The Television Academy and NBC announced yesterday that “Saturday Night Live’s” Colin Jost and Michael Che, who host the “Weekend Update” segment, will emcee the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards this September. The choice was somewhat of a surprise as the two comedy writers and performers have never hosted an event of this magnitude before. Of course, getting Jost and Che was either a condition or a benefit of having Lorne Michaels produce the telecast and the promise of other “SNL” stars appearing on the show. That’s a good thing, right? For the moment, sure, but we’re increasingly concerned about the hosting of major awards shows overall.
Tiffany Haddish will host the 2018 MTV Movie and TV Awards
It’s hard to imagine that just three years ago Tina Fey and Amy Poehler caped off a trio of fantastic Golden Globes hosting gigs or that four years ago Ellen DeGeneres provided the Oscars with its highest ratings since 2000 (to date). Instead, the Emmys and NBC have picked two men to host the telecast for the seventh straight time following Jane Lynch who handled the duties in 2011. The one positive is that a Person of Color will be at the helm of a major awards show for the first time since Chris Rock returned to the Academy Awards in 2016 (LL Cool J hosted the Grammys just two weeks prior). Che actually becomes only the sixth person of color to host either of the major four awards since 2000 (the other two being Whoopi Goldberg, Gregory Hines and Queen Latifah for the Oscars, Tony Awards and Grammys respectively). Sadly, the last few years has been a lot of (mostly) straight white men which doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense considering award show viewership.
Almost universally, awards shows are predominantly watched by women (and perhaps, cough, gay men). I’m sure there are some TV executives who go by that ancient line of thinking that having a good looking or funny guy will just bring the female viewers in droves, but it doesn’t explain why DeGeneres and the Fey and Poehler pairing blew up the ratings for the Oscars and Golden Globes, respectively. Like most of network television, award show ratings are trending down. And that’s a big concern since live, “event” programming is supposed to be the one thing that bucks the trend which began with the rise of the internet age. You would think executives would therefore try to find funny and/or entertaining women to host these shows. NBC is broadcasting the Emmys this year. Why isn’t “SNL’s” Kate McKinnon (who hosted the Spirits in 2016) or former “SNL” star Maya Rudolph one of the hosts? Did Tiffany Haddish disqualify herself after agreeing to host the MTV Movie and TV Awards? Why not pair “The Good Place” star Kristen Bell (who just made it through alive as the inaugural SAG Awards host) with “This Is Us'” Sterling K. Brown, “Marlon’s” Marlon Wayans or “SNL’s” Keenan Thompson? What about former “SNL” and NBC stars Kristen Wiig and Will Ferrell? We’re all aware of Jost and Che’s talents. Paired together they can barely get through fifteen minutes of “Weekend Update” without losing an audience’s attention. Are we just supposed to be happy NBC didn’t force Jimmy Fallon or Seth Myers on us once again?
Listen, a lot of talent turn down hosting major awards shows because it’s had to make the telecasts consistently entertaining. Often it’s out of everyone’s control and dependent on the surprises and speeches (winners and losers) of the night. It is possible though. Billy Crystal, Steve Martin, Goldberg, Fey and Poheler, Neil Patrick Harris (non-Oscars only), Hugh Jackman and even recent Spirit Awards hosts John Mulaney and Nick Kroll have shown how to master the gig.
But then again, maybe having the “SNL” writers and talent around will lead to a better and funnier show. Maybe Alec Baldwin will show up as Trump to finally let “The Apprentice” host win an Emmy. Maybe we’ll get a version of “Black Jeopardy” Emmy edition. And maybe this is the stage Che and Jost need to really show their, um, chemistry together. At least its not a late night talk show host again, right?
The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards will air Sept. 17 at 5 PM PT, 8 PM ET on NBC.
Outstanding Drama Series
Outstanding Comedy Series
Outstanding Limited Series
Outstanding Reality-Competition Series
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Comedy Series
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Comedy Series
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Drama Series
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Drama Series
Outstanding Lead Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie
Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Comedy Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Comedy Series
Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Drama Series
Outstanding Supporting Actor In A Drama Series