Cedric the Entertainer, an original King of Comedy, is about to entertain a whole room of folks eager to return to Hollywood awards season in-person.
According to Deadline, Cedric has been named the host for the 73rd Emmy Awards, which will take place on Sept. 19. This year, the ceremony “will be held in-person at the Microsoft Theater with a limited audience of nominees and their guests.” Reginald Hudlin, who made history last year as the first-ever Black producer of the Emmys, will be returning as executive producer this year.
“I’m hosting the Emmys…and I ain’t even a Jimmy!” Cedric exclaimed in his video announcement posted to social media on Monday, a cute nod to the late night hosts Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel (the latter of whom hosted the 2020 Emmys, a virtual ceremony).
This is Cedric’s first time hosting the Emmys, but he ain’t no amateur! He’s previously hosted the American Music Awards, the Critics’ Choice Television Awards, NAACP Image Awards, the Soul Train Awards and the TV Land Awards. Endorse him on LinkedIn! Note: I really did just look up to see if he has a LinkedIn profile and he does not.
“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,” Cedric added in an official statement, via Deadline. “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.”
“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,” Frank Scherma, Chairman and CEO of the Television Academy said in a statement.
In the above video, Cedric also mentioned something about the Emmys nominations, which is set to virtually stream live July 13 at 8:30 a.m. PT / 11:30 a.m. ET.
As Lovita Alizay Jenkins (Terri J. Vaughn) would exclaim in celebration, “CEDDDDYYYYYYYY!” I’ll be pulling up to the ceremony in my Space Shuttle—and yes, I’ll be Black parallel-parking.