“Oh Hollywood, all is forgiven,” said Stephen Colbert when “The Colbert Report” won an Emmy for Best Variety Series Writing in 2008. Well, now Hollywood has more to thank him for. CBS and the television academy announced on Monday, January 23, that Colbert will host the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards, which will be held on September 17, 2017. It will be Colbert’s first time as emcee. So will he do as well presenting TV’s highest honor as he was at accepting them? Vote in our poll at the bottom of this post.
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Colbert took over CBS’s “The Late Show” from David Letterman in 2015, but before that he won nine Emmys as a writer for “The Daily Show” and then as a writer and producer of “The Colbert Report,” in which he played a version of himself that parodies right-wing TV pundits like Bill O’Reilly. Since taking over “The Late Show” he has kept up the political commentary, but now he’s doing it out of character.
“This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period. Both in person and around the globe,” said Colbert in a statement, mimicking White House press secretary Sean Spicer‘s recent “alternative facts” about the size of Donald Trump‘s inauguration crowd. Colbert will undoubtedly have plenty more Trump material prepared by September — unless the new commander-in-chief signs an executive order dissolving the television academy after they snubbed him for years for “The Apprentice.”
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“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,” said CBS executive vice president Jack Sussman in a statement. “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.”
How do you think Colbert will do as Emmys host? Vote below:
