Emmys Host Anthony Anderson Opens Night With Classic TV Themes, Travis Barker & His Mom

Good or bad, the opening of an awards show is going to have people talking. And in the case of the 2023 Emmys for host Anthony Anderson, he didn’t play, delivering an entertaining monologue that set the stage for a fun night (and showing he didn’t have to include scathing remarks about the shows or talent being honored).

Anderson was joined by Blink 182’s Travis Barker and his mother, Doris Bowman, to kick off the night. “We’re going to commemorate the greatest shows of today while paying tribute to some of the iconic series that much mean so much to us,” he explained. “Simply put, television has shaped the world, and more importantly, it’s shaped me. Now, I have learned a great deal about life from my mother. She taught me everything I know. But I also learned a lot from the television shows that I watched growing up. I watched in my living room. It was just me, my TV, my piano, and a small, local, diverse, and inclusive choir from Compton. Yeah, you’re probably wondering why I have the white dude in the choir. Fun fact: Kevin Costner is from Compton. I wonder if he was a Crip or a Blood. Who knows? Yellowstone!”

Anderson then spoke about learning about “the importance of family, a dynamite catch phrase and spinoff money” from Good Times. Without it, there would be “no black-ish, no grown-ish, no mixed-ish, none of that -ish.” That set up a performance of the show’s theme.

Next, he spoke about TV giving him his first crush watching The Facts of Life to set up that theme’s performance. “I love you, Tootie,” he said. “But then I realized that Tootie wouldn’t really understand me. I needed someone grown and more refined and there she was: Mrs. Garrett. Mm-hmm, now she could teach me the facts of life.”

“Now, Momma said if I wanted a grown and mature woman, I needed to get cool. I didn’t know what she meant by that until Miami Vice taught me all I needed was a tanned, white friend and a cool white jacket. It’s crazy to think Philip Michael Thomas coined the phrase EGOT. Damnit, he ain’t got one.” It’s with that theme song that Barker joined on the drums.

Anderson then introduced the awards show and noted that since they’re giving out 27 awards, that means 27 acceptance speeches, so everyone has to keep the speeches “tight.” And rather than play-off music, they had “something that nobody can ignore: my momma. Tonight, my momma is going to be the Emmys play off momma. When you see my momma coming, just thank Jesus and your family and wrap it up. and I don’t want nobody to get disrespectful with my momma because my momma is from the west side of Chicago —” But that’s when Bowman cut him off because she wanted to get to the afterparty. “You’re supposed to be yelling at the other people, not at me, not in the middle of the monologue,” he argued. “Time’s up, baby” she said. “Cut to the chase.”

“See what I mean? My momma don’t play,” Anderson pointed out. Now that’s how you kick off an awards show. Watch the full opening above.