*By Max Godnick*
Live from Hollywood, it's a scramble for ratings.
"Saturday Night Live" cast members Michael Che and Colin Jost on Monday night will trade in their "Weekend Update" suits for tuxedos as co-hosts of the TV industry's big night ー the 70th annual Emmy Awards. They're also joining legendary SNL creator and EP of "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon," Lorne Michaels, in an attempt to revive the show's ailing ratings. Michaels, who has also produced a handful of sleeper-hit comedy films and heads "Late Night with Seth Meyers," will return to the award show for the first time since the late-eighties.
"Lorne Michaels has been putting together a live show for an eternity, so he knows what he's doing," managing editor of Cinemablend Sean O'Connell said Thursday in an interview with Cheddar.
But even Michaels's golden touch might not be enough.
The Emmys are consistently the lowest-rated of the four major awards shows (which include the Oscars, Grammys, and Golden Globes) and will be coming off the ceremony's second-lowest ratings ever in [2017](https://variety.com/2017/tv/news/2017-emmys-ratings-1202562498/).
But the ratings malaise is undiscriminating and near-universal ー all the major industry contests have [struggled](https://variety.com/2018/tv/news/oscars-early-ratings-shape-of-water-down-1202718015/) to sustain viewership in the streaming era.
"As a society, we're tired of awards shows," O'Connell said. "It's the same thing year after year after year."
In today's so-called golden age of TV, it would be fair to assume that an onslaught of prestige shows would naturally lead to a spike in audiences who want to see the awards fate of their favorites.
This year, the top contenders at the Emmys are among the most popular and critically acclaimed programs in the history of the medium.
"Game of Thrones," "The Handmaid's Tale," "Atlanta," and "Stranger Things" will be in the lineup of series hoping to hear their names called on Monday; there just may not be many fans tuning in to see that happen.
"It's show after show of really popular programming," O'Connell said of the nominees. "Maybe \[the low ratings are\] just because \[audiences\] decided they'd rather go watch some of those episodes."
Hemorrhaging ratings aside, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will feature some of the most competitive races in recent memory.
Netflix is the most-nominated network, [ending HBO's 17-year streak](https://cheddar.com/videos/netflix-dethrones-hbo-in-most-emmy-nominations) of dominance. But the likeliest recipients of the night's most prestigious award, "Outstanding Drama Series," hail from HBO and Hulu. It's been over a year since viewers last traveled to Westeros, and the final season of "Game of Thrones" will not arrive until 2019. Even still, its seventh season is the Emmys' most-nominated show. It will face off against the season two of the category's defending champion, Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale."
O'Connell thinks the long absence will ultimately hurt HBO's flagship series.
"'Handmaid's Tale' has stayed really relevant," he said. "It's stayed in the headlines, it's such an incredible program, I could see it dominating on Monday."
The competition is also strong in the "Outstanding Comedy" field, where mainstays "Modern Family" and "Veep" are missing for the first time since 2010. That will leave space for newcomers "Barry" and "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel" to emerge as the genre's victor. O'Connell thinks Bill Hader's raved-about portrayal of a hitman-turned-actor will be rewarded.
"Sometimes the Emmys like to surprise and get ahead of the curve," he said. "I think that they could make a statement by choosing \['Barry'\] as best comedy."
The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards will air Monday night on NBC.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/can-the-emmys-broadcast-fix-its-ratings-problem).
California's new composting law will affect what residents do in their kitchens. As of this week, Californians will have to recycle excess food in an effort to reduce emissions caused by food waste. Cities and counties will turn recycled food into compost or use it as a renewable energy source. California's new law is the largest mandatory residential food waste recycling program in the country. Rachel Wagoner, Director of the California Department of Resources, Recycling and Recovery called the law 'the biggest change to trash' since recycling started in the 1980s. She joined Cheddar Climate to discuss.
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Millions of Americans with young children have relied on the child tax credit since the federal government began issuing checks in July 2021. The last round of payments was sent out just before the Christmas holiday — at the same time as the omicron variant surged. Leah Hamilton, associate professor of social work at Appalachian State University, joined Cheddar to discuss what the end to the tax credit means as the U.S. sees the end of many relief programs and its highest number of COVID cases since the start of the pandemic. "It'll become harder for families to meet their basic needs, increasing national childhood poverty rates and the proportion of families who have difficulty putting food on the table, maintaining stable housing, and paying their bills," Hamilton said. She also pointed to research that the credit as a long-term investment in children offsets claims that it contributes to macroeconomic impacts like inflation.
Several Silicon Valley insiders are being accused of contorting a 1990s-era tax break to avoid taxes on millions of dollars of investment profits. The tax break is known as the qualified small business stock exemption, and it allows early investors in certain companies to avoid half of the taxes on up to $10 million in capital gains. A piece recently published in the New York Times says venture capital firms like Andreessen Horowitz replicated the tax exemption by giving shares of companies to friends and family, who would otherwise face a 23.8% capital gains bill. The CEO of Roblox is also accused of replicating the tax break for his family members at least 12 times. Although the loophole known as 'stacking' is considered to be legal, the Times piece implies that the exemption has been manipulated for the ultra-wealthy to become more wealthy. Greycroft co-founder and Chairman Emeritus Alan Patricof joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell to discuss.
There is a new player in the mobile app stock trading space.
Zingeroo recently announced a funding round of $8.5 million. The company says it aims to bring 'friendly competition' to stock trading, by literally breaking trading down into daily and weekly competitions between friends. Zingeroo also says it hopes its new approach can make trading more accessible, educational, and social than ever before. Zingeroo co-founder and CEO Zoe Barry joins Cheddar News' Closing Bell for more.
