It’s a shame that Nate Bargatze didn’t become the most in-demand stand-up comedian sooner, because he was a natural on stage as the host of the 2025 Emmy Awards. The two-time Saturday Night Live host switched up the traditional Emmys format and opened the show with a skit about the fictional inventor of television—much like his “Washington’s Dream” SNL sketch—where he poked fun at today’s incredibly silly and frustrating slate of TV shows.
“We’ll have a food network for food, a travel channel for travel, and a history channel for aliens.” he joked. He also poked fun at streaming, which he called “a new way for companies to lose money” by making countless shows about murderers. The skit also featured SNL‘s Bowen Yang, Mikey Day, and James Austin Johnson, with jokes about Yellowstone and CBS being named the “Caucasian Broadcasting Network.” The celebrity crowd was into it as well—which is no longer a given following Jo Koy’s sadly flat performance hosting the 2024 Grammy Awards.
After Seth Rogen won the award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy, Bargatze asked for celebrities to keep their speeches under forty-five seconds. He pledged to donate thousands to the Boys & Girls Club of America—out of his own pocket—if they kept their speeches under the time limit. The crowd seemed to love the idea until Bargatze introduced the catch: he would deduct from the total if they went over. Luckily, Rogen unknowingly stayed under the limit, meaning that the celebrity audience could cheer as Bargatze’s $100,000 contribution rose up to $106,000. Phew!
Before the show, Bargatze told celebrity.land that he was simply planning to “stick to just what I do” and not pin too many of his jokes on specific celebrities in the audience. “I’m going to fit along with what award shows do and make fun of the situation—but I’ll make fun of myself as well,” he continued. “I want the night to just be fun and silly and keep it moving.”
Last year, the Tennessee comedian who prides himself on a clean show full of family-friendly material sold more tickets on his tour than anyone else in comedy. In an era where political humor and playing to your base is just one way to rise to the top, one of Bargatze’s most popular jokes is about how a Starbucks employee got his order wrong.
When Bargatze told Esquire about the Emmys announcement in May, he joked, “Well, the election probably helped.” True to his word, it’s possible that Hollywood executives were drawn to his brand of apolitical comedy. But according to Marc Maron, who once brought Bargatze on tour with him as his opener, “He’s bigger than what’s going on socially.”
“I need you to be able to trust that when your kids are in the car, you can play my album and you’re not having to think, Let me make sure there’s nothing I don’t want to have a conversation about right now,” Bargatze continued. “There’s a trust.”
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.esquire.com ’
