Television

At first glance, it looks like a typical Republican campaign advertisement. As images of President Trump flash across the screen, the 30-second spot says, “America will never be a communist country” and boasts about the “largest tax cuts in history.”

But there’s something different near the end — a bit of text at the bottom that says “paid for by the U.S. government.”

According to AdImpact, which tracks media spending, the advertisement cost $14,000 and it ran during conservative shows on Fox News and Newsmax.

The White House said in a statement the ad is “educational and unapologetically patriotic.”

“These public service announcements are about reminding Americans to love their country and understand what makes it worth defending, at home, at our borders, and abroad,” the White House statement said.

Fox News and Newsmax did not immediately return a request for comment.

The White House did not say what agency paid for the spot, which includes background music with singers crooning “love me” over and over.

The advertisement does not say who voters should support in the midterms, but it meshes with campaign messaging from Trump and other Republicans, particularly during the party’s unusual convention in Dallas earlier this month.

Democratic Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland, who is in line to chair the House Judiciary Committee if his party wins the majority in November, said in a social media post that it’s a violation of the Hatch Act for government employees to work on such a video.

“It is blatantly unethical under numerous federal ethics provisions proscribing the use of government resources for political campaigns,” Raskin wrote.

Republicans also criticized the ad.

North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis, who is not running for reelection, referenced the former right-wing Hungarian prime minister to critique the advertisement.

“It’s inappropriate. It’s not like they need a GoFundMe page to have the dollars to do that sort of ad and they could do it. But using taxpayer dollars, it feels like Viktor Orban,” he said.

Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy said he hadn’t seen the ad but questioned whether it was legal.

“I don’t generally like to see politicians use public money to pay for their own campaign ads,” he said.

Catalini writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Joey Cappelletti and Steven Sloan in Washington contributed to this report.

As the fall equinox approached from a week away, the Primetime Emmy Awards made its 78th visit, leaving trophies in some hands, the honor of just being nominated for others and bupkes for the rest of the thousands who make what we call television. Once again I have been called to witness (from afar) and report, so let’s get down to it.

It was the turn of NBC (and Peacock) in the round robin of major networks who broadcast the show, and to keep things literally in-house it was hosted by Mariska Hargitay, “America’s sweetheart sex cop Olivia Benson” from the network’s “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and broadcast from the Peacock Theater, formerly the Microsoft Theater, formerly the Nokia in #DTLA, formerly downtown Los Angeles.

When reviewing the Emmys, or any awards show, as television in its own right, the only real questions are what distinguishes it from its many previous appearances on the karmic wheel of life — how it tricks up the basic, immutable form, like different decorations on the same sugar cookie recipe you have been using forever. Anything unexpectedly or especially moving, rousing, funny or strange, things that go against the grain of a production that wants to keep things controlled in order to bring the ship in on time.

This year the critic has been given the gift of Hargitay, primarily a serious actor (and director and producer), following in a long line of comedians and comic actors. There have been other serious actors as host, for example, Raymond Burr in 1959, Tom Selleck in 1984 and Angela Lansbury in 1993. And certainly, if you’re looking for someone to represent the medium rather than merely to comment on, celebrate or joke about it, you could do no better than Hargitay, the longest-serving actor on the longest-running prime-time live-action series on American TV. She’s beautiful, glamorous, self-possessed. She was recently on Broadway in “Every Brilliant Thing,” which involved a degree of what comedians call “crowd work,” so standing up in front of a live audience of people no more famous than she wasn’t going to throw her. Professional comedian Nate Bargatze, who hosted last year, was much more of a dark horse.

Emmys host Mariska Hargitay with singer Taylor Swift and her cat Olivia Benson on screen during a skit the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards.

(Patrick T. Fallon / AFP via Getty Images)

Although I would have bet on a pre-filmed “Special Victims Unit” routine to open the show, which is why I’m not a gambler, it wasn’t until an hour in that it appeared. (It involved murder-style boards, concerning the Case of Whether Taylor Swift would be making an appearance; she did, in the bit.) The pre-filmed production number that did open the show began with Hargitay and her actual good friend New York Knick Jalen Brunson steaming their clothes when Hargitay suddenly realizes she is due across the country to host the show. This led to Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock ’N Roll” reconceptualized as “I Love TV Screens,” which included the “Widow’s Bay” sea hag revealed to be Jennifer Coolidge, bringing boba tea (rhymes with “TV”); other rhymes matched “eating beef” and “watching ‘Beef’” and “Ed Gein” and “mean.” It moved to the live stage, with Hargitay flanked by dancers with television heads. Both segments felt more effortful than funny, but not unfunny.

