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I think that the SAG Awards are my favorite precursor. The Oscars are, of course, my favorite holiday, and I do think it’s important that we acknowledge all the different artists and technicians that make movies (on the broadcast please), but it is always very clear at the SAGs I touched all of the winners are by recognition from their peers. And last night’s show, the first to be on Netflix instead of TNT/TBS, felt looser (because they could swear?) and like a real love fest with only a few sections that dragged.

My highlights:

I love the “I Am An Actor” opening, and though I missed the faux-awkwardness of people turning around at their tables, I liked the relay race to the stage:

We started off the night with a win for Jeremy Allen White, I probably would have given this to Ebon Moss-Barach, because “Forks” is the best episode of television I’ve seen in a long time (maybe ever), but can never be mad at White:

I still have not watched Beef, I’m deep in trying to force myself to watch some the most depressing seeming documentary nominees ever created, but I’m obsessed with Ali Wong’s mom’s little wave during this speech:

A few little gripes with the overall show then I’ll get back to the big stuff. I really didn’t like the set, it looked like an optical illusion and kept confusing me. And I understand that with no commercial breaks you have to do something to give people in the room some breaks, but in show interview segments are so awkward, and I feel like we could fill that time with more montages. Because I love montages and I hate awkwardness.

OK, back to the show, my favorite presenter bit, also includes the fun fact that Billie Eilish’s mom teaches at the Groundlings!

I love Ayo so much, even wrapped in a (very glamorous) picnic blanket she is always so charming:

Truly shocking that Pedro Pascal won over the Succession dudes. (I don’t watch either of their shows, just based on momentum.) And he was also clearly shocked, but delightful:

DA’VINE JOY RANDOLPH ROLLING HER WAY TO HER MUCH DESERVED OSCAR, I LOVE HER:

Side note – thank you SAG for giving them a table to put their, notoriously heavy, awards on! I’ve been ranting about this all year!

Steven Yuen’s speech was very charming (and he did bring Pedro that envelope backstage in the only moment from the interview interstitials that was worth it):

Tim and I have been rewatching The Bear and while it has some very heavy points, and they may be what sticks in our heads the longest, but it is actually hilarious, and genre is fluid, and all that to say, give it all the comedy awards, and Twitter needs to stop being scoldy about it:

Barbra Streisand is, and always has been, a delightful, singular weirdo and this was a well-deserved honor, and though I didn’t cry, I was very moved that Anne Hathaway did:

A couple of unimportant side notes: 1. Why was Bradley Cooper so orange? It’s like he put the first layer of the Lenny age makeup on for the night. 2. That floating image of Barbra is the best picture of her I have ever seen and I have no doubt she picked it herself, which is perfect.

I liked RDJ’s approach of listing co-stars (probably would have skipped Mel Gibson myself, but it’s not on me to tell him who was important to him):

I feel like he kind of blended into the weird background!

I haven’t watched her seasons of The Crown, but I am obsessed with Elizabeth Debicki seeing those stairs and just kicking off her shoes:

The way the night was going for TV Drama I thought maybe someone was going to upset Succession, but it was nice to give them their send off:

Look, if I was handing out the awards, I would be handing them to New Haven’s own Paul Giamatti, but there is no part of me that can be mad at Cillian Murphy, ever:

Look, I was nervous, everyone keeps tweeting “we have a race,” about Best Actress, and like, I get that mathematically that is true, but this is and should be Lily Gladstone’s year, and when they said her name and I felt like Emma Stone looks celebrating for her, and then her speech made me cry:

Just give her her Oscar please

My favorite thing about Oppenheimer‘s ensemble win is that Josh Harnett and David Krumholtz were up on that stage, because they are both so great in that movie, and I’ve loved watching them since I was a kid, and I would them to work more, so they’re SAG Award winners now casting-agents of Hollywood!

Also, a brilliant decision to have exes Goldblum and Davis present, bring more divorced couples awkwardly together on stages!

