Entertainment Extra

2 ENTERTAINMENT EXTRA By Sarah Passingham TV Media H as there been a better year to reward escapism in recent memory than this one? Television took viewers everywhere we couldn't travel, provided good laughs during trying moments and gave us something to share theories about online every 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 Greatest #AtHome Videos," another special CBS series, creat- ed in 2020 to highlight joyful vid- eos 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 mega-hit CBC and Pop TV sitcom "Schitt's Creek," Levy took home four awards at last year's show for acting, writing, directing 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 overwhelm- ing audience and critic enthusi- asm 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, epi- sode (the 900th of the series) and she notably smashed her guitar during the performance of her song "I Know the End." A hall-of-fame-worthy episode, to be sure. For late-night veteran Stephen Colbert, taking home an Emmy would simply be the cherry on top of an enviable awards sun- dae. While nominations in three Emmys categories this year is no slouch, Colbert recently received another coveted honor. "The Late Show With Stephen Colbert" was an entertainment honoree of the 2020 George Foster Peabody Awards, alongside fellow Emmy nominated series "I May Destroy You," "Small Axe," "Ted Lasso," "The Good Lord Bird" and the Emmy-winning "Unorthodox." If we're talking about excep- tional hosts, first-time Outstanding 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, Antoni Porowski and Jonathan Van Ness of "Queer Eye"; RuPaul ("RuPaul's Drag Race"), Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John and Kevin O'Leary of "Shark Tank"; and Padma Lakshmi, 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 unforgettably funny perfor- mances, including his imperson- ation of iconic New York humor - ist Fran Lebowitz and an appearance as the iceberg that sunk the Titanic, as well as a passionate "Weekend Update" segment in response to the rise of violence against Asian Americans. Yang was previously nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series at the 71st Annual Primetime Emmys in 2019, also for "Saturday Night Live." Schwering Realty 2 x 2" Pear Tree Gallery 3 x 2" On the Cover Dan Levy, whose "Schitt's Creek" won big last year, is nominated again this year at the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards Winners to be named at the 73rd Annual Primetime Emmy Awards Chase Center 3 x 2" American Legion Post 60 2 x 3" Thrifty Muffler 2 x 2.5"

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