BEVERLY HILLS (CNS - Comedian Ricky Gervais will host the 77th Annual Golden Globe Awards in Beverly Hills in January, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association announced today.
It will be a record fifth time that the English comedian will have hosted the Golden Globes. The three-hour telecast will air live on NBC coast to coast Sunday, January 5, 2020,at 8 p.m. at the Beverly Hilton in Beverly Hills.
The Golden Globes serve as the kickoff of the 2020 awards season. Twenty-five categories -- 14 in film and 11 in television -- are voted on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association.
“Once again, they've made me an offer I can't refuse. But this is the very last time I'm doing this, which could make for a fun evening,” said Gervais.
Paul Telegdy, Chairman, NBC Entertainment, said that “There is always a palpable electricity in the room when Ricky takes the Globes stage. His return as master of ceremonies at the Golden Globes is much anticipated. It is sure to make for an unexpected evening. We can't wait to see what he has up his sleeve.”
Added Mike Mahan, CEO, dick clark productions, “When Ricky Gervais is at the helm of the Golden Globes Awards, we can always expect the unexpected.”
Gervais hosted the Golden Globes in 2010-12 and returned for a fourth time in 2016.
His work hosting the Globes often has appeared to leave celebrities in his audience stunned and not a little ticked off. At the Golden Globes in 2010, he told them -- inaccurately, as it turned out, “It's O.K. folks, I won't be doing this again.” He also said that year: “Looking at all the wonderful faces here today reminds me of the great work that's been done this year -- by cosmetic surgeons.”
A year later, Hollywood Foreign Press Association President Phillip Berk was so incensed at Gervais' barrage of barbs that he said: “He definitely crossed the line... And some of the things were totally unacceptable. But that's Ricky.”