25 best award show hosts
By Reed Gaudens
18. Jane Lynch
Show: 63rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (2011)
Memorable Moments: There’s two kinds of award show openings: the over-long gimmick musical number and the paint-by-numbers stand-up monologue. Both have the chance to be great or boring. Jane Lynch’s over-long gimmick musical number that opened the 2011 Emmy Awards happened to be great. The pre-taped segment imagined a world where every TV show reside in the same apartment building and featured cameos from The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation, and Mad Men stars. Lynch even confronted her spiteful Glee character Sue Sylvester.
Public Reception: More often than not, it’s hard for an Emmy Awards telecast to receive the praise of the series its honoring. In 2011, the Emmys were widely met with an underwhelming response from critics, though Jane Lynch’s performance as the host was consistently lauded. She opened the show with an energetic celebration of television and kept the show running with pointed one-liners and other hilarious pre-taped segments.
Why They’re One of the Best: There are some stars who have an innately likable quality about them, and Jane Lynch is one of them — despite winning an Emmy for playing one of television’s most unlikable characters. She quickly gained a reputation for being a scene-stealer in whatever she lends her talent to. As Sue on Glee, she chewed the scenery and as the Emmy-winning host of Hollywood Game Night, she’s equally compelling. Landing on a list of the best award show hosts isn’t so much as an achievement but a given for the always incredible Jane Lynch.