On her own, however, Hargitay was above all a woman having a good time, never less than likable and game and enthusiastic, managing the scripted patter as well as anyone might have. Her monologue included several jokes about age, one about “L&O” producer Dick Wolf’s real name (Richard Penis), and another about her inability to pronounce “finale” because she’d never been in one. As is practically an Emmys tradition, some of these were confusing (even to the people performing it), or went on too long (Nick Offerman, cornered at his table, describing his work as an erotic house painter), or just had the effect of having been put on their feet without much, if any, rehearsal. Presenting the final award, for outstanding comedy, Woody Harrelson and Matthew McConaughey, told to stretch — the show was actually running short — described the plot of their upcoming Apple series, “Brothers,” until they were allowed to move on.

As to what the Television Academy calls “creative elements,” everything that isn’t a presentation or a speech, they advertised tributes to the 30th anniversary of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” certainly a typo, and the 50th of “Charlie’s Angels,” a logical impossibility, but these were really just themed groupings of presenters — Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz in the former, Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd and Jaclyn Smith in the latter. (The Angels managed a few words for Farrah Fawcett, but none for Shelley Hack, Tanya Roberts or David Doyle.) But there were full tributes to Dolly Parton (Sally Field enthused, Reba McEntire sang); to James Burrows, with Jamie Lee Curtis pivoting emotionally to talk about old friend Rob Reiner, who won a posthumous guest appearance Emmy this year for “The Bear”; and to Catherine O’Hara, with her “Home Alone” child Macaulay Culkin and “Schitt’s Creek” children Annie Murphy and Dan Levy, who spoke to “helping her build a TV character over the age of 60 that wears leather miniskirts and eight-inch heels and speaks in a strange, sometimes unintelligible transatlantic accent, and know that she will not scare an audience away.”

And there was Julianna Margulies presenting the Bob Hope Humanitarian Award to Michael J. Fox, who, in his usual way, was eloquent and funny, and let the people know about the goodness of Bob Hope, setting up a punchline in the bargain. Like a lot of you, I love Michael J. Fox, and I’m just going to leave that here, with a pile of soaked-through tissues.

John Mulaney stole the show as a presenter at the 78th Emmy Awards ceremony at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles.

(Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

But what America will mostly remember from this night was John Mulaney, introducing the award for lead actor in a drama, and burning the house down with a routine that went wherever it wanted. “They can play anything, these nominees. Not just doctors. They can play a cop or an FBI agent or a secret agent. And then that’s it. No other examples.”

“Since the creation of television, men have been historically underrepresented,” Mulaney said, explaining that the medium was all “beauty contests and children talking to hand puppets until the early ’60s. Until a man walked out and said, ‘Enough. My name is Fonzie and the president’s been shot.’” Mulaney is a man who has convulsed crowds in arenas and stadiums, but, as a local, nothing made me laugh harder than the words, “You know, I was shooting down Barham last night at 90 miles an hour.”

Nothing against Hargitay, but it’s clear that Mulaney should host this show, and every awards show, from now on.

Jean Smart earns fifth Emmy for “Hacks,” becoming the first to win lead comedy actress for every show season.

Emergency room drama “The Pitt” and comedy-horror “Widow’s Bay” have won television’s highest honours, the 78th Primetime Emmy Awards, presented in Los Angeles.

Set in a cursed New England town, “Widow’s Bay” won the best comedy series prize on Monday, overcoming last season’s winner, “Hacks”.

Matthew Rhys, starring in “Widow’s Bay”, made history by becoming the first person to win two lead acting honours at the same ceremony. Fellow actor in the TV series, Stephen Root, won best supporting actor in a comedy, beating favourite Harrison Ford of “Shrinking”.

“Thank you, sir, for all your many years of great, great, great acting,” Root told Ford during his acceptance speech.

“Hacks” actress Jean Smart won her fifth Emmy for portraying stand-up comic Deborah Vance, making her the first actress to win the award for best lead comedy actress for every season of a show’s run. Smart has won eight Emmys overall in her acting career.

“What a ride this has been,” Smart said after receiving a standing ovation.

Actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus is the only performer to come close to Smart’s comedy lead actress sweep, having won the award for six of the seven seasons of the political satire “Veep”.

