Nate Bargatze Dodges His Emmys Monologue Duties

"Despite being one of the biggest touring stand-ups in the world, it wasn't until Nate Bargatze hosted SNL twice that he was given the opportunity to host a major awards show. It's fitting, then, that Bargatze opened the 2025 Emmys on September 14 with a riff on "Washington's Dream," the viral SNL sketch responsible for raising his public profile another notch. In the sketch, co-starring SNL's Bowen Yang, James Austin Johnson, and Mikey Day, Bargatze plays the inventor of television,"

"But the premise is more or less an excuse to make monologue jokes, which Bargatze did about everything from Severance 's confusing story line to the decidedly noneducational programming offered on the Learning Channel. Broadly, the sketch keeps it light. Emmy network CBS is referred to as the "Caucasian Broadcast System," streaming services are referred to as "a new way to lose money," and the shows that will one day be nominated for Emmys are derided as "not even close""

"Following the sketch, Stephen Colbert took the stage to present the award for Best Actor in a Comedy Series, ostensibly so Bargatze could change into his tuxedo before returning to the stage to deliver his monologue in earnest. But rather than continue to tell jokes, Bargatze spent the majority of his short stint onstage explaining the system he'd devised to keep acceptance speeches short, which he'd already detailed on Jimmy Kimmel Live earlier in the week."

Nate Bargatze opened the 2025 Emmys with a riff on the viral SNL sketch "Washington's Dream," performing alongside Bowen Yang, James Austin Johnson, and Mikey Day. Bargatze portrayed the inventor of television and used the sketch as a vehicle for monologue jokes about shows such as Severance and the Learning Channel. The sketch included jabs like calling CBS the "Caucasian Broadcast System" and calling streaming "a new way to lose money." Stephen Colbert briefly presented an award while Bargatze changed, after which Bargatze explained a pledge to donate $100,000 to the Boys and Girls Club and a penalty system tied to acceptance speech length.

Read at Vulture