When A Good Idea Becomes A Bad Joke: Recapping the biggest mistake the Emmys may have ever seen

When A Good Idea Becomes A Bad Joke: Recapping the biggest mistake the Emmys may have ever seen

Sometimes, a joke can seem funny the first time you think about it. An idea pops into your head and it can make you laugh and laugh and you think it’s the most creative and hilarious idea you have ever come up with. It’s only after a little time passes that you realize that while they may be elements that are comical, the crux of the idea as a whole was a stinker and this was one of those things that needed a person to tell you, “Hey… let’s really think about why you think this is funny and what it’s about.”

This is exactly what happened when comedian Nate Bargatze hosted Sunday night’s Emmy awards. Bargatze, last year’s highest-grossing comedian and someone I believe is one of the best joke craftsmen working today, brought with him a through-line that he believed was going o be the star of the broadcast. However, what happened was the joke fell flat, he was wildly criticized, and television’s biggest night became the kind of thing where you had to cover your eyes every time the host stepped onstage.

Let’s talk about what happened, why it didn’t work, and the easy way to have made the joke a lot funnier.


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An open letter to comedy…

An open letter to comedy…

My name is Matt Drufke and I have been doing standup comedy while based in the Chicago suburbs for almost eighteen years. I love being a suburban comedian. I have always found the scene out here so supportive and caring and filled with people who care as much about how you’re doing as they care about how much you make them laugh. And perhaps this is why I find myself needing to write this. Because something happened this week and it bothered me enough where I wanted to write this.

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