Award shows should stop doing comedy sketches

Paste Magazine

"The madness has to stop," says Olivia Cathcart. "For far too long, the number one complaint about award ceremonies has been the overblown runtimes, and the incessant comedy sketches are a big part of that." Cathcart adds: "It’s unclear when and why award shows became dead set on trying to wring comedy out of large, physical bits. Maybe it’s part of the chase for their ever-declining ratings or the rise of brand social engagement that convinced the producers that they needed more than a monologue, but these sketches’ collective batting average is abysmal. Some notable bits include: Jimmy Kimmel opening up the 2012 Emmys with a recorded sketch involving Lena Dunham eating cake in the nude on the toilet while various actresses punched the botox out of Kimmel’s face; Seth MacFarlane singing 'We Saw Your Boobs' at the 2013 Oscars; Ellen DeGeneres heading into the audience for an A-list group selfie at the 2014 Oscars; Jimmy Kimmel rerouting a tour bus into the theatre for some star gawking at the 2017 Oscars; Jimmy Kimmel, Gal Gadot, and others interrupting a screening of A Wrinkle in Time to deliver snacks to moviegoers; 'nurses' walking around administering fake flu shots to celebs at the 2019 Golden Globes; Ken Jeong and Nick Cannon making a Tik Tok live at the 2019 Emmys; and, of course, 2021’s Oscar trivia game, which was so awkward it had many viewers wondering if it was a back-up plan to some off-screen snafu. All were disruptive, clumsy, and entirely forgettable, only screaming back to mind during the next tepid sketch. Award shows seem to be going through an identity crisis, and the pandemic certainly hasn’t helped. Like the executives behind the Miami Dolphins or whatever terrible team you follow, the puppet masters behind the scenes of our vaunted ceremonies just keep making mistake after mistake in attempts to concoct what should be obvious solutions to holes in their shows. Host or no host? Boring host or problematic host? Comedians or James Franco? It’s like a company thinking a pizza party will satiate and stop their underpaid and overworked employees from quitting in droves (oh wait, Ellen did a pizza party too, at the 2014 Oscars). Nobody asked for this. Humor is essential to making an entertaining award show and it is more than ok to limit it to snappy one-liners."