Donald Glover Owned the Night at the Emmy Awards

It is a shame that Teddy Perkins never got his emmy

So my subject for my piece today is a bit off the wall. I just wanted to put that out there before I really dug deep into what I want to talk about today.

I do not watch any awards shows. We live in an era where I just look up on my phone or computer the next day to see who won the awards that I have an interest in. Also, I find award shows tedious and boring. They go on for too long and some speeches are ridiculous, and the people I want to hear speak never seem to get the time that others do. I'm not a fan. All of it is just too much and too crazy. I do like to see who won some of the awards, as I said earlier. I knew that the Emmy's were on last night, due to Twitter and Facebook research, but I did not watch. When I woke up this morning, I reminded myself that I wanted to see who won some of the awards. But, I was greeted by some way, way cooler info when I searched on the internet about something that happened at the Emmy's last night.

So, as you all know very well by now, I think the show "Atlanta" is one of the very best things that has been on TV in some time. I also wrote an entire article attributed to their very best episode from this past season, "Teddy Perkins". It was one of the wildest, horrifying, scary, best acted and directed 40 minutes plus of TV that I have ever witnessed. I still think about that episode from time to time on the daily. It just sits with me. I have watched it multiple times too, trying to see things I missed, or just because it is so different and great from anything else on TV, including other great episodes of "Atlanta". "Teddy Perkins" has its own place in history as great television.

So, when I saw that someone, not Donald Glover, was dressed and sitting at the awards as Teddy Perkins last night, I was super intrigued. From what I have read, and watched in clips, it was just as weird and nuts as I hoped it would be. I mean, Teddy Perkins is a scary looking dude. So, to see someone dressed as him, sitting among TV's best actors and actresses, it was amazing. And, to hear his voice, see his creepy smile and check out the wild clothes he was wearing, it was a treat.

The more I have read and seen this morning, it makes me appreciate what Donald Glover continues to do, and how he continues to capitalize on this moment being his moment right now. Donald Glover is a genius. His music, as Childish Gambino, I cannot get enough of it. I have written, and will write more, about how great his musical career is/was. I have also made it abundantly clear how great of an actor, producer, writer and director I think he is. He is winning at everything he does lately. He is smart enough to know when to capitalize on a moment, and one of those moments was last night. "Atlanta" was up for a bunch of stuff. He knew there would be a ton of eyeballs on him, his show and people watching on their TV's at home. I'm sure he met with many of the people that work on the show with him, mainly Huro Murai, and they all decided that they needed to do something that would be talked about all night, the next day and the next day. So, they had someone go to the awards show dressed as the most memorable character from their best episode of last season. I mean, this is a big deal. I get why everyone is talking about it today, including me. Seeing Teddy Perkins at the awards last night makes me want to go out and watch that episode again today, which I probably will do.

This was a genius move of marketing. This was a genius way to keep his name, and his show, in the news. This was a genius piece of taking example of our current culture and just going with it. I love that Glover and his people did this. I love that the Teddy Perkins character was at the Emmy's and that is the first thing people are talking about when bringing up the show last night. I love this kind of guerrilla marketing that Glover and the people involved with "Atlanta" are doing right now. They are so far ahead of the curve, it is almost unfair to every other show.

Seeing Teddy Perkins at the Emmy’s was amazing, I will always remember this, and I'm so happy that a person I admire very much did something so cool and innovative at a major award sow last night. I know this isn't the first time, and it definitely won't be the last time, but my hat goes off to you once again Mr. Glover. You are a genius, and I am grateful that I get to enjoy all of your content. I cannot wait to see what you do next. But, this Teddy Perkins thing was a stroke of genius. I mean, wow.

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast. He once played a computer in a play written by the Head Editor. At next year’s Emmys look for Ty to be rocking his Banana Jr 2000 cardboard box costume.

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