Noah Wyle, who starred as Dr “Robby” Robinavitch on “The Pitt”, told the Emmy audience it felt overwhelming to win his second straight Emmy for best lead drama actor.

“The Pitt”, set in a Pittsburgh emergency department, won its second consecutive Emmy award for best drama series, beating fellow nominees including “Pluribus”, “Paradise” and “The Diplomat”.

“This is the only club I’ve ever wanted to join. Thank you for accepting me,” Wyle said while accepting the award.

Rhea Seehorn won best actress in a drama for playing the lone character on “Pluribus”, after being nominated twice without receiving any honours for her breakthrough role on “Better Call Saul”.

Vince Gilligan, who created “Breaking Bad” and its spin-off “Better Call Saul”, won best drama writing for “Pluribus”.

“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” won for best variety series, concluding its farewell season with six total Emmys after CBS cancelled the programme, citing financial pressures.

Colbert rejected that explanation, accusing network executives of succumbing to pressure from President Donald Trump over his frequent mockery of the administration.

Los Angeles: The brightest stars in television are set to walk the red carpet Monday at the Emmy Awards, with horror-comedy series “Widow’s Bay” and gritty hospital drama “The Pitt” expected to win big.

Apple TV’s “Widow’s Bay,” which stars Matthew Rhys as the leader of an isolated New England island that appears to be haunted, has emerged as one of the most talked-about debut series of the year.

“People just love that show,” Christopher Rosen, deputy editor of Hollywood news outlet The Ankler, told AFP.

It scooped up eight awards in the pre-gala ceremonies, and is in position to become the most awarded comedy series in a single year, surpassing the 13 trophies won last year by Seth Rogen’s Hollywood satire “The Studio.”

Rosen said he believes that Rhys — a winner for best drama actor for “The Americans” in 2018 — could now earn his first comedy Emmy.

A strong night for “Widow’s Bay” does not bode well for “Hacks,” the tale of a stand-up comedian trying to revive her career and the dysfunctional millennial assistant who helps her.

Its one solid bet left in the running – and maybe its only statuette, says Rosen – is a best actress prize for Jean Smart.

“That’s a great way to honor the final season,” Rosen told AFP. “She’s never lost from playing this part. I don’t see why she would lose for the final season.”

Smart, who turned 75 on Sunday, has won four Emmys for the show so far.

A win on Monday would give her eight acting Emmys, tying her with Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Cloris Leachman for the most ever by a performer. Allison Janney is also vying for her eighth Emmy, for “The Diplomat.”

’The Pitt’ expected to repeat as best drama

“The Pitt,” last year’s winner for best drama, follows the stressed-out workers in a Pittsburgh emergency room, with each episode unfolding in real time.

Tackling everything from abortion rights to immigration crackdowns to mass shootings, the show is the odds-on favorite to sweep several drama prizes including best series.

“If ‘The Pitt’ doesn’t win, it would be a tremendous shock,” Rosen said.

It led all shows with 25 nominations, and already won four awards in the early ceremonies, including best casting for a drama series.

Star Noah Wyle, who has racked up awards over the past year including an Emmy, is expected to triumph again. Seven of his co-stars are hopefuls in the supporting acting categories.

For best drama actress, Rosen says it will be a race between “Pluribus” star Rhea Seehorn and Keri Russell for political soap opera “The Diplomat.”

In the limited series categories, HBO Max’s “DTF St Louis” – the tale of a middle-aged love triangle gone wrong – is a top contender.

The show has scooped up six prizes so far, including two for actors David Harbour and Linda Cardellini.

Dolly tribute

The 78th Emmy Awards gala will be hosted by “Law and Order: SVU” star Mariska Hargitay, who won two Emmys for her documentary “My Mom Jayne.”

It will feature a tribute to late country music icon Dolly Parton, who was also an Emmy winner, and a performance from Noah Kahan, who will sing “Bridge Over Troubled Water” during the broadcast’s In Memoriam segment.

The gala also will deliver some TV nostalgia, with “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” stars Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz among the presenters, along with “Charlie’s Angels” stars Kate Jackson, Cheryl Ladd, and Jaclyn Smith.

Zendaya, a past winner and current nominee for best drama actress for “Euphoria,” is on the list of presenters, guaranteeing at least one bona fide red carpet moment.

The Emmys ceremony begins at 5:00 pm Monday (0000 GMT Tuesday).