Critics Choice Awards: Seth Rogen Roasts Telecast for Presenting Two Winners at Once, Jokes He May Be “First Jew on the CW in History”

If Seth Rogen is booked to present at a major Hollywood awards show, you can count on him to go off-script.

The star of The Fabelmans and Pam & Tommy, who angered Emmys producers in 2021 when he took aim at that show’s COVID-19 protocols while presenting the first award of the evening, turned up in Century City on Sunday to present best comedy series at the Critics Choice Awards.

Rogen wasted no time in questioning the show’s new format of presenting two awards at once with those winners even being announced back-to-back out of the same envelope. “I’ve never been to this. Do they always give two awards out at one time? That was weird. Why do they do that?” he said to generous laughter from the starry audience at the Fairmont Century Plaza. “Are we crunched for time? Get another hour. It can’t be that expensive. You know how I know that? This show airs at 4 p.m. on The CW. That cannot be [a] pricey time slot from my understanding of how this all works.”

That said, Rogen wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t suggesting that The CW “is bad” but perhaps the Critics Choice Association was by not nominating any of the network’s shows. “You are saying it’s bad. We’re on your least favorite network. How did that happen? Nominate yourselves next time, you’ll have one. No one will think it’s weird, they’ll think it’s fine,” Rogen explained.

Before presenting the nominees for best comedy series — the trophy eventually went to Quinta Brunson and her team from Abbott Elementary — he had one last joke. “If you were a normal viewer of The CW, this is a startling image to be seeing on your television right now. I might be the first Jew on The CW in history. Soak it in.”

Though Rogen thought it was “weird” that the telecast combined two categories, some of those winners didn’t mind. “It was wonderful because it meant that I wasn’t alone,” best supporting actor in a drama series Giancarlo Esposito of Better Call Saul said backstage of sharing the stage with fellow winner Jennifer Coolidge, a winner for White Lotus. “Oftentimes, we think we’re alone and all that nervousness goes to you before it gets announced. I was really just shocked and amazed that they were announcing two at a time, but I thought that takes some of the pressure off. … I’m just glad I remembered to be a gentleman and guide her up the steps.”

Best supporting actor on the comedy series side, Henry Winkler of Barry, heard his name called along with Abbott Elementary’s Sheryl Lee Ralph. “I was so excited to hear what she had to say. She’s one of the great speech givers of all time,” Winkler said. “I said [to her], ‘The only thing that was really lacking tonight was the fact that you didn’t sing.’ She is a magnificent spirit.”

The full list of winners can be found here.