Anthony Anderson kicked off his hosting duties at Monday’s 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards with a musical number, paying homage to a number of TV classics, with an assist from Travis Barker.
The Black-ish star, 53, was host of the proceedings from the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles, which aired on Fox after being delayed for four months as result of last year’s entertainment industry strikes.
Anderson paid homage to the late Mr. Rogers as he entered the ceremony in a living room set, taking off a fur coat and putting on a black tuxedo coat.
‘Hello friends, and welcome to our beautiful Emmys neighborhood on this beautiful MLK Day,’ Anderson said, sitting down at a piano where he sang a medley of classic TV theme songs.
‘You know, I love television and tonight we celebrate 75 years of Emmys!’ he said. ‘We’re going to commemorate the greatest shows of today while paying tribute to some of the iconic series that mean so much to us. Simply put – television has shaped the world and more importantly, it shaped me.’
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 1 Anthony Anderson, 53, kicked off his hosting duties at Monday's 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards with a musical number, paying homage to a number of TV classics](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/16/02/80058451-12967191-image-m-85_1705371067308.jpg)
Anthony Anderson, 53, kicked off his hosting duties at Monday’s 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards with a musical number, paying homage to a number of TV classics
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 3 Anderson had an assist from Travis Barker, 48, on the musical medley he kicked things off with](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/16/02/80058635-12967191-image-a-86_1705371237061.jpg)
Anderson had an assist from Travis Barker, 48, on the musical medley he kicked things off with
He added: ‘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’d watch in my living room. It was just me, my TV, my piano and a small local diverse and inclusive choir from Compton.’
Among the tunes Anderson – who has been nominated for 11 Emmys in his career – sang in his set included the theme songs from shows including Good Times and The Facts of Life.
He said that characters from the latter show including Tootie (played by Kim Fields) and Mrs. Garrett (played by the late Charlotte Rae) were among his early crushes in life.
‘Now, TV gave me my first crush. I was watching Facts of Life when a beautiful girl with pigtails skated across my TV and stole my heart,’ Anderson said. ‘I love you Tootie!
‘But then I realized that Tootie wouldn’t really understand me. I needed someone grown and more refined. And there she was: Mrs. Garrett – now, she could teach me the facts of life.’
Anderson also sang the 1981 Phil Collins classic In The Air Tonight in an homage to the 80s series Miami Vice, which drummer Barker, 48, accompanied him on.
‘Give it up for Travis Barker!’ he said. ‘Hey, Travis, you can play at my wedding, man. You missed the first one. The second one. All right.’
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 7 Anderson paid homage to the late Mr. Rogers as he entered the ceremony in a living room set, taking off a fur coat and putting on a black tuxedo coat](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/16/02/80058485-12967191-image-a-87_1705371309849.jpg)
Anderson paid homage to the late Mr. Rogers as he entered the ceremony in a living room set, taking off a fur coat and putting on a black tuxedo coat
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 9 He said, 'Hello friends, and welcome to our beautiful Emmys neighborhood on this beautiful MLK Day'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/16/02/80058475-12967191-image-a-89_1705371422378.jpg)
He said, ‘Hello friends, and welcome to our beautiful Emmys neighborhood on this beautiful MLK Day’
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 11 Anderson sat down at a piano where he sang a medley of classic TV theme songs](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/16/02/80058489-12967191-image-a-90_1705371446442.jpg)
Anderson sat down at a piano where he sang a medley of classic TV theme songs
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 13 Among the tunes Anderson - who has been nominated for 11 Emmys in his career - sang in his set included the theme songs from shows including Good Times and The Facts of Life](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/16/02/80058479-12967191-image-a-91_1705371562165.jpg)
Among the tunes Anderson – who has been nominated for 11 Emmys in his career – sang in his set included the theme songs from shows including Good Times and The Facts of Life
Following the musical number, Anderson said that his mother Doris Bowman would be helping him alert winners if their speeches ran too long amid 27 awards set to be handed out.
‘Tonight we’re giving out 27 awards; that means 27 acceptance speeches,’ he said. ‘So I’d like to ask you all to keep those speeches tight.
‘Now, normally on awards shows we do what’s called “Playoff music” which everyone tends to ignore. But this year I’ve got something that nobody can ignore: My momma.’
Anderson continued: ‘Tonight, my momma, she is going to be the Emmys’ “Playoff momma” – when you see my momma coming, just thank Jesus and your family and wrap it up. Alright now, that’s enough.
‘I don’t want nobody to get disrespectful with my momma, because my momma is from the west side of Chicago and she can throw hands.’
Anderson made his debut as the host alongside an all-Black executive producer team for the first time in Emmy history.
The 75th Emmy Awards took place at the Peacock Theater in downtown Los Angeles on Monday evening.
The strike-delayed ceremony gathers Hollywood’s biggest stars as they celebrate the best of primetime television over the year of 2023.
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 15 A curtain rose to reveal Barker surrounded by his drum set](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/16/02/80058631-12967191-image-a-92_1705371629500.jpg)
A curtain rose to reveal Barker surrounded by his drum set
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 17 Anderson also sang the 1981 Phil Collins classic In The Air Tonight in an homage to the 80s series Miami Vice, which drummer Travis Barker accompanied him on](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/16/02/80058493-12967191-image-a-93_1705371634382.jpg)
Anderson also sang the 1981 Phil Collins classic In The Air Tonight in an homage to the 80s series Miami Vice, which drummer Travis Barker accompanied him on
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 19 Anderson said, 'Give it up for Travis Barker! Hey, Travis, you can play at my wedding, man. You missed the first one. The second one. All right.'](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/16/02/80058491-12967191-image-a-94_1705371644032.jpg)
Anderson said, ‘Give it up for Travis Barker! Hey, Travis, you can play at my wedding, man. You missed the first one. The second one. All right.’
