“Saturday Night Live” alum Aidy Bryant has been tapped to host the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards, which will once again stream live on Film Independent’s YouTube channel and IMDB from its signature Santa Monica beach tent location. Last year’s ceremony marked the first time since 1997 that the annual celebration of independent cinema and television wouldn’t air on the IFC network after it did not renew its licensing deal.
The comedian follows past Spirit hosts such as Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman, Nick Kroll and John Mulaney, Melissa Villaseñor, Aubrey Plaza and last year’s Hasan Minhaj, who drew criticism for his monologues about trade journalism, award shows and one joke involving Armie Hammer and cannibalism.
An acclaimed comedian, Bryant got her big break when she joined the cast of NBC’s long-running sketch series in 2012, where she starred for 10 seasons. During her tenure, she picked up three Primetime Emmy nominations — original music and lyrics in 2014 (“Home for the Holiday [Twin Bed]” and two for supporting comedy actress (in 2018 and 2021). During her stint on “SNL,” she was also the showrunner, co-creator and star of the acclaimed Hulu comedy series “Shrill” for three seasons, which netted her a lead comedy actress nod in 2021, making a rare double acting nominee.
The Arizona-born multi-hyphenate recently signed an overall deal with Universal Television, where she’s currently developing multiple projects, including her new television vehicle, “Lonely Hearts Club,” produced by Ari Aster. In addition, Bryant voices the lead character “Emmy the Lovebug” on Netflix’s animated series “Human Resources.”
“We’re thrilled to have the incandescently talented Aidy Bryant joining us to host the 39thannual Spirit Awards,” said Josh Welsh, president of Film Independent. “Through her humor, skill and a seemingly endless supply of energy, she has been entertaining audiences for years, and we can’t wait to see what she has in store for us as we celebrate independent artists.”
Emmy Award-winning producer Eddie Delbridge of Live Digital Entertainment returns for this year’s ceremony. At the same time, Shawn Davis takes the reins as executive producer for his 22nd time, with Danielle Federico and Andrew Schaff returning as producers.
Along with marking the 39th edition of the ceremony, it’s the 30th anniversary of Film Independent’s influential Artist Development program, which promotes unique independent voices by assisting filmmakers in creating and advancing new work.
The organization introduced gender-neutral categories in 2022, combining the traditionally separated male and female lead and supporting categories into two categories for best lead performance and supporting performance, recognizing ten nominees in each. A24’s multiverse comedy “Everything Everywhere All at Once” swept last year’s awards with seven wins, the most won for a single film in the history of the Spirits. It went on to win seven Oscars.
The Indie Spirit nominations will be announced on Dec. 5 at 7:00 a.m. PT on Film Independent’s website and YouTube channel. Winners will be revealed on Feb. 25, with the ceremony starting at 2:00 p.m. PT.
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