Jimmy Kimmel delivers first pandemic-era monologue at Emmys 2020 to fake audience

As Jimmy Kimmel returned to the hosting duties of Emmys 2020, his opening monologue for the virtual television award ceremony was all about having “fun” in the pandemic.

Kimmel, who has previously hosted the 64th and 68th editions in 2012 and 2016, started this year’s ceremony by welcoming the audiences at home to “Pand-Emmys”.

“Wow, it’s great to finally see people again. Thank you for risking everything to be here. Thank me for risking everything to be here. You know what they say, ‘You can’t have a virus without a host’,” Kimmel said in what looked like a usual monologue, full of laughter and reaction shots of a star-studded audience.

The host, however, soon revealed that the audience laughter and celebrity shots were from the previous ceremonies.

“Of course we don’t have an audience. This isn’t a MAGA rally,” he quipped.

It was announced in July that the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards would be held virtually this year due to COVID-19, with nominees attending the ceremony from their homes.

Kimmel said it might seem frivolous and unnecessary to organise an awards show during a global pandemic, but it is fun and “we need fun”.

"This has been a miserable year. This has been a year of division, injustice, disease, zoom school, disaster and death.

“We’ve been quarantined and locked down. We’ve been confined to our homes like prisoners in a dark and lonely tunnel, and what did we find in that dark and lonely tunnel? I’ll tell you what we found: a friend who is there for us 24 hours a day. Our old pal, television,” he said.

During the monologue Kimmel was joined by actor Jason Bateman in an empty room, decorated with cutouts of this year’s nominees.

Bateman, however, left soon after the host said he could only stay if he promised to laugh at all his jokes.

Kimmel remotely hosted the ceremony from a stage inside the Staples Center.