Fox chief says Emmy Awards won't have a host this year

Like the Oscars before it, the upcoming 71st Emmy Awards ceremony will go on without a celebrity host.

The photo shows the main stage during the 68th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles on Sept. 18, 2016. There will be no host at the ceremony honoring TV's best next month. Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier said Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019 that going host-less allows more time to salute departing shows, including "Game of Thrones." [Photo: IC]

Fox Entertainment CEO Charlie Collier said Wednesday that going host-less allows more time to salute departing shows, including "Game of Thrones."

The HBO fantasy saga, which ended its run this past season, is the top nominee with a record-setting 32 nominations.

The Emmy show rotates among the top broadcast networks.

"We need to do this well. We have a great story to tell," Executive Producer Don Mischer said. "We have great stories that will influence people and move people and touch people. We can do that with a host and we can do that without a host. And we've done it before. We've done Emmy Awards with hosts before and they've been very successful so we're not feeling pressure about it."

The Oscars ran into trouble when last year's planned host, Kevin Hart, stepped down following a backlash over his past homophobic tweets. The search for a replacement proved fruitless.

(Story includes material sourced from AP)