The 'Late Night' personality jumps in quite late in the game, as a host-less Globes was becoming a real possibility.
Seth Meyers is stepping out from behind the desk. NBC's Late Night host and resident Donald Trump antagonist is close to a deal to emcee the Golden Globes.
It's a first for the 43-year-old comedian, and it comes little more than a month before the Hollywood Foreign Press Association is set to hand out its kudos to stars of film and television on Jan. 7. There had been rumblings that NBC and the HFPA were going to go host-less in 2018, like it had up until 2009, but promoting a show with no personality attached in the current TV landscape is daunting.
Meyers follows NBC neighbor Jimmy Fallon, who hosted the Globes in 2017 to somewhat middling reviews after a 2016 appearance by Ricky Gervais and the celebrated three-year run of Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.
Host of Late Night since 2014, Meyers gained considerable heat this year with his continued devotion to political coverage and criticism of the Trump administration -- even as lead-in Fallon has bucked the current events trend that has lifted fellow late-night hosts such as Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel. Meyers is a draw among younger viewers, regularly ranking No. 1 in his late -- or, perhaps, early -- 12:35 a.m. time slot. Season-to-date, Late Night has averaged a 0.4 rating among adults 18-49 and 1.5 million viewers.
Meyers' awards hosting résumé is relatively modest. He emceed the 2014 Emmys and, quite infamously, the 2011 White House Correspondents Dinner. His ruthless skewering of Trump, then just a reality star, has been credited by some as a motivating factor for the mogul to eventually run for office.
The Golden Globes gig is not without its share of pressure. In addition to the fact that it is among the higher-rated awards shows, with last year's telecast pulling 20 million viewers and a 5.6 rating among adults 18-49, the ceremony sets the tone for the rest of awards season.
What's also of note is that 2018 is the last Golden Globes contracted to air on NBC via the current deal with the HFPA and executive producers Dick Clark Productions. There has been no official news on a potential renewal, and other networks are clearly keen on the show, given its unique ability to pull a live audience. So few non-sports events have that capability anymore. The Academy Awards, TV's biggest awards telecast, are set to air on ABC through 2028. And the Emmys, which rotate annually among the Big Four, pull a fraction of the Globes audience.
Earlier Monday (Nov. 20), NBC announced that it will air a 75th anniversary special for the Golden Globes. It is slated for Wednesday, Dec. 13, with Will & Grace stars Debra Messing and Will McCormack set to host.
The 2018 Golden Globes will again air live from the Beverly Hilton.
This article originally appeared on THR.com.