Today in people hosting things: Neil Patrick Harris will host the Tonys, Patton Oswalt will host the Webby Awards

By Sean O'Neal | April 3, 2012 | 8:00pm

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Deftly avoiding an awkward situation in which some other, lesser host finds his monologue interrupted by Neil Patrick Harris storming the stage with a guerrilla medley, the Tony Awards have opted for the path of least resistance by hiring Neil Patrick Harris to return for its June 10 ceremony. Harris, of course, brings three years of experience with the job, an additional résumé that includes hosting the Emmys, the TV Land Awards, and even the Video Game Awards, plus his own custom-fitted wireless mic, probably. Better luck next decade to everyone who is not Neil Patrick Harris.

Also hosting things: Patton Oswalt has been tapped to emcee the upcoming Webby Awards, which marries the class and prestige of receiving the most upvotes on Reddit with the memes and dick jokes of the Oscars. Oswalt will oversee the lobbing of accolades at notable areas of the Internet—the nominees for which will be announced next week—while also ensuring that, as always, each winner limits their acceptance speech to five words or less, because nobody on the Internet has patience for anything. It’s quite a coup for Oswalt—or rather, it will be up until the moment when Neil Patrick Harris bursts out of Oswalt’s chest to take over the gig.