By Ron Wynn
NASHVILLE, TN — CBS has tabbed the star of “The Neighborhood” as host for the upcoming Emmy Awards telecast. Cedric the Entertainer will assume those duties for the 73rd Primetime Emmys. The next night most likely will be the start of a new season for his show“The Neighborhood,” which will also help launch CBS’ fall season.
Also returning for their second consecutive year are Hudlin Entertainment and Done+Dusted. That production company has been involved with the telecast four straight years. Reginald Hudlin and Ian Stewart are executive producers, and Hamish Hamilton will be director of the telecast. Hudlin made history last year as the Emmy’s first Black producer.
The news was announced Monday morning. Nominations were announced Tuesday. The event returns to the Microsoft Theatre in downtown Los Angeles’ L.A. Live complex, in front of “a limited audience of nominees and their guests.
“The Neighborhood” begins its fourth season at CBS this fall. Cedric the Entertainer also recently hosted “The Greatest #AtHome Videos,” which began as specials during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic and turned into a regular series. His other hosting credits include the syndicated version of “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,” “Cedric’s Barber Battle,” “ComicView,” the game show “It’s Worth What?” and an episode of “WWE Raw.” In addition, he’s previously hosted previously hosted the Soul Train Awards.
“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 the Entertainer said in a statement Monday. “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.”
Hudlin said, “Last year, the restrictions of Covid freed me and the awesome talents at Done+Dusted to do a show that was different than any other award show. We don’t plan on repeating ourselves, but we certainly want to try some new ideas that could only be done on the Emmys.”
The 73rd Emmy Awards airs live Sunday, Sept. 19 from coast to coast at 7 p.m. CDT on CBS (locally WTVF-5). It will also stream live and on demand on Paramount Plus.
