A fun game during the crowd shots at award shows is to try and pick out the best famous people you recognize, like Carson Daly, whoever’s lucky enough to sit next to Carson Daly, and any super-big stars who should be doing something more fun than politely clapping for people who are less famous than they are. However, at tonight’s Emmy awards, this fun game has taken a chilling turn thanks to a face that will be all too familiar to fans of FX’s Atlanta:
That’s Teddy Perkins, the creepy recluse from the Atlanta episode of the same name, having apparently survived the fatal run-in with his brother at the end of the episode. In the show, Teddy was played by Atlanta creator Donald Glover under heavy makeup and prosthetics (though the show never broke the illusion), but it’s unclear who’s playing him this time around. Is it Glover? Is it “Teddy Perkins” director Hiro Murai? Is it someone else connected to Atlanta? Or has Teddy Perkins somehow been brought to life, and now he’s been unleashed into the real world to… attend the Emmys?
It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense, but nothing with Teddy Perkins ever really does.