Cedric the Entertainer to host in-person 2021 Emmy ceremony

Cedric the Entertainer will host live, in-person 2021 Emmy ceremony

July 12, 2021 10:42 AM PT

Just ahead of Tuesday’s Emmy nominations, the Television Academy announced Monday that comedian Cedric the Entertainer will host the live, in-person 73rd Emmy Awards on Sept. 19.

After the COVID-19 pandemic forced last year’s ceremony to be a remote affair, the academy noted in its press release that this year’s edition at the Microsoft Theatre would be held before “a limited audience of nominees and their guests.”

On returning to executive produce after serving in that role for 2020’s trailblazing show, Reginald Hudlin said in a statement, “Last year, the restrictions of COVID freed me and the awesome talents at [production company] 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.”

Cedric the Entertainer, 57, has nearly 90 film and television credits, including CBS’ ”The Neighborhood” and the “Barbershop” film franchise. He has received multiple NAACP Image Awards and shared a Gotham Independent Film Award with the ensemble of “Talk to Me” in 2007, but has yet to collect an Emmy.

He said in statement, “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.”