The entertainment industry is trying to regain a sense of normalcy even as the global coronavirus pandemic continues to rage around the world. The industry’s latest attempt came today as the Television Academy announced that Jimmy Kimmel will host this year’s Emmys.
The Hollywood Reporter quotes Kimmel as saying that he has no idea where, how, or why this year’s Emmy Awards are being held, an acknowledgment that the industry event will likely not look like its previous iterations.
Before the global coronavirus pandemic changed the way entertainment events are held, the 2020 Primetime Emmys were supposed to be held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on Sept. 20. With the announcement of Kimmel as host and executive producer, it looks like the award show will push through on the same date but in a still undetermined format.
Aside from hosting two Emmys previously, Variety also notes that Kimmel has also been hosting his talk show, Jimmy Kimmel Live, from his home since March, making him a good choice if the Emmy Awards decides to go virtual for its 2020 staging.
The publication also quotes ABC Entertainment president Karey Burke as saying that Kimmel would be the perfect host for the show, bringing “heart and humor” as well as joy and optimism to a show that will likely be clouded by the ongoing global coronavirus pandemic.
Other entertainment events have not been as fortunate to keep their planned dates. Just recently, the Oscars announced that they would be pushing back their 2021 staging to April, two months from its traditional February broadcast.
The Cannes Film Festival, usually held in May, had initially rescheduled to June before finally being forced to forego holding a physical festival and opting instead to seek out other alternatives, such as holding it in conjunction with other film festivals.
While the Venice Film festival has managed to retain its original September dates, organizers have had to look into digital alternatives to enable the foreign press to cover the event. Organizers have also announced that they expect fewer foreign participants and foreign press to take part in the event.
This year’s Emmy Awards will be held in a world that is still dealing with an ongoing global coronavirus pandemic with no signs of slowing down. The World Health Organization, in its June 16 update, says that there are currently 7,941,791 confirmed COVID-19 cases worldwide. There are now 434,796 people that have did from COVID-19.