Emmys 2016: Dennis Franz appearance lost on the crowd

Tonight, host Jimmy Kimmel promised a surprise at the end of the Primetime Emmy Awards, and he was right — Dennis Franz joined Jimmy Smits in order to present the Outstanding Drama Series award.

Yet, at the same time, something shocking happened: Almost nobody got up to applaud like they would with some other legends, and it is annoying given that Franz is one of the biggest TV acting legends of the past several decades. He’s also one of the most private.

For more than 200 episodes, the actor was a staple of “NYPD Blue,” and known for consistently delivering excellent drama. He had many credits before that, but after that, there hasn’t been too much. Specifically, there hasn’t been anything. While he has occasionally appeared in various documentaries, he has not made a significant appearance on an awards show like this in years. He hasn’t acted since “NYPD Blue” ended. Could this be a sign of a comeback, or just a chance to remind viewers of how awesome he was there? It’s hard to stay.

Still, we do like where the Emmys are going with their surprise last presenters. Last year, Tracy Morgan made an appearance after his horrible car accident, and it was heartwarming. This one, meanwhile, relied more on nostalgia. We’ll have to see if anything more comes from it, but it would have been so much nicer to see Franz get a better ovation than he did. (Note that we’re only speaking for the people who were on camera in the crowd — we couldn’t see everyone in the auditorium by any means.)

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