After this year’s host-less Academy Awards saw an increase in viewership over last year’s broadcast for ABC, Fox is hoping for the same results on its own network when another big award shows happens next month. The 2019 Emmy Awards will not have a host, marking the first time the awards will go host-less since 2003.
Fox CEO Charlie Collier announced the news today during a Television Critics Association press tour, and he explained the reasoning behind the decision as well as setting the stage for what viewers can expect.
Entertainment Weekly was in the room when Collier announced that there would be no Emmys host this year, and he acknowledged that the Oscars’ increased ratings were a factor in their decision – but it wasn’t the defining factor. Instead, he pointed out that it’s “a pretty unique year for some of America’s favorite shows and it was the right thing to do.”
When Collier was asked if Fox actually asked anyone to host the show before they made the decision to go host-less, he seemingly dodged the question but provided a look into the approach for this year’s ceremony:
“We’ve had a lot of names on the board [internally] but the conclusion was reached this year that we’re highlighting so many shows going away that it was a better use of the time [to focus on the shows]. There will be entertainment. There will be an opening number. If you look at the trade-offs in a show like the Emmys so often it’s a trade-off between the opening acts and using the time elsewhere. There will be many surprises. It will be entertaining.”
Variety says that there are rumors that some of those “surprises” may involve on stage reunions for cast members of hugely popular shows like Seinfeld, Friends, and ER, all of which are celebrating notable anniversaries this year.
Last year’s Emmys, which aired on NBC, were hosted by Colin Jost and Michael Che, the longtime Weekend Update co-hosts on Saturday Night Live. The last time the Emmys didn’t have a host was in 2003, and this will be only the fourth time in history without one. But ditching a traditional monologue gives more time to honor shows like Game of Thrones, which earned an historic 32 nominations in its final season, and shows like Veep, Empire, and The Big Bang Theory, which have also come to an end.
The 71st Primetime Emmy Awards will take place at the Microsoft Theater in Downtown L.A. on September 22, 2019.
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