MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
On Sunday, the Television Academy will hand out prime-time Emmy Awards. This time, comedian Nate Bargatze will host the show that will air live on CBS and Paramount+. For a preview, we're joined by NPR correspondent Mandalit del Barco, who will be covering this ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. Welcome, Mandalit.
MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE: Thank you.
MARTIN: Kind of jealous. I'll just let it go.
DEL BARCO: (Laughter).
MARTIN: Look, I take it that people kind of know who the frontrunners are already. Is that true?
DEL BARCO: Yeah, well, you know, first of all, Season 2 of the science fiction thriller "Severance." Remember, that's the dystopian drama where office workers' memories are divided between their corporate and their personal lives. Well, that Apple TV+ series already won six Creative Arts Emmy Awards last weekend. And on Sunday, it's up for Outstanding Drama, competing against shows like "The White Lotus," "The Pitt," and "The Last Of Us."
MARTIN: And what about Outstanding Comedy?
DEL BARCO: Yeah, frontrunner for that is Seth Rogen's satire of Hollywood, "The Studio." Rogan is cocreator, co-executive producer. And he was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series. He plays the earnest but very frantic head of a movie studio.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE STUDIO")
SETH ROGEN: (As Matt Remick) You know, I love movies. But now I have this fear that my job is to ruin them.
MARTIN: (Laughter) OK.
DEL BARCO: (Laughter) This first season of "The Studio" featured a lot of famous guest stars, including Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard, who played themselves. "The Studio" already picked up nine Creative Arts Emmy Awards last weekend, including one for guest star Bryan Cranston.
MARTIN: So what else are you keeping an eye on at the ceremony?
DEL BARCO: Well, there's a lot of attention on Owen Cooper from the Netflix series "Adolescence" The first-time British actor is nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series for playing a 13-year-old accused of murdering his classmate.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "ADOLESCENCE")
OWEN COOPER: (As Jamie Miller) Dad, I haven't done anything.
MARTIN: Wow.
DEL BARCO: "Adolescence" is up against other limited series. "Dying For Sex," "Black Mirror," "Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story" and "The Penguin."
MARTIN: So, Mandalit, let's talk about the late night shows. You know, obviously people know them for their jokes and their interviews. But there's a lot of drama behind one of the nominees. Do you want to tell us about that?
DEL BARCO: Yeah, well, as you know, CBS canceled "Late Night With Stephen Colbert" (ph) despite it being the top-rated late night show. And when Colbert shared the news with his live audience, they booed.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT")
UNIDENTIFIED AUDIENCE: (Booing).
STEPHEN COLBERT: Yeah, I share your feelings. It's not just the end of our show, but it's the end of "The Late Show" on CBS. I'm not being replaced. This is all just going away.
DEL BARCO: And, you know, that decision came shortly after CBS paid $16 million to settle a lawsuit against the network show "60 Minutes." It was filed by Donald Trump, who Colbert regularly skewers in his monologues. Well, CBS says ending Colbert's show was a purely financial decision. But it happened just as the parent company, Paramount, was finalizing a deal with Skydance and was under federal scrutiny. You know, other late night hosts have rallied behind the show. Jon Stewart accused Paramount of trying to censor and control Colbert. And Jimmy Kimmel took out a billboard in LA asking voters to give the Emmy to Stephen Colbert.
MARTIN: Wow, that's something. So tell us a little bit about the host of the Emmys this year, Nate Bargatze.
DEL BARCO: Yeah, he's a comedian, a short story writer, a podcaster. He was nominated for an Emmy for his 2024 Netflix stand-up special. Bargatze talked to Stephen Colbert about emceeing the Emmys, and here's what he said.
(SOUNDBITE OF TV SHOW, "THE LATE SHOW WITH STEPHEN COLBERT")
NATE BARGATZE: I want everybody to have a good time and try to make it as lively and fun as a moment. And I'll make fun of me.
DEL BARCO: The Atlantic called Bargatze the nicest man in stand-up, so we'll see what kind of jokes he makes at the Emmy Awards.
MARTIN: That is NPR's Mandalit del Barco. Mandalit, thank you.
DEL BARCO: Thank you. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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