By Mark Kennedy, Entertainment Writer
NEW YORK (AP) --Eugene Levy and Dan Levy will make history at the Emmy Awards next month as the first ever father and son co-hosts.
“We are thrilled to welcome two generations of comedy genius to the Emmy’s stage as hosts,” said Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego in a statement Friday.
The Levys cleaned up at the 2020 Emmys — the year the winners appeared remotely due to the pandemic — thanks to their hit series “Schitt’s Creek.” Eugene Levy won for outstanding comedy actor and Dan Levy won for best supporting comedy actor. Dan Levy also picked up wins for writing and directing, while both won the outstanding comedy series trophy as executive producers.
“For two Canadians who won our Emmys in a literal quarantine tent, the idea of being asked to host this year in an actual theater was incentive enough,” the Levys said in a statement. “We’re thrilled to be able to raise a glass to this extraordinary season of television.”
The Levys will be the first-ever father-son hosts at the Emmys and the first duo to do it since 2018 with “Saturday Night Live” stars Colin Jost and Michael Che.
The 76th Emmys air live in Los Angeles on Sept. 15 on ABC, and streams the next day on Hulu.
Eugene Levy isn’t just a co-host this year — he also nominated for his Apple TV+ series “The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy,” the unlikely wedding of a droll and cautious host with some of the most beautiful places on Earth.
Emmy Awards ratings up more than 50%, reversing record lows
The Emmys telecast on ABC reached nearly 7 million viewers, a jump of more than 50%from the record low of the last ceremony in January and the biggest audience since 2021, according to numbers released Monday by the network.
Sunday night's 76th Primetime Emmy Awards, in which "Shogun," "Hacks" and "Baby Reindeer" won top awards, was back in its traditional mid-September spot after the rare January ceremony that was delayed four months by Hollywood's strikes.
That show, which aired on Fox, reached a record low audience of 4.3 million viewers.
ABC said Monday that the Sunday night show hosted by Eugene and Dan Levy reached 6.87 million viewers, a jump of 54% despite competition from NFL football.
The height-of-the-pandemic Emmys in 2020 on ABC, with no in-person audience and remote nominees, set a new low at the time with 6.1 million viewers. The show bounced back the following year with 7.4 million for CBS with help from an NFL game lead-in.
But NBC's 2022 telecast dropped to 5.9 million, followed by the further decline in January of this year.
The Emmys telecast rotates annually between the four broadcast networks.
The last time the Emmys reached more than 10 million viewers was 2018, when it drew in 10.2 million. The show had 21.8 million viewers in 2000, a level it's unlikely ever to reach again.
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