CBS and the Television Academy have tapped The Neighborhood star Cedric the Entertainer to host the 2021 Emmy Awards.
The awards will return to their usual home at the Microsoft Theatre in downtown L.A. for the Sept. 19 ceremony. The show will also feature a limited in-person audience of nominees and their guests after last year’s virtual affair.
The executive producers of last year’s well-reviewed show (which aired on ABC), Reginald Hudlin and Ian Stewart, and director Hamish Hamilton will return for the 2021 Emmys. Done + Dusted and Hudlin Entertainment will produce.
“Since I was a little boy huddled up next to my grandmother, television has always been my reliable friend, so it is an enormous honor for me to host this year’s Emmy Awards,” said Cedric the Entertainer. “Throughout the roller-coaster of a year that we have all lived through, television has helped us stay connected as a society like never before. It not only entertained us, but as it always has, it helped to open our eyes, educate us, and hopefully brought about a better understanding of who we are as a people. I can’t wait to take the stage to celebrate all of the great shows and performances that made us laugh, cry, dance and sing over the past year.”
Nominations for the 73rd Emmy Awards are set to be announced Tuesday morning. (See The Hollywood Reporter awards columnist Scott Feinberg’s final predictions for the nominees.) The Emmys are set to air live across the country on Sept. 19.
“Over the past year, television has united us as a community more than ever, bringing vital information and inspiring entertainment to viewers at a critical time in our lives,” said Jack Sussman, executive vp specials, music, live events and alternative programming at CBS. “Now, who better to bring television audiences together to celebrate the industry’s top achievements than our very own King of Comedy, Cedric the Entertainer.”
Added TV Academy chairman and CEO Frank Scherma, “Cedric the Entertainer has been a wonderful friend to the Television Academy and our foundation, and we are thrilled that he will bring his unique comedic perspective to the Emmy ceremony and telecast that marks our return to celebrating nominees and presenters live and in-person.”
Source: Variety