Neil Patrick Harris will host variety show on NBC

Neil Patrick Harris has been a sitcom star, Broadway regular and award-show host, among many other things. Now he’s about to add variety emcee to his resume.

The former star of “How I Met Your Mother” will host a new hour-long variety show for NBC based on the British hit “Ant and Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway,” NBC has confirmed. The news was first reported on the website Vulture.

NBC has ordered 10 episodes from ITV Studios America, according to an NBC press release. The prime-time show does not have an official title or air date. The series will include “comedy sketches, musical numbers, mini game shows, hidden camera pranks on celebrities and appearances by A-list stars” and will be recorded in front of a live audience.

“As I watched the show, I couldn’t stop smiling,” Harris is quoted as saying in the statement. “Now that I’ve seen many seasons, my face hurts. It’s a game-changer.”

Variety shows were a staple on American TV throughout the 1960s and ‘70s but faded as audience tastes changed and cable networks proliferated. Lately, however, the format has attempted a comeback, with NBC trying an outing with former “Saturday Night Live” star Maya Rudolph.

Harris has said he wants to do an Ed Sullivan-type variety show and had talked with CBS about such a venture.

He was also recently named to host next year’s Academy Awards telecast on ABC.

Twitter: @scottcollinsLAT