James Corden, host of The Late Late Show on CBS, will serve as emcee for the 31st Annual Television Critics Association (TCA) Awards, on Saturday, August 8, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel, announced TCA president Scott D. Pierce.
As part of the festivities, Corden will open the untelevised event with a special monologue before launching into the evening where presenters and recipients are announced by the critics. Awards will be presented in a wide variety of categories and genres such as news and information, youth, drama, reality, and comedy, as North America’s top TV critics gather to celebrate outstanding television programs of the 2014-2015 season.
Corden took over as host of the hit CBS staple The Late Late Show on March 23, 2015. During the short time since Corden took the helm, the show has generated numerous buzzworthy viral videos (23 of which boast more than 1 million online views), reached series highs in viewers and earned a Critics Choice Awards nomination.
Corden made his acting debut in the 1997 BAFTA-nominated comedy 24 7: Twenty Four Seven, starring Bob Hoskins. Following star turns in the teen dramedy series Fat Friends and the critically acclaimed play The History Boys, Corden had his star rise even further on the strength of the hit sitcom Gavin & Stacey, which Corden created with actress Ruth Jones. The romantic comedy ran on the BBC from 2007 to 2010, winning the British Film Academy Award for Best Comedy Show, and earning Corden the title of Best Comedy Actor.
In addition to his accolades in film and television, Corden has enjoyed an award-winning stage career, taking home the Tony for Best Actor in a Play in 2012 for his hilarious performance as Francis Henshall in the celebrated farce One Man, Two Guvnors. Since then, he has continued to build a successful career carving out memorable roles in films and television series such as Little Britain, Doctor Who, How To Lose Friends & Alienate People, Begin Again, and the big screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s beloved musical Into The Woods, where he stole the show as the childless Baker.
Corden joins an impressive roster of A-listers who have previously hosted the TCA Awards, including Terry Crews, Bryan Cranston, Ellen DeGeneres, Conan O’Brien, Drew Carey, Craig Ferguson, Wanda Sykes, the Smothers Brothers, Nick Offerman, Dax Shepard, Key & Peele, and Bob Newhart.
Nominations for the 31st Annual TCA Awards were announced on June 4. The nominations for current programming were spread across all five broadcast networks–ABC, CBS, NBC Fox, and The CW–as well as PBS, nine cable networks, and internet streaming services Netflix and Amazon. HBO leads the way with seven nominations; ABC, CBS, AMC, and FX each have five; Fox, PBS, The CW, and Amazon scored four; NBC and Comedy Central earned three; ABC Family has 2; and Netflix, Starz, Logo, Nickelodeon, and SundanceTV each have one.
The nominees include a number of past winners such as Julia Louis-Dreyfus and John Hamm, and shows ranging from Mad Men and Game of Thrones, to The Daily Show and The Big Bang Theory. However, there are also a number of first-time nominees this year, including Better Call Saul and its star, Bob Odenkirk, as well as Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Transparent, The Flash, and How To Get Away With Murder. For a complete listing of all the TCA Award nominees, click here.
The TCA nominates and votes on awards as an organization, and the process is not open to solicitation or submissions. In all, 12 awards will be presented for programming that has made an impact this past TV season. The TCA also bestows a Heritage Award trophy to one long-standing program that has culturally or socially influenced society, and a Career Achievement Award to an individual who has inspired his/her work in television.
