4 things to expect from Emmys host Seth Meyers

Late Thursday night NBC announced it had chosen “Late Night” host Seth Meyers to host the 2014 Primetime Emmy Awards in August.

It’s tradition for the hosting network to tap one of its own performers for the role — the last time NBC had the telecast in 2010, then-“Late Night” host Jimmy Fallon was the emcee.

This will be Meyers’ first time hosting the Emmys, but he’s no stranger to the thankless job of awards host. Before taking over “Late Night” last February, the “Saturday Night Live” alum had already presided over the ESPY Awards (twice) and the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.

We took a look at his past hosting performances to speculate on what to expect when he takes the Emmys stage Aug. 25.

ESPY Awards (2010, 2011)

Sports fan Meyers proved he’s not afraid to take swings at the hosting network when, as host of the 2010 ESPYS, he took ESPN to task for its much-maligned LeBron James special “The Decision.” (There were no hard feelings — they asked him back to host the next year.) While NBC isn’t the ratings loser it was a few years ago, it’s still ripe for a few jabs from its own talent (“Sound of Music,” anyone?). One other handy benefit of Meyers’ ESPY experience? He’ll know his way around the Emmys stage — both film at the Nokia Theatre in LA.

White House Correspondents’ Dinner (2011)

Like 2012 Emmys host Jimmy Kimmel, Meyers’ résumé includes a turn as entertainer at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, the annual hobnobbing of Hollywood stars and the DC press corps. So expect Meyers to take a few traditional punches at the stars in attendance at the Emmys — once you’ve roasted the leader of the free world, what’s a B-list starlet?

‘Saturday Night Live’ (2001-2014)

Before any of his other hosting gigs, Meyers was anchor of “SNL’s” “Weekend Update,” first alongside Amy Poehler, from 2006-2008, then solo until 2013. Could the “Parks and Recreation” star be poised to rejoin him for a bit on the Emmys stage? Seems likely. The two are close pals — she stopped by “SNL” for his final show and was his first guest on “Late Night.” And Poehler is already an Emmys pro — masterminding the best-actress stage rush in 2011, switching speeches with Julia Louis-Dreyfus in 2012 and heckling Neil Patrick Harris with Tina Fey in 2013.

‘Late Night with Seth Meyers’ (2014-present)

While previous Emmys hosts like Fallon and Harris have brought their theatricality and musical skills to their hosting turns, Meyers has always been more of a writer than a performer. For his nightly hosting duties on NBC, he’s done most of his jokes from behind the desk. So don’t expect a big opening musical number à la Fallon at the 2010 Emmys — we’d bet on more pretaped TV parodies like this “Mad Men” spoof that Meyers did earlier this month.