Sheryl Lee Ralph's Powerful Speech Was Aided By The Emmy's New Thank-You System

Have the speeches at tonight's Emmys seemed better than usual? Between Lizzo cheering her support for the women of "Watch Out For the Big Grrrls" to Jennifer Coolidge dancing to the wrap-up music to Sheryl Lee Ralph's showstopping, sob-inducing acceptance for "Abbott Elementary," the 74th Emmy Awards have been a great night for winners letting their personalities show. It turns out, there's a simple reason people seem a little more at ease: A new supplementary text has been added to the bottom of the screen during speeches, allowing recipients to stop worrying so much about forgetting names.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, each nominee was given the chance to share up to 350 characters with which they could add to their thank you message in case they win. Their messages, which the outlet notes still need to be PG, have been scrolling past on chyrons as actors and artists accept their awards. Ralph, who was clearly shocked by her win for the role of Ms. Howard in Quinta Brunson's mockumentary sitcom, recovered from her surprise enough to sing part of Dianna Reeves' "Endangered Species" in a moment that will surely be among the night's most memorable moments.

Ralph told THR she used her 350 characters to thank the network and the show's behind-the-scenes team, saying:

"I just wanted to make sure that I thanked everybody at ABC, thanked everybody at Warner Bros. and thanked everybody at Disney. It's so easy to forget the people who literally support this show that are not seen."

Not every actor has implemented the strategy the same way: "A Black Lady Sketch Show" co-creator and star Robin Thede said she put some jokes in her thank you scroll, while "Hacks" star Hannah Einbinder says she included a link to information about the abortion pill. Meanwhile, Connie Britton and Christina Ricci both said they didn't submit anything, with the latter admitting she's not tech savvy and "couldn't get it together in time."

All in all, though, there does seem to be a noticeable uptick in memorable and powerful speeches this evening. Perhaps it's because the Emmys have been handing out awards to artists who are long overdue for recognition, or perhaps it's in part thanks to the assist from the thank you scroll, which cuts down on the amount of time winners spend trying to balance their genuine response with a long list of names.