From the moment he took the stage, rookie Emmy Awards host Seth Meyers was all about playing it safe. It may not be the bravest plan for a comedian who lands one of the most coveted hosting gigs in the world, but it was definitely a shrewd plan.
Meyers came to the gig in the wake of some of its best hosts in recent memory: Neil Patrick Harris, Jimmy Kimmel, Jane Lynch and Jimmy Fallon. And while the Emmys have not enjoyed the giddy heights of Golden Globes, which had Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, nor have they hit the Oscars’ lows, with Seth McFarlane, Alec Baldwin and James Franco.
Indeed, the fact that Meyers was one of the writers who worked on Fey and Poeher’s outstanding turns at hosting the Golden Globes was surely enough to give him a free pass.
Without the international profile some of his peers enjoy, the US late night talk show host tackled some easy targets up front – himself, host broacdaster NBC, iconic cable channel HBO and Emmy “category fraud”, one of the simmering issues at the periphery of the 66th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.
“HBO is like the kid you never thought would amount to anything … I remember when all they had was