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 21 Anderson posed with his mother Doris Bowman during entrances Monday in LA](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/16/02/80060253-12967191-image-m-99_1705371851583.jpg)
Anderson posed with his mother Doris Bowman during entrances Monday in LA
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 23 Barker and his wife Kourtney Kardashian posed during entrances at the event](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/16/02/80058637-12967191-image-a-95_1705371654165.jpg)
Barker and his wife Kourtney Kardashian posed during entrances at the event
Jason Bateman, Quinta Brunson, Stephen Colbert, Jon Cryer, Jodie Foster, Jon Hamm, Ken Jeong, Joel McHale are among the stars announced to take the stage on Monday.
And the nominees include Pedro Pascal, Hannah Waddingham, Keri Russell, Jeff Bridges, Kevin Hart, Elisabeth Moss, Kieran Culkin and Bob Odenkirk.
Due to the industry strikes, the Emmys were postponed to 2024 on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday in the United States and arrives in the heels of the Golden Globes.
Like at the Globes — which celebrated 2023’s top films and television shows on January 7 — Succession dominates most categories.
At this year’s Emmys, Succession leads nominations with 27 nods. The Last of Us follows closely behind with 24, The White Lotus with 23, and Ted Lasso with 21.
Succession is in the running for the Outstanding Drama Series for the third time after previously winning the title in 2020 and 2022. The series’ stars Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox are up against each other for Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama series. Their co-star, Sarah Snook, is also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama.
The Last of Us star Pedro Pascal is up for lead actor in a drama while his co-star, Bella Ramsey, is nominated for lead actress.
Bad Sisters’ Sharon Horgan, Yellowjackets’ Melanie Lynskey, The Handmaid’s Tale’s Elisabeth Moss and The Diplomat’s Keri Russell are also in the same category for best leading actress in a drama.
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 25 Guests take photographs on the red carpet prior to the start of arrivals for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, January 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/15/21/80048861-12966283-image-a-51_1705353591724.jpg)
Guests take photographs on the red carpet prior to the start of arrivals for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards on Monday, January 15, 2024, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 27 At this year's Emmys, Succession leads nominations with 27 nods. The series' stars Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox are up against each other for Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama series. Their co-star Sarah Snook is also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/15/19/78609737-0-Succession_followed_with_an_impressive_five_nominations_overall_-a-1_1705348680459.jpg)
At this year’s Emmys, Succession leads nominations with 27 nods. The series’ stars Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong and Brian Cox are up against each other for Outstanding Lead Actor in a drama series. Their co-star Sarah Snook is also nominated for Outstanding Lead Actress in a drama
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 29 The Last of Us received 24 nominations. Pedro Pascal is up for lead actor in a drama while his co-star Bella Ramsey is nominated for lead actress](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/15/21/79811839-12966283-The_Last_of_Us_received_24_nominations_Pedro_Pascal_is_up_for_le-a-49_1705353409565.jpg)
The Last of Us received 24 nominations. Pedro Pascal is up for lead actor in a drama while his co-star Bella Ramsey is nominated for lead actress
![Anthony Anderson starts his hosting duties for the 2024 Emmys with a musical performance featuring Travis Barker on drums 31 The Bear duo Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri are also up for lead actor and supporting actress, respectively, for their roles in the restaurant dramedy's debut season. Due to the industry strikes and delay, the first season of The Bear is in the contending rather than the second season, which was released this past summer](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/01/15/21/80043431-12966283-The_Bear_duo_Jeremy_Allen_White_and_Ayo_Edebiri_are_also_up_for_-a-50_1705353409603.jpg)
The Bear duo Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri are also up for lead actor and supporting actress, respectively, for their roles in the restaurant dramedy’s debut season. Due to the industry strikes and delay, the first season of The Bear is in the contending rather than the second season, which was released this past summer
The Bear’s duo Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri are also up for lead actor and supporting actress, respectively, for their roles in the restaurant dramedy’s debut season.
Due to the industry strikes and delay, the first season of The Bear is in the contending rather than the second season, which was released this past summer.
For that reason, many of nominated television shows, which were released up to 19 months ago, are now receiving their moment.
Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story is up for Outstanding Limited Or Anthology Series against Beef, Daisy Jones & The Six, Fleishman Is In Trouble and Obi-Wan Kenobi.
For Outstanding Comedy Series, The Bear is up against Ted Lasso as well as Abbott Elementary, Barry, Jury Duty, Only Murders In The Building, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Wednesday.
At this year’s award show, there will be a series of cast reunions and recreations to honor and commemorate beloved, classic television series like The Sopranos, Cheers, I Love Lucy and All In The Family.
Stars from Grey’s Anatomy, American Horror Story and Ally McBeal will also reunite onstage while presenting awards at the Emmys.
Fan-favorite comedians and presenter duo Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, who is also nominated for Outstanding Host of a Reality or Competition Program, will also take the stage at the award ceremony.
The show will kick off at 5 p.m. PT and can be streamed live on Fox or FXX through streaming services such as Hulu + Live TV, Sling, DirecTV, YouTube TV and FuboTV.
The day after the award ceremony, the Emmys will be available to stream on Hulu.
The first Emmy Award was held back in 1949 to celebrate the artistic and technical merit for the television industry.