Matt Buckler: Emmy host Kenan Thompson plans to be funny, not mean

Sep. 9—For those looking for some insult humor during NBC's telecast of the Emmy Awards Monday, Kenan Thompson, the host, may be disappointing you.

He said in a press conference prior to the event that he plans on taking the high road. In other words, he will not be bringing out his inner Ricky Gervais.

"You have to be smart, because you know there is a way to jab at people without offending like for real, for real," Thompson said. "I don't think offense gets you anywhere as a society."

And as an awards show host, it can get you slapped. At least that's what happened to Chris Rock when Will Smith took offense to a joke about his wife.

Thompson made a great point. You want to be edgy enough to be funny, without getting people upset. The key to being a good Emmy host is to get people to laugh when the camera isn't on them and Thompson is funny enough to do that — be edgy without being controversial. He doesn't need to hit below the belt in order to pull it off.

"You know, I'm not going to be out there like hurting someone's feelings for the sake of people laughing," Thompson said. "We're all all supposed to be laughing together."

Thompson definitely has his head on straight. He has another problem, however, that has nothing to do with roasting people. How do you keep the entertainment flowing when many of the nominees are not well known by many viewers.

One solution is to add a host — last year's show went without one. It turned out to be a bad idea.

John Legend has been added to the show and he will perform during the traditional "In Memoriam" segment. Usually that becomes controversial when people complain about someone being left out.

But it's hard to find fault with such a poignant moment.

Royal tribute

It didn't take long for the major American networks to react after the news hit the world that Queen Elizabeth II, 96, had died after 70 years on the Great Britain throne. They were ready for some complete coverage.

In fact, the coverage had already started Thursday morning. ABC turned over its entire prime-time schedule Thursday for Queen Elizabeth coverage and plans another two-hour special, hosted by lead news anchor David Muir, for tonight.

Muir isn't the only top anchor who will be in England. CBS' Norah O'Donnell will be anchoring the "CBS Evening News" from there and will be involved in other coverage.

ABC has "Good Morning America" co-host Robin Roberts in London and Amy Robach will be spending next week in London.

NBC's morning host, Savannah Guthrie of the "Today" show, will be in England and she will have plenty of help, including reporting from Richard Engel, Molly Hunter, and Kelly Cobiella.

Meanwhile, Jenna Bush Hager will be in Edinburgh.

The networks are covering this story the way we expected them to — using all of their resources.

And it won't end anytime soon. TV will ramp up the coverage again in about 10 days for the Queen's funeral.

Thursday started out as a typical day. But it didn't stay typical for very long. The networks showed how well they cover a breaking news story at a moment's notice.

Variety, meanwhile, is reporting that "The Crown," the series that revolves around Queen Elizabeth's reign, will probably stop production before filming for Season 6 gets under way.

Season 5 is scheduled to start on Netflix in November. The cast has changed, with Imelda Staunton playing the Queen and Dominic West starring as Prince Charles.

The show has been successful and has won Emmy Awards. But stopping production on a new season is definitely the right thing to do.

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Matt Buckler is television and radio editor of the Journal Inquirer.

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