Fashion wise it was a fun night! Even the boring dresses tended towards the pretty/pagent-y instead of the strange. Here were my best dressed:

Carey Mulligan in custom Armani Privé (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Colman Domingo in Off-White (Photo Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Mirielle Enos in Christian Siriano with Alan Ruck (Photo Credit: Chelsea Lauren/Shutterstock)

Hannah Waddingham in Tony Ward Couture with a cardboard clutch made by her daughter (Photo Credit: Variety via Getty Images)

Lily Gladstone in custom Armani Privé (Photo Credit: Jordan Strauss/Invision via Associated Press)

Meryl Streep in Prada (Photo Credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Lily Gladstone in Louis Vuitton (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Ali Wong in Iris van Herpen (Caroline Brehman/EPA, via Shutterstock)

America Ferrera in custom Dior (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Ariana Greenblatt in custom Vera Wang (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Da’Vine Joy Randolph in custom Valdrin Shahiti (Phot Credit: Getty Images)

Hello! For those of you who don’t follow me on Twitter or Threads missed the announcement that a delayed flight kept me from enjoying the Critics Choice Awards this year, so I don’t have a round up for that (love that Paul won, sad that Lily lost, Colman Domingo was the Best Dressed), but since the strike delayed the Emmys I didn’t have to wait long at all to get my awards show fix.

I don’t follow TV as closely as film so the Emmys aren’t always as fascinating for me, but I thought last night’s show was fun! I liked the 75th Anniversary reunions of classic shows (though I had a few gripes with how some of them went). My husband and I were finishing an episode of The Sopranos so I missed the monologue, but I liked the running gag of Anthony Anderson’s mom yelling “baby, I love you, but you gotta get off the stage” at people as opposed to playing them off. (Though I continue to be in the camp of acceptance speeches should be as long as they want, they are actually the point of the evening, if you don’t like them, you don’t like awards shows, which is a fine opinion to have, but I don’t think awards shows shows should be designed to try to appease people who fundamentally don’t like them.)

Anyway, my experience of the night started off emotionally with Christina Applegate being a badass:

And then Ayo! (She’s in Supporting here instead of Lead because The Bear awards last night were all for Season 1, because the eligibility calendar was for a show in September). Then Quinta! Which is a wonderful back to back to start the night:

Love Jennifer Coolidge, love that she has never once given a speech that didn’t have to be cut off, but she’s a great example here of my new awards show pet peeve – GIVE THE WINNERS SOMEWHERE TO PUT THEIR AWARDS – they need their hands sometimes and it is silly to make them put them on the ground!!!!

I’m happy for Matthew Macfayden, but I’m also glad that Succession being over means we will get him back in period pieces again soon:

Also love Pedro’s call out to the ongoing fake feud with Kieran Culkin this awards season.

I get that watching people from the same 2 shows win in almost every category got a little repetitive and I can’t speak to Succession, but The Bear is truly the best show on television at the moment in my opinion and I am so happy for both of these men:

Speaking of awards categories getting too predictable, I appreciate that they finally shift John Oliver out of the Talk Show category because what he does and what the every night late night shows do is fundamentally different. Have always loved his speeches:

I don’t like that the Dahmer show exists (I refuse to learn the strangely worded title correctly), but I am glad that Niecy Nash-Betts now has an Emmy:

Also – Marla Gibbs looks amazing!

I was too young to really be a Cheers person, but I feel like it was on enough in my childhood that it really warmed my heart to see them:

Can we get Brett Goldstein and Juno Temple together in another show? They’re so charming:

Also I know, I need to watch Beef

As an ER is better than Grey’s person (go ahead and fight me), and I don’t think you should get a “reunion” moment for a show that’s still on, I did like bringing Katherine Heigl back into the fold:

Wasn’t expecting a Lin Manuel Mirana speech from this guy, but it was a fun way to mix it up. Though SPIT OUT YOUR GUM! You are on national television, swallow it on the way to the stage!

I think the best presenting bit, by far, came from Amy and Tina returning to the Weekend Update set:

And now Elton is an EGOT!! So fun!

OK, OK, I’ll watch Beef:

Honestly sad that we only have one more potential Kieran Culkin speech:

Sarah Snook (whom – as I will always remind you – a girl in bar once said I look like) was adorable talking about her daughter:

I have really enjoyed how The Bear has been passing around who accepts for them, even though Matty went off the rails with it:

Congrats to the dramas next year that Succession will no longer be in your category!

Fashion wise, it was a pretty boring night, a lot of black and white, and dark velvets (I get it, it’s winter, but come on!) Here were my bright spots: