No Emmy for Megan

Iamp8217ll admit at first glance this amp8220showamp8221 didnamp8217t seem like much of anything to me let alone something that was worth the intense hype surrounding itamp160 But then as if Stockholm Syndrome was finally setting in I began to see the genius of it allamp160 Megan essentially created a show that took the air out of the whole Emmy thing a show with virtually no rules and legitimately got herself two nominationsamp160 How did she do itamp160 Simpleamp160 She just followed the rulesamp160 She also mounted a topnotch social media initiative especially on Twitter where she kicked off the AnEmmyforMegan campaignIn the very first episode Megan states the requirements for Emmy consideration out loud1 Her submission had to be uploaded by April 27 20182 The show must be scripted3 There had to be at least six episodesThe minimum requirements wereare about as minimal as they could possibly getamp160 So how does Megan use this to her advantageamp160 Well she doesnamp8217t really seem to at firstamp160 Right off the bat Megan establishes a very offthecuff kind of feel for the showamp160 Sure she has things that a real production would have a boom operator PAs proper lighting etc but itamp8217s the seemingly improvised conversations that give the whole thing a real amp8220Sheamp8217s just fkinamp8217 around in front of a cameraamp8221 vibeamp160 Combine that with the fact that 95 of this amp8220showamp8221 is shot in her home and that each episodeamp8217s running time falls anywhere between two and seven minutes and it all starts to paint a pretty underwhelming pictureamp160 I mean literally anybody with a smartphone can dick around in front of a camera rightSo what makes this show so special amp160That is the question that finally brought me to the realization that Megan Amram is a goddamn geniusFirst there seems to be a correlation between the level of notoriety that each of her guest stars have and what order she happens to have them on a fact that she hid by making it all look so random amp160Her first guest is Alison Rich The Goldbergs Resident Advisors amp160Sheamp8217s followed by Meganamp8217s PAsfriends writer Brian Polk and Westworldamp8217s Shannon Woodward amp160In the next episode she takes things back down to a slightly more relatable level by bringing in her amp8220reallife manageramp8221 Cliff Murray and using him as a straight man as she further establishes her overthetop brand of comedyThen of course thereamp8217s the amp8220diversityamp8221 episode where fictionalized Megan showcases what appears to be her only black friend writer Ira Madison III amp160She doubles down on this joke when Ira ends up being 99 of the showamp8217s black cast amp160The other one percent is courtesy of a tensecond appearance by RuPaul later in the episodeamp160 That39s followed by the fourth episode comprised of glowingly positive celebrity testimonialsamp160 These ainamp8217t your average endorsements either amp160These are Alisters baby Ted Danson JJ Abrams Rian Johnson Jimmy Kimmel Seth Rogen Itamp8217s ridiculousThe fame level of her guest stars also seemed to change based on what the focus of the episode was amp160Focusing on Megan singing a hilariously terrible version of the StarSpangled Banner amp160Bring on her lesserknowntothepublic friend and twotime Emmy winning writer Rachel Axler amp160Taking the spotlight off Megan all together amp160Cue the household names like RuPaul Jimmy Kimmel and Alan YangThis is about when I had my epiphany amp160As someone who was not initially aware of exactly who Megan was other than some funny lady I followed on Twitter I had a million questions as AEFM began and progressed amp160How did this woman meet all these famous people amp160How the hell did she get Abrams Johnson and Kimmel in on the same bit amp160How could she possibly think that the judges at the Emmy Awards would feel anything other than offense at her blatant trivialization of their coveted honor amp160Then it hit me tonofbricks style Rule No 2 The show must be scriptedMegan had done the impossible amp160She told us a fact an unchangeable condition of her showamp8217s premise and then instantly made us forget it amp160Her nonsensical comedy the eclectic guest appearances the varying length of the episodes these were all tools she used to redirect our attention from the truth amp160The truth being that there wasnamp8217t a chance in hell of her show being legitimately considered for an Emmy unless every single frame had been scripted amp160The truth being that she wasnamp8217t just some random white girl on the internet amp160She was a random white girl who wrote for some of the best comedies in existence The stars she was interacting with are people that she really knows because they all roll in the same circlesThese facts made me look at the series through an entirely different lens amp160The seemingly spontaneous conversations every word that came out of her guest starsamp8217 mouths the hilarious celebrity testimonials Damp8217arcy Cardenamp8217s sidesplitting performance all originated in the brain of one Megan Amram amp160She had to have written this show because otherwise none of it would countNow all the same scenes scenes that initially seemed a bit uninspired felt like bouts of genius brought to life by her topnotch acting skills amp160I was convinced this sht was being made up on the spot because thatamp8217s what all the pieces of this puzzle implied This woman Keyser Samp246zeamp8217d the hell out of me and while she walked away from my metaphorical police station slowly morphing her staggered limp into a swagdipped sashay into the California sunset one thing became very clear to me Megan deserves an EmmyUnfortunately she didnamp8217t get one and while her initial reaction was to mourn that loss reports say sheamp8217s finally chosen a much healthier feeling to focus on revengeamp160 First strike that IFC dealamp160 Second a muchanticipated sophmore seasonamp160 Remember sheamp8217s only got three rules to follow which in a sense give her all the freedom in the world amp160She can do as many episodes as she likes at whatever lengths with whatever plots andor characters she choosesFrankly as long as she never actually gets an Emmy her show could go on forever amp160Check Meganamp8217s resume amp160Sheamp8217s no slouch and Iamp8217d bet good money that season oneamp8217s content was just a fraction of what she keeps in her bag of tricksClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

No Emmy for Megan

Author

Publish date

Channel

Ainsley Andrade

SUBSCRIBE FOR FREE MEDIAVILLAGE CONTENT | BECOME A THOUGHT LEADERSHIP CONTRIBUTOR

No Emmy for Megan

Enjoying This Commentary? There's More to Love

Ainsley Andrade

Cookies