Reality TV Stars to Host Emmys

The reality television phenomenon has challenged what most people thought of as traditional programming, and by embracing it, this year's Emmy Awards will challenge the format of a traditional awards show. That's because there will be not one host, but five, the five nominees for Best Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program, a new category.

The nominees-turned-hosts are Tom Bergeron of Dancing with the Stars, Ryan Seacrest of American Idol, Howie Mandel of Deal or No Deal, Heidi Klum of Project Runway, and Jeff Probst of Survivor.

Though Kevin Ehrlich, executive producer for the awards show, had been tossing around the idea of a team-hosted show for a while, it wasn't until the full list of reality nominees came out last week that he made the decision. "When those five names were read, all of a sudden it was absolutely perfect," he said. "The four networks are represented, as well as cable. In that sense it was great. And in the sense that each one of those individuals does something a little different than the other, we have five distinct personalities. Plus, they like each other."

All five stars immediately signed on for the opportunity, the Associated Press reports. "They were excited by this. They got it, what a fresh idea this was and how this could be fun for them," said Erlich. The program writers will try to "treat each of the five people equally and hopefully find places in the show that each can shine," he continued.

Commenting on why the unexpected choice was made, Ehrlich simply said, "It just seemed like a perfect way to stay current with the state of television today."

What he left out is that jumping on the reality TV bandwagon - hardly a new development in the television world - may also be an attempt for the awards show to boost ratings after 2007's second lowest ever viewership of under 13 million. By contrast, American Idol has over 20 million viewers weekly, and if you combine all five programs, you're looking at 70 million potential fans for the awards.

The show will be broadcast live from Los Angeles September 21 on ABC.