Get ready for the political jokes! Stephen Colbert will be hosting the 69th annual Emmy Awards at L.A.’s Microsoft Theater this fall.
CBS announced on Monday, January 23, that the Late Show host, 52, who is a nine-time Emmy winner himself for his work on The Colbert Report and The Daily Show, will be emceeing the ceremony. “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, CBS Entertainment executive vice president, said 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.”
Colbert didn’t wait for the hosting gig to poke fun at President Donald Trump’s administration. “This will be the largest audience to witness an Emmys, period,” the comedian said in a statement. “Both in person and around the globe.”
The statement was, of course, referring to White House press secretary Sean Spicer’s first press briefing on Saturday, January 21, where he falsely stated that Trump drew “the largest audience ever to witness an inauguration, period, both in person and around the globe.” Side by side aerial photos from the event showed that former president Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 had much bigger crowds than Trump’s January 20 swearing-in. Spicer claimed that journalists used misrepresentative photos to “minimize the enormous support.” He later clarified that he was counting the number of people who watched on the Internet and TV, but the official audience numbers have not yet been confirmed.
The Emmy Awards nominations will be announced on July 13, and the awards show will air on CBS on Sunday, September 17, at 8 p.m. ET.
