Primetime Emmy Awards

Lynch accepts her 2010 Emmy | Photo by Steve Granitz/Getty Images

Despite the glitz and glamour, red-carpet awards shows appear to be losing their shine. The average American may tune in for 35 hours of TV a week, but Emmy viewership has fallen 38% since 2000, to a paltry 13.5 million in 2010, according to a Nielsen report. A sun on the horizon? This year's host is Glee star Jane Lynch, whom Emmy exec producer Mark Burnett called his "first--and only--choice." And Lynch, who nabbed last year's statuette for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy, is a surefire ratings magnet: Her guest appearance on Nickelodeon's iCarly attracted 5.9 million viewers--twice its average audience.

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A version of this article appears in the September 2011 issue of Fast Company.