The Emmys will bring back a live audience with Cedric the Entertainer as host

Cedric is getting ready to entertain the first live Emmys audience in two years.

The Television Academy and CBS announced Monday that Cedric the Entertainer will host the 2021 Emmy Awards, which will bring back a limited live audience, this September.

"Since I was a little boy huddled up next to my grandmother, television has always been my reliable friend, so it is an enormous honor for me to host this year's Emmy Awards," Cedric the Entertainer said.

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Last year's Emmys were dramatically altered by the COVID-19 pandemic, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting from the Staples Center with no in-person audience while nominees joined the show remotely; the ceremony even featured people in hazmat suits delivering awards. As COVID-19 vaccines rolled out, though, awards shows including April's Oscars began bringing back limited audiences in person. The Emmys will follow suit, but the audience for September's show will still be "limited," consisting of "nominees and their guests" at the Microsoft Theatre in Los Angeles.

The announcement came as the nominations for September's Emmys are set to be unveiled on Tuesday. It should be another big year for streaming shows, and The Crown and Ted Lasso are seen as the frontrunners in the two top categories. That would give Netflix its very first win for Outstanding Drama Series, as well as hand a major victory to Apple less than two years after its streaming service Apple TV+ launched.

The 2021 Emmys are set for Sept. 19.