PH
The Emmy