The 78th Emmys will honor Dolly Parton with a tribute and feature Noah Kahan performing “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” during the In Memoriam segment, producers confirmed Thursday.
Jesse Collins Entertainment, which is producing the ceremony, revealed the plans as part of a broad slate of announcements for Monday’s telecast at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. The show will also reunite the stars of “Charlie’s Angels” for its 50th anniversary and bring Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz together for the 30th anniversary of “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer.”
Parton died on Aug. 25 at 80. Details about how the tribute will unfold remain scarce.
The Parton Tribute
Producers are keeping the specifics of the Parton tribute under wraps as they finalize the show. Executive producer Jesse Collins said the team is still shaping the segment.
“We’re holding it back,” Collins said. “But I think it will be a very beautiful tribute to Dolly.”
The tribute comes during a year that has seen the deaths of several major figures in entertainment. Television Academy chair Cris Abrego said the show needed more time to honor those who died this year, which was part of the reasoning behind moving five categories to a second night.
“Some very iconic people have passed this year. We want to have the time to celebrate those names,” Abrego said.
Kahan Sings Simon
Noah Kahan, a roots country music sensation, will perform “Bridge Over Troubled Waters” during the In Memoriam segment. Collins said the choice came from the artist himself.
“It’s a song that is very meaningful to him. Paul Simon is one of his favorite artists,” Collins said. “So it was really about coming up with an arrangement that does the song justice. He’s such a pure musician, and he’s worked really hard with our team to create something I think people are going to love.”
The performance will be part of a segment that traditionally pays tribute to members of the television community who died in the past year.
Hargitay Hosts
Mariska Hargitay will host the ceremony. She said she is not approaching the job like a professional comedian, and that has freed her up.
“My co-star Kevin Kane, he was like, ‘If you want to try out any material, we can go down to the comedy clubs,'” Hargitay said. “And I was like, ‘Whoa, I’m not there yet!’ But it’s been really fun. I think the gift that I’ve given myself through all this is really to just do it my way and not have to hit anything. I’m not a professional comedian, and so I don’t feel that kind of pressure that they might feel. I’m just doing what I do. I’m having the time of my life.”
The hosting gig has become a family affair. Her brother Mickey Hargitay Jr., who owns Mickey Hargitay Plants in Los Angeles, is providing olive trees for the red carpet. After the Emmys, the plants will be donated to House of Ruth, a homeless shelter for women who have faced domestic abuse.
“It’s been kind of extraordinary. I feel very supported, and I feel like I’ve got some angels around me,” Hargitay said.
She also won two Emmys over the weekend for her documentary “My Mom Jayne,” which she said took some pressure off the main event. “To get that behind me, now it’s just fun and play,” she said. “But it’s been an extraordinary time, and I’m very aware of the rarefied air I’m breathing and what a magical moment this is in my life.”
The Two-Night Format
This year’s Emmys will air across two nights. The second night, formerly known as the Creative Arts Emmys, now hosts five categories that previously ran during the main telecast. The goal was to free up time for more entertainment on NBC’s broadcast.
Abrego and Television Academy president Maury McIntyre said the change worked.
“It’s definitely created more time. And look, it’s a big show. We have a lot more entertainment to do,” Abrego said. “We have, unfortunately, a lot more people to honor. Some very iconic people have passed this year. We want to have the time to celebrate those names. And of course, to really give time to this year’s winners in terms of their separate speeches. It absolutely has created more time.”
Winners in the moved categories will still get recognition on the main telecast. McIntyre noted that supporting limited/anthology series actor and actress winners David Harbour and Linda Cardellini will appear as presenters on Tuesday, with their wins acknowledged on air.
“We fully intend to be as respectful as possible to those winners at the telecast as well,” McIntyre said.
The extra time also allows the show to honor Michael J. Fox with the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award. McIntyre said the producers want the emotional moments to land properly.
“And we want to make sure there’s room to breathe in that emotion,” McIntyre said. “We want people to be able to sit with that.”
More Hargitay Time
The producers said the expanded runtime gives them a chance to use Hargitay more fully than a typical awards show host. Collins said the extra time will improve the show’s pacing.
Dionne Harmon, another executive producer, said the show will showcase Hargitay’s range. “She’s a triple threat, and she gets to show all of that throughout the show,” Harmon said. “That extra time gave us time to showcase all of her talent.”
Fans of “Law & Order: SVU” may get something familiar. Collins said the show has pre-taped segments and live moments planned, and he teased a possible audio callback.
“We’ve got pretape stuff. There’s some live stuff. There may be a ‘dun dun,'” Collins said.
There may also be a cameo from Hargitay’s friend Jalen Brunson, the NBA champ. Executive producer Jeannae Rouzan-Clay hinted at the possibility without confirming it.
“She’s got a lot of friends,” Rouzan-Clay teased. “I’m excited to see what she’s got here. Her contacts are deep.”
The Blue Carpet
The carpet outside the Peacock Theater at L.A. Live is blue this year. The color choice honors NBC’s 100th anniversary.
Producers rolled out the carpet Thursday morning in sweltering heat. The event drew Collins, Harmon, Rouzan-Clay, Abrego, McIntyre and NBC’s Jen Neal, the executive VP of live events and specials.
The blue carpet is a visible shift from the traditional red, and it ties directly to the network’s centennial. NBC is airing the ceremony under the current four-broadcast-network wheel deal, which rotates the Emmys among the major networks.
New Variety Rules
The show will also debut a new voting rule for the variety series category. Under the revised rules, the winner is determined in this order:
- Any nominee that receives a “yes” vote from 90% of voters will win.
- If no one reaches that threshold, the top vote-getter wins.
That opens the door to a scenario where multiple nominees, or even all of them, take home the award. Collins was asked what happens if everyone wins.
“Local news is going to be late,” Collins said. “That’s what’s going to happen. If multiple people win, each would get up to give their speech and it’ll be a TV moment.”
The category could produce multiple winners, an unusual outcome for a major ceremony.
Last year’s host, Nate Bargatze, had a plan in place to keep speeches short. Collins was asked about this year’s approach.
“We have the world’s favorite cop on the show, so hopefully, there’s some law and order,” Collins quipped. “See what I did there?”
What to Expect Monday
The ceremony airs Monday on NBC. It is the final telecast under the current wheel deal, which rotates the Emmys among the four major broadcast networks.
Here is what the producers have confirmed for the show so far:
- A tribute to Dolly Parton
- Noah Kahan performing “Bridge Over Troubled Waters”
- A “Charlie’s Angels” reunion for its 50th anniversary
- A “Buffy, the Vampire Slayer” reunion for its 30th anniversary
- Michael J. Fox receiving the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award
The producers have also planned the “Charlie’s Angels” reunion and the “Buffy” reunion, both tied to anniversary milestones. The show will honor Fox with the Humanitarian Award, and Kahan will perform during the In Memoriam segment.
The show will balance tributes, performances and awards with a host who has made clear she is doing things her own way. Hargitay has won two Emmys already this weekend for her documentary work, and she said the main event now feels like play.
The Parton tribute remains the biggest unknown. Collins would not say more about the shape of the segment, only that it will be beautiful.
The producers have said they built the show to allow for both celebration and grief. McIntyre said the pacing is deliberate.
“We want people to be able to sit with that,” he said.
The Emmys air Monday night on NBC.
Source: variety.com
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