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Stephen Colbert Will Host The 69th Primetime Emmy Awards
Photo Courtesy of CBS via Instagram.
Stephen Colbert has been announced as the host of the 69th Primetime Emmy Awards show, which is set to broadcast live on CBS September 17. The ceremony will take place at the Microsoft Theater in downtown's L.A. Live.
Colbert has been the host of the network's The Late Show With Stephen Colbert since September 2015, when he took over for David Letterman. Prior to that, Colbert was the host of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report from 2005 through 2014. Colbert has been nominated for 27 Primetime Emmy awards and has won nine.
Colbert is no stranger to emceeing duties. He'd hosted the 39th Kennedy Center Honors in 2015, and the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner in 2006. Colbert's colleague, Jon Stewart, has hosted the Grammy Awards in both 2001 and 2002, as well as the Oscars in 2006 and 2008.
“We’re excited to kick off the new season and celebrate the top achievements in television with Stephen Colbert as host of the Primetime Emmys,” Jack Sussman, an executive vice president with CBS Entertainment, said in a statement, reports Variety. “Stephen is the ultimate master of ceremonies with award-winning creative talents, and as we’ve seen the past few months, he has a fearless passion for live television. We look forward to honoring television’s best while entertaining audiences with the creative energy and sharp comedy of Stephen Colbert.”
“This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period. Both in person and around the globe," Colbert added to Sussman's statement, in an apparent satire of White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer's recent comments, notes the Los Angeles Times.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, last year's Emmy awards saw an all-time low in viewership with 11.3 million viewers—a five-percent dip from the year before.
"We are thrilled that Stephen Colbert will be bringing his Emmy-winning comedic talent to hosting this year’s Emmy Awards,” Hayma Washington, CEO and chairman of the TV academy, said, reports Variety. "He's a formidable showman and we are delighted to begin working with him and the entire CBS team.”
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