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Seth Meyers nears deal to host 2018 Golden Globe Awards

seth meyers
seth meyers

NBC

  • "Late Night" host Seth Meyers is nearing a deal to host the Golden Globe Awards, Variety reports.

  • Jimmy Fallon hosted the show last year.

  • The Golden Globe Awards premieres on NBC on January 7, 2018.


 

Seth Meyers is closing in on a deal to host NBC’s Golden Globe Awards telecast on Jan. 7.

The frontman of NBC’s “Late Night With Seth Meyers” is a natural choice for the role. “Tonight Show” star Jimmy Fallon did the honors for the 2017 Globes fete in January.

Meyers takes on the assignment just seven weeks out from the telecast, which marks the 75th annual Globes ceremony. It comes at a tough time for showbiz personalities to be at the helm of a live broadcast, given the intense public focus on sexual harassment and the darker side of working in Hollywood. In this light, awards shows may be viewed by some as an example of ego-stroking largess.

Meyers was approached early on, but did not commit until just the past few days. Ellen DeGeneres and Tiffany Haddish were among the stars approached for the Globes gig in the interim. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler also resisted overtures to return after their much-praised 2013-2015 run. Ricky Gervais was an envelope-pushing Globes emcee from 2010 to 2012 and again in 2016.

Insiders say it’s increasingly becoming a hard sell to line up big stars for hosting gigs. The commitment is significant and the returns for an established personality can be limited.

From the Oscars on down, viewership of major awards franchises is on the decline, while the chances of a host being skewered on social media are definitely on the rise. These days, celebrities are on edge about doing something in public that winds up becoming fodder for mean memes and nasty tweets.

ABC and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences got plenty of “no thanks” before they settled on Jimmy Kimmel for this year’s Oscarcast (Kimmel will be back for a second time in March). CBS earlier this year struggled to find a host for the June telecast of the Tony Awards, in part because “The Late Late Show’s” James Corden did such a good job under pressure in 2016, when the Tonys aired the day after the shooting rampage at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Fla.

This year’s Tony hosting slot finally went to Kevin Spacey, the decorated actor who has since been disgraced by allegations of sexual harassment and assault from men dating back decades.

Before Gervais’ tenure began, the Globes telecasts frequently aired without a central host.

Earlier Monday, NBC announced plans for a two-hour retrospective on the Globes to air Dec. 13 with “Will & Grace” stars Debra Messing and Eric McCormack set as hosts.

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