Los Angeles ? If one funny host is a good thing, organizers of the 55th annual Emmy Awards are banking on a whole bunch of them being even better.

Comedians Ellen DeGeneres, Brad Garrett, Darrell Hammond, George Lopez, Conan O’Brien, Garry Shandling, Martin Short, Jon Stewart and Wanda Sykes will share hosting duties at this year’s Emmy show, the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced Friday.

The show will be broadcast Sept. 21 on Fox, with a different host taking the stage after each break.

“Fox is always looking for innovative ways to produce live television, and we think that capitalizing on the talents of these fantastic comedians will make the broadcast more spontaneous and entertaining,” said Gail Berman, the network’s president of entertainment.

DeGeneres, O’Brien and Shandling have individually served as hosts for the show in the past. DeGeneres won critical praise for her funny but respectful remarks during the 2001 show that was postponed twice because of the Sept. 11 attacks.

Don Mischer, executive producer of this year’s broadcast, said producers wanted to try something different.