Entertainment NOW

Entertainment Now | September 18 - 24, 2021 By Sarah Passingham TV Media H as there been a better year to reward escap- ism in recent memory than this one? Televi- sion took viewers everywhere we couldn't travel, provided good laughs during trying mo- ments and gave us something to share theories about online ev- ery week. Now it's time to join Cedric the Entertainer ("The Last O.G.") as he hosts the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards, airing live on CBS on Sunday, Sept. 19, and see who will take home the coveted statuettes for the best of the best in television this year. Cedric stars in and executive produces the hilarious CBS sit- com "The Neighborhood," but he is no stranger to running the show: he also hosts "The Great- est #AtHome Videos," another special CBS series, created in 2020 to highlight joyful videos filmed during quarantine. With two CBS hits under his belt, the performer is a no-brainer to host the Emmys. Excited to step into his Emmy hosting shoes, Cedric told The L.A. Times that the awards are "a celebration of the people that actually are part of your homes and a part of your life." Another entertainer who has recently become part of our homes is Primetime Emmy win- ner Dan Levy. As a breakout star of the me- ga-hit CBC and Pop TV sitcom "Schitt's Creek," Levy took home four awards at last year's show for acting, writing, direct- ing and producing. "Schitt's Creek" made and broke records with its seven wins that year, sweeping all four comedy acting categories and garnering the most awards for a single season of a comedy series in Emmys history. The "Schitt's Creek" sweep at 2020's 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards was a heartwarming event to have happened during an objectively disheartening year. It brought together over- whelming audience and critic enthusiasm for a feel-good show and sent "Schitt's Creek" off on a high note following its sixth and final season. Levy is nominated again this year, this time for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as guest host of sketch comedy mainstay "Saturday Night Live," which also included a cameo from his father, "Schitt's Creek" co-star and "SCTV" legend Eugene Levy. Phoebe Bridgers was the musical guest on the Feb. 6, 2021, episode (the 900th of the series) and she notably smashed her guitar during the perfor- mance of her song "I Know the End." A hall-of-fame-worthy ep- isode, to be sure. For late-night veteran Ste- phen Colbert, taking home an Emmy would simply be the cher- ry on top of an enviable awards sundae. While nominations in three Emmys categories this year is no slouch, Colbert recently received another coveted honor. "The Late Show With Stephen Col- bert" was an entertainment honoree of the 2020 George Foster Peabody Awards, along- side fellow Emmy nominated se- ries "I May Destroy You," "Small Axe," "Ted Lasso," "The Good Lord Bird" and the Emmy-win- ning "Unorthodox." If we're talking about excep- tional hosts, first-time Out- standing Host for a Reality or Competition Program nominee Nicole Byer must be mentioned for the amusingly absurd job she does hosting Netflix's "Nailed It." For her category, Byer is up against some heavy hitters, with fellow nominees Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, An- toni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness of "Queer Eye"; RuPaul ("RuPaul's Drag Race"), Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Day- mond John and Kevin O'Leary of "Shark Tank"; and Padma Lak- shmi, Tom Colicchio and Gail Simmons of "Top Chef." An exciting first-time acting nominee this year is "Saturday Night Live" star Bowen Yang. Nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his work on the sketch show, Yang has given unforget- tably funny performances, in- cluding his impersonation of iconic New York humorist Fran Lebowitz and an appearance as the iceberg that sunk the Titanic, as well as a passionate "Week- end Update" segment in re- sponse to the rise of violence against Asian Americans. Yang was previously nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Vari- ety Series at the 71st Annual Pri- metime Emmys in 2019, also for "Saturday Night Live." The acting categories of the Emmys are always exciting races to watch, and this year's Out- standing Lead Actress in a Limit- ed Anthology Series or Movie may be most exemplary of the television that had us all talking, theorizing and taking up new hobbies this year. Nominees for the award are Cynthia Erivo ("Genius: Aretha" 2020), Mi- chaela Coel ("I May Destroy You"), Kate Winslet ("Mare of Easttown"), Anya Taylor-Joy ("The Queen's Gambit") and Eliz- abeth Olsen ("WandaVision"). The actors nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series also have a tight race between them. It's any- one's game in this category, with nominees Regé-Jean Page ("Bridgerton"), Josh O'Connor ("The Crown"), Jonathan Ma- jors ("Lovecraft Country"), Mat- thew Rhys ("Perry Mason"), Bil- ly Porter ("Pose") and Sterling K. Brown ("This Is Us") all hav- ing delivered incredible perfor- mances. Cheer on your favorite nomi- nees and tune in for the 73rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards live on CBS this Sunday, Sept. 19. Dan Levy, whose "Schitt's Creek" won big last year, is nominated again this year at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards This year's best: Winners to be named at the 73rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards 2 | Cover story A/Grindstone Charlie's B/Norris Insurance 1 x 4" Moore's Home Health 5 x 2"

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