The Emmys are taking a cue from the Oscars this year and going hostless, Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier told TV critics Wednesday.
“We’ve been working hard at the Emmys, and The Emmys will not have a host this year,” Collier said at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour. “We’re so proud to host the Emmys, but no one will say ‘That is Fox’s Emmy’s.’ We’re happy to have it this year, we’ll pass it on to another network partner next year — so our job is to assess how to elevate the program in the year we’re lucky enough to broadcast it.”
His main reasoning for going without a host, he said, was to allow more time to “honor” the television shows to which the night is dedicated.
“What’s interesting about this year to me is how many amazing shows we’re saying goodbye to. We’ve got ‘Game of Thrones,’ our own ‘Empire,’ ‘Veep’ and ‘Big Bang Theory.’ So this is new to me, I’ve never worked on the Emmys before. You really have to look at all the trade offs. If you have a host and an opening number, that’s 15-20 minutes you can’t use to salute the shows,” he said.
Collier also acknowledged that the success of this year’s hostless Oscars had affected the decision.
“Obviously that was a piece of information we gathered and looked at, and it did do very well — certainly something we paid attention to,” he said.
Collier also said that while Fox had “a lot of names on the board” for a potential host, no official deal had been made with anyone prior to the decision to go hostless. “The conclusion was reached that this year we’re highlighting so many shows that are going away that it would be a really strategic use of the Emmys” to go without a host, he said.
The Primetime Emmys will air September 22 on Fox.
