For its 30th anniversary, the Screen Actors Guild Awards celebrated by moving to Netflix. Fortunately, the streamer has learned a lot about putting on a live show since last year’s “live” Love Is Blind reunion fiasco. Though there was one brief power outage on the red carpet, the rest of the evening played out like a normal awards show — there were funny flubs, flat banter, sweet speeches, cast reunions, and a really long speech by Fran Drescher. Read on for the peaks and valleys of the 2024 SAG Awards.
BEST: Meryl (almost) falls for Idris
Netflix
Sure, Meryl Streep’s reunion with her Devil Wears Prada costars Emily Blunt and Anne Hathaway was cute. But it was truly adorable to see how flummoxed even a three-time Oscar winner gets in the presence of thee Idris Elba. Striding on stage with confidence, Streep gave Elba a big smooch on the cheek — and then promptly walked straight into the microphone. Girl, we get it.
WORST: The ‘no commercial breaks’ lie
Netflix
“Streaming means no commercials, no breaks, so we’re going to be going for two hours, nonstop,” Idris Elba told the crowd at the top of the ceremony. Idris, we hate to call you a liar, but “nonstop” implies no momentum-killing breaks… and there’s no other way to describe those “backstage with Tan” interludes, in which the Queer Eye star made time-filling banter with a winner. (Sample: “Have you seen Cynthia Erivo? Her body is nuts — she is shredded.”) Why on earth would they do this, you ask? According to New York Times reporter Kyle Buchanan, it’s so the streamer will have space to plug in commercials for viewers who subscribe to their ad tier.
BEST: Barbra brings the house down before even saying a word
Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images; Netflix
There are stars, and then there are those celebrity supernovas who leave even the biggest stars starstruck. This year’s Life Achievement Award recipient falls into the latter category. All Barbra Streisand had to do was walk out on stage — and she had the audience eating out of her hand. Anne Hathaway was crying, Jennifer Aniston was crying, we were at home on our couch crying. Okay, yes, her speech was… long, and maybe a little dull. But she’s Barbra — she has earned the right to bore us. Even so, our hearts belong to her.
BEST AND WORST: Fran Drescher, Prophet of the AI Apocalypse
Netflix
Look, as the president of SAG-AFTRA — a union that endured a 118-day long strike and came away with “a historic” new contract in December — you can’t blame Fran Drescher for continuing her victory lap on the SAG Awards stage. But her speech took an unexpected turn into doomsaying at about the halfway point. “AI WILL ENTRAP US IN A MATRIX WHERE NONE OF US KNOW WHAT’S REAL,” she boomed. “Dystopian stories can also become self-fulfilling prophecy.” She’s not wrong, of course. And she did end her speech by making a little heart with her hands. But Drescher’s decision to issue this ominous warning at an awards show where everyone just wants to drink champagne and take home prizes had real “Ma’am, this is a Wendy’s” energy.
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