T.J. Miller to host the Critics’ Choice Awards for a second year

NEW YORK, Aug. 20 (UPI) — Comedian T.J. Miller will return as host of the Critics’ Choice Awards for a second consecutive year, A&E announced.

The three-hour gala in Santa Monica will be the season’s first, major, prize presentation honoring excellence in film and television. It is to air live on Dec. 11.

“T.J.’s tremendous presence and comedic humor complement our mission to make this show bigger and better year after year,” Elaine Frontain Bryant, the network’s executive vice president of programming, said in a statement. “We are honored to have him return as we lead the way into award season celebrating the best of television and film.”

“The BFCA and BTJA are very excited about moving the Critics’ Choice Awards from the traditional mid-January date to Dec. 11,” added Joey Berlin, president of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association. “This is the logical time for the Critics’ Choice Awards to be presented in the vanguard of the awards season. The role of critics is to assess new films and television shows and advise the public when they are initially released. So, this new date is actually the most appropriate time for our annual year-end assessment of the finest achievements in both media. Dec. 11 will be the first time all of the year’s major award contenders will be gathered together to celebrate the best of the best.”