Nate Bargatze Mocks TLC and CBS Shows in Emmys 2025 Opening

Nate Bargatze kept things light Sunday night at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards, where in his opening sketch the comedian poked fun at the current state of television.

In an SNL-style sketch with SNL cast members Bowen Yang, Mikey Day and James Austin Johnson, Bargatze, who played television inventor Philo T. Farnsworth, opined on what the future of TV would look like.

The sketch played out much like Bargatze’s popular George Washington SNL skits; as Farnswarth, he laid out his vision for TV.

“What we create here will one day bring the world shows that inform and educate. Shows that make us laugh and cry,” he waxed poetically. “Shows about people who when they go to work they switch to different people in their brains who don’t remember what happened at work,” he fumbled, taking a jab at Emmys darling Severance.

“I dream that one day there will be a channel for every interest. The Travel Channel for travel. The Food Network for food. And the History Channel—”

“For history!” interjected Day. “No, aliens,” Bargatze replied.

“There wont be history on the History channel, sir?” Day inquired. “No,” he replied. “Just as there will be no learning on The Learning Channel.”

“Then what will be on The Learning Channel?” Yang asked. “Hoarders! People who eat couch cushions. Dr. Pimple Popper. All our fun stuff,” Bargatze quipped.

A little later in the sketch, he dreamed of television for all walks of life. “Networks like Telemundo for Spanish spakresr. BET, Black Entertainment Television.”

“Will there be a network for white people, sir?” Day set up. “Why, CBS, of course!” Bargatze quipped.

“Yes! The Caucasian Broadcast System,” said Johnson.

“And will there be a network for Asian people, sir?” Yang asks. “What’s that, you asked about streaming?” Bargatze bulldozes, before going on to explain streaming as “a new way for companies to lose money.”

Watch the entire opening sketch in the clip above.

Bargatze has emerged as one of the most popular stand-up comedians today. According to the Associated Press, he sold more than 1.2 million tickets in 2024 and has released three Netflix specials.

In an effort to keep the ceremony light, Bargatze pledged to donate $100,000 to the Boys & Girls Clubs, but would deduct $1,000 for every second a winner’s speech went longer than 45 seconds.

Seth Rogen’s acceptance speech for the first award of the night — Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for The Studio — was under the allotted time, which bumped Bargatze’s donation to $106,000.

“Don’t go crazy though, cause, like, I am paying for this,” Bargatze said.

The AP reports that not all the award winners were as efficient with their speeches as Rogen; by the time the show was nearly over, with only a couple of awards left, the tally was negative-$60,000.