The constant dilemma that awards shows face is how to make sure each winner gets sufficient speech time while also keeping the show going. It's a thankless task, as the show's producers risk offending the long-winded speech giver (or their fanbase on Twitter). For the 2024 Emmy Awards, host Anthony Anderson brought along an innovative solution to let winners know they are loved while also making sure they wrap it up: his mother Doris Bowman.
Early in the show, the Black-ish actor announced that Bowman would be in the crowd monitoring speeches and cutting off winners who go over. Viewers soon got a chance to see her in action, when Jennifer Coolidge won her second Supporting Actress Emmy for season 2 of The White Lotus. About half a minute into the actress's (once again iconic) speech, Bowman stood up from her seat holding a hand-drawn sign showing a crossed out time-clock.
