Emmys 2017: Stephen Colbert mocks Game of Thrones, Donald Trump in monologue

The 2017 Emmys are now upon us, and going into the evening, we were very much excited to see one thing: Stephen Colbert as the host.

We thought that the show would open up with something that was completely political, and there were a few moments of that. Yet, we would actually compare this more to when Jimmy Fallon was the host of the show. This was a big musical number complete with references to The Handmaid’s Tale, Veep, This Is Us, and a wide array of other shows. It was fun! We’re not sure that this will reinvent the wheel insofar as great entertainment goes.

As for Colbert’s opening monologue, the best joke came when he told everyone to thank Game of Thrones for not being eligible for awards this year. On an emotional level, Colbert also chose to help out those in need by sharing a message for those to give back to those in need following Hurricane Harvey and Irma. He also joked about a number of other shows, whether it be Stranger Things (a hokey crack at Millie Bobby Brown) and the aforementioned This Is Us (pleading to Milo Ventimiglia to tell him how Jack died).

Oh, and of course Colbert got in a Donald Trump crack by making it clear that he is probably watching the show. He also blamed the Emmys for not giving a trophy to Trump, stating that had they done that, there is a pretty good chance that he wouldn’t have run for President. Do we wish that there was an awards show that wouldn’t have to be about Trump in 2017? Sure, but at the same time it’s a huge part of the world we live in right now.

As for the cameo from Sean Spicer? Gold. Kudos to him for going there. We also enjoyed the appearance from Spicer on Jimmy Kimmel Live! more than we thought that we would — we don’t love the guy’s politics, but at least he’s game to be mocked here and there.

In the end, we do think that this was a really good introduction to the show, and one that offered up a chance to get a few laughs courtesy of the Late Show host. There were cameos aplenty, and we did appreciate the number of TV references that we got in a short period of time. We do wish that Stephen went a little bit harder, other than of course the Bill Maher joke that he made after listing off all of the African-American nominees. (Oh, and also the Joe Arpaio joke that he made about the Latin Grammys.)

What do you think about Stephen Colbert’s opening for the 2017 Emmys? Be sure to share in the comments below!