By Jami Ganz, New York Daily News
Anthony Anderson kicked off the 75th Primetime Emmys with a bang — though a much less controversial one than that of last weekend’s Golden Globes.
The 53-year-old host, who boasts 11 Primetime Emmy nominations of his own, opened the show by narrating — and playing piano for — a skit honoring some of TV’s most notable series.
The “Black-ish” star previously teased that a tribute to iconic television shows — with the help of stars from “Cheers” and “The Sopranos” — would be a part of the ceremony.
“Welcome to our Emmys neighborhood, on this beautiful MLK Day. I love television and tonight we celebrate 75 years of Emmys. We’re going to commemorate the greatest shows of today,” Anderson began, noting the night would also honor the classics that paved the way for the modern landscape of the small screen. “Television has helped shape the world, and more importantly, it helped shape me.”
The shows highlighted by Anderson included the likes of “Good Times,” “The Facts of Life,” and “Miami Vice” — which saw Anderson and drummer Travis Barker doing a rendition of Phil Collins’ “In the Air Tonight.”
“Tonight, we’re giving out 27 awards,” Anderson also said. “That means 27 acceptance speeches. So I’d like to ask you all to keep those speeches tight.”
He jokingly warned his mother, Doris Bowman, would help ensure that happens — replacing playoff music with the role of “Playoff Mama.”
After Bowman demonstrated her ability to get even her son off the stage, Anderson brought out first presenter — and Best Actress in a Comedy Series nominee — Christina Applegate (“Dead to Me”). The Emmy winner, who suffers from multiple sclerosis, was given a standing ovation as she was walked out.
Anderson’s monologue, much like the Emmys themselves, proved far more buttoned-up than Jo Koy’s at the Golden Globes, with the stand-up’s gig slammed as everything from “sexist” to a “comedic disaster.”
