Amy Poehler, Tina Fey comedy team to host Golden Globes

Amy Poehler stars in 'Parks and Recreation.' Tina Fey headlines '30 Rock.'  The two leading ladies of comedy will replace Ricky Gervais as host of the Golden Globes award night. Amy Poehler and Tina Fey worked together on 'Saturday Night Live.'

Tina Fey and Amy Poehler are teaming up for the Golden Globes.

The Hollywood Foreign Press Association, dick clark productions and the NBC television network announced Monday that the pair of "30 Rock" and "Parks and Recreation" TV comedy stars have signed on to host the 70th annual Golden Globes ceremony after British comedian Ricky Gervais' three-year reign as the show's acerbic emcee.

"The unparalleled comedic timing of Tina and Amy will surely have viewers wanting to tune-in to see them in action," said Takla-O'Reilly, president of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, which honors film and TV at the Beverly Hills Hilton ceremony. "The HFPA is thrilled to have the magnetic duo be a part of the show's 70th anniversary!"

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The funny lady duo previously starred together in the films "Mean Girls" and "Baby Mama" and on "Saturday Night Live." They co-hosted the NBC sketch comedy series' "Weekend Update" satiric news segment from 2004 to 2006.

"Having both Tina Fey and Amy Poehler on board to host this year's festivities is a major coup," said Paul Telegdy, president of alternative and late night programming at NBC. "Tina and Amy have a proven chemistry and comedic timing from their many years together on 'SNL' to their successful co-starring roles in 'Baby Mama.'"

Poehler's "Parks and Recreation" is currently in its fifth season on NBC, while Fey's "30 Rock" is airing its seventh and final season on the network.

This year's Golden Globes ceremony was watched by 16.8 million TV viewers, finishing within 1 percent of the 17 million viewers who tuned in to the 2011 broadcast, according to the Nielsen Co.

The Globes are usually handed out about a week before the Academy Award nominations are announced, but that won't be the case next year. The motion-picture academy has moved up the Oscar nominations announcement to Jan. 10 — three days before the Globes are set to air Jan. 13. The earlier date for the nomination unveiling for the 85th annual Academy Awards, which will be hosted Feb. 24 by "Family Guy" creator Seth MacFarlane, could steal attention away from the Globes.

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NBC is controlled by Comcast Corp.

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Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.