. “I like chaos.”
Watch the 77th Emmy Awards
The 77th Emmy Awards will air live on both coasts at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on CBS and streaming on Paramount+.
