Emmys Pushed to January, on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, One Week After Golden Globes
The Emmys officially have a new date: Fox and the Television Academy were set to announce this morning that the 75th Emmy Awards will shift to Monday, January 15, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT. That puts the ceremony on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and also means it will be finally air nearly four months after it the telecast was originally planned (September 18). As part of the announcement, Fox and the TV Academy have updated the key art for this year’s event; scroll down for more.
As Variety first reported, as it became clear that the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes would likely push the Emmys out of September, Fox had been focused on a postponement to January, while the TV Academy had been pushing for November. But with no negotiations currently scheduled between the studios and the two guilds, it appears like a work stoppage will continue for some time — and even November might have been too soon to reschedule. More recently, Emmy vendors were informed that the September date definitely wasn’t happening, setting the stage for today’s announcement.
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Now, the new date puts the Emmys right in the middle of the winter awards season. And it may lead to more conflicts: As part of the announcement, the TV Academy also announced that the Creative Arts Emmy Awards would move to Saturday, January 6, and Sunday, January 7. (They were originally slated for September 9 and September 10).
But the Golden Globe Awards had already announced that it would take place on January 7. As of now, however, there’s no word on a broadcast partner for the Globes telecast. Should the Globes move forward as planned, there is the tricky question of conflicting shows. But if history is any guide, the Creative Arts Emmys usually splits its focus into its first night on scripted and its second night on unscripted (which is not generally a part of the Globes), so there might ultimately be little overlap.
The Emmys’ move to January also brings up another unusual circumstance: The Globes, Critics Choice Awards (set to take place January 14), SAG Awards (February 24) and other guild kudos during that time will be recognizing programs from the January 1 to December 31, 2023, timeframe, while the Emmy eligibility window for this next ceremony covers June 1, 2022, to May 31, 2023. That means some series and performances on the Emmy telecast will be awarded for entirely different seasons than the shows awarded at the Globes, Critics Choice of SAG ceremonies. (In other words, which “The Bear” are you honoring? Season 1 for Emmys, Season 2 for Globes et. al.)
But so goes the unusual nature of these times. The TV Academy previously announced that it wouldn’t change the Phase 2 voting calendar for the 75th Emmys, meaning that members will still fill out their ballots between August 17 and August 28. After that, the results will be locked up for several months.
Here’s what else we know: The Creative Arts and Primetime Emmys will still take place at the Peacock Theater at LA Live — that’s the venue formerly known as the Microsoft Theater (and before that, the Nokia Theater, and yes, it’s had quite a few names in its short life). And as previously announced, Jesse Collins Entertainment will take over this year as the new producers of the telecast, with Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay as executive producers.
Also, FXX is still on board to air an edited version of the two Creative Arts Emmys on Saturday, January 13, 2024, at 8 p.m. ET.
Fox and the TV Academy zeroed in on Martin Luther King Jr. Day because first off, it’s a holiday, which makes it easier to hold an all-day event that isn’t on a weekend. There’s plenty of precedence for an awards show on this specific holiday: The Golden Globes ran on Martin Luther King Jr. Day for several years before shifting to a Sunday.
This year’s Emmys on September 18 were set for a Monday to avoid the weekend football schedule — although it still would have gone up against Monday Night Football. Now, it will benefit from promotion during Fox’s coverage of an NFL wild card game that Sunday, but may still go up against another wild card game on January 15, likely on ESPN/ABC.
The Emmys move to January marks the first time the Emmys has shifted dates since 2001, when the telecast was forced to move twice in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and U.S. military action in Afghanistan. The January 15 date also reps the earliest in the calendar year the Emmys have taken place — but only by ten days. The very first Emmys, at the Hollywood Athletic Club, was held on January 25, 1949. The ceremony continued in January through 1950 and 1951, before shifting to February in 1952, March in 1955, April in 1958, May in 1959 and June in 1960. It then moved back to May from 1961 to 1964 and tested the September waters in 1965. Then it was back to a mix of May and June before a permanent shift to September in 1977. Since then, it has been mostly used to kick off the TV season in September, with a few years in August — except for November 2001.
This year’s nominations were announced on July 12, less than 48 hours before the SAG-AFTRA strike began, effectively halting all production and promotion in the entertainment industry.
HBO’s “Succession” leads this year’s Emmy nominations, with 27 — including best drama, lead actress (Sarah Snook) and a record three lead actor noms (Brian Cox, Kieran Culkin and Jeremy Strong). “The Last of Us” — the first video game adaptation to receive major Emmy attention — followed with 24 noms, then Season 2 of “The White Lotus” (now a drama series, last year a limited series) with 23.
Apple TV+’s “Ted Lasso” scored 21 noms, making it the year’s biggest comedy. Netflix’s “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story,” with 13 nods, was the year’s most recognized limited/anthology series. Roku’s “Weird: The Al Yankovic Story” was tops in TV movie, with eight. And “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” with seven, was the top unscripted series.
Here is the key art for the 75th Emmys:
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