After scoring tepid reviews as the host of the 2007 Emmys, Ryan Seacrest will get by with a little help from his "reality" friends at this year's show.
Boy-next-door Seacrest and reality stars Heidi Klum ("Project Runway"), Howie Mandel ("Deal or No Deal"), Jeff Probst ("Survivor") and Tom Bergeron ("Dancing with the Stars") will share ringmaster duties at the 60th Primetime Emmy Awards. The live telecast will air from L.A.'s Nokia Theatre on Sunday, September 21 on CTV.
This expedient co-hosting alliance comes as no surprise. Emmy organizers put their money on Seacrest to boost the 2007 show's ratings. Good thing producers didn't bet the farm.
With Seacrest at the helm the 2007 Emmys raked in a mere 13.1 million viewers, making it the second lowest ratings in the show's history. The 1990 telecast, which drew 12.3 million viewers, holds the record for the smallest audience figures in Emmy history.
Undaunted by this broadcast's failing numbers supermodel Klum can't wait to ham it up on stage with Seacrest and her other Emmy co-hosts.
"I'm totally up for making fun of ourselves, doing goofy things," Klum told The Associated Press. "I'm totally up for the game. Bring it on!"
"We're gonna look like four maitre d's following her around," Bergeron has joked.
If Seacrest does feels slighted by this obvious Emmy rescue mission he's keeping mum about it.
"The five of us know each other and have really good chemistry together. It will seem comfortable, natural and most of all fun," the star with the picket-fence smile told The Associated Press.
Adding to that "chemistry" is the fact that Seacrest and company are all nominees in the new category of best host for a reality or reality-competition show.
The reality genre, say Emmy organizers, has clearly established itself as a popular, money-making part of 21st-century television. In fact, this year's telecast features reality-made celebrity Lauren Conrad of "The Hills" as a presenter. Conrad and "Project Runway" winner Christian Siriano, another reality-made star, are also creating the gowns for the show's "trophy girls."
Blast from the past
The 2008 Emmy telecast isn't limiting its salutes to reality TV. To honour the heritage of the medium and its history the Nokia Theatre's stage will feature sets from "Mash," "The Simpsons," "Desperate Housewives" and other seminal TV shows.
Presenters and Emmy categories are being pegged to scenes to play up the pop-culture connections between today's TV hits and important shows from previous decades.
Oscar-winner Helen Mirren, Charlie Sheen, Kristin Chenoweth and Jeremy Piven will open Sunday night's Emmy extravaganza by delivering popular TV catch phrases.
Finally, show producers have revealed that the cast of a popular TV show that split company more than a decade ago will reunite on the Nokia Theatre stage.
If that kitsch doesn't grab audiences, the show's wistful look at 2008's hottest nominees and their A-list performances should hit a high note.
And the winner is...
NBC's "30 Rock" and AMC's "Mad Men" could be big Emmy winners by the time Seacrest and crew wrap up their breezy, scripted t�te-�-t�tes.
With 16 nominations "Mad Men" towered above other TV drama series this year. The slick look at the world of advertising also scored Emmy nods for Outstanding Drama Series and a Best Actor nomination for John Hamm (aka Don Draper).
NBC's pithy comedy "30 Rock" scored 17 nominations, including Outstanding Comedy Series and actor nods for Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin. It's a vote of approval that could see Fey, Baldwin and "30 Rock" producers laughing all the way to the Emmy podium.
HBO's historical miniseries "John Adams" led all nominees with a total of 23 Emmy nods, including a Best Actor nomination for Paul Giamatti.
Finally, look for the hit shows "Lost," "House," "Boston Legal" and Showtime's "Dexter" to do their best to cut in on 2008's Emmy gold rush.
