Who Is Nate Bargatze? Meet the Comedian and 2025 Emmys Host

Following his CBS holiday special in 2024, Nate Bargatze is teaming up with the network again to host the 2025 Emmy Awards.

“It’s a huge honor to be asked to host such an iconic awards show and I’m beyond excited to work with CBS to create a night that can be enjoyed by families around the world,” the comedian shared in a statement with Variety in April. (The 77th annual Emmys are set to air on CBS Sunday, September 14.)

Television Academy chair Cris Abrego noted that Bargatze is “one of the hottest comics in the business with a remarkable and hilarious brand of comedy that deeply resonates with multigenerational audiences around the globe.”

“We are thrilled to be able to leverage his one-of-a-kind perspective to entertain TV fans watching this year’s Emmy telecast,” Abrego shared with the outlet.

Aside from hosting the Emmys, Bargatze has had a successful comedy career, rising to fame with Netflix specials like The Tennessee Kid, The Greatest Average American, Hello, World and Your Friend, Nate Bargatze.

Keep scrolling to learn more about Bargatze’s life and career:

He Grew Up in Tennessee

Bargatze was born in Nashville in March 1979 and began performing skits with his church group at a young age. While he left Nashville in 2002 to pursue comedy, Bargatze eventually returned to Tennessee in 2014 to raise his family.

“I mean, everything’s really come through Nashville. Applebee’s on Thompson Lane’s where I met my wife [Laura Bargatze],” Nate said in an interview with WSMV4 in February. “I read water meters in West Wilson [County], I swept the steps of the Grand Ole Opry and I swept the park, and I worked in the dog kennel. Went to school, and went to Volunteer State for a semester, no credits.”

He Has Had Several Comedy Specials

Nate’s first hour-long comedy special, Full Time Magic, was released by Comedy Central in 2015, but his breakout didn’t happen until Netflix launched The Standups in 2017. The series, which featured 30-minute sets by stand-up comedians, “changed everything” for Nate.

“You try to always be in the moment and pay attention to stuff as it happens, but that was crazy,” Nate told Forbes in a March 2019 interview. “The week after it came out, I was at Tacoma Comedy Club. It wasn’t like the club was sold out, but it was more crowded than I thought it was going to be. More people were there. … So it was kind of immediate.”

Following The Standups, Nate released his first full Netflix special, The Tennessee Kid, in 2019, followed by The Greatest Average American in 2021. The latter, which was filmed at Universal Studios Hollywood, was nominated for a 2022 Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album. After his Grammy nomination, Nate’s Prime Video special, Hello, World, became Amazon’s most-streamed original comedy special in 2023. The following year, his Netflix special Your Friend, Nate Bargatze debuted in Netflix’s global Top 10.

He Has Hosted ‘Saturday Night Live’ Twice

In October 2023, Nate made his SNL debut with Foo Fighters as the musical guest. The comedian went viral for his portrayal of George Washington, who ranted about how Americans should never switch to the metric system. Nate returned to SNL in October 2024 as the host alongside musical guest Sabrina Carpenter.

“SNL’s really done a lot of stuff for me. I owe a lot of this to SNL, and [creator] Lorne [Michaels],” Nate told People in February. “And Lorne is someone that does see that. … Someone, a point in my career, to be 20 years in and for it to have that big of an impact on someone that’s been in the business for 20 years is, just shows you that they’re always looking.”

He Cohosts the ‘Nateland’ Podcast

Nate began cohosting the “Nateland” comedy podcast alongside Brian Bates, Dusty Slay and Aaron Weber in July 2020. Guests have included John Crist, Ryan Hamilton, Mike Vecchione, Leanne Morgan, Greg Warren and more.

He Is Married With a Daughter

Nate married his wife, Laura, whom he met while working at Applebee’s in Nashville, in October 2006. The couple share a daughter and live in Nashville.

“I never had any doubt that our life would work out, whether he chose not to do comedy or found a job or some other career path,” Laura shared on the “Nateland” podcast in 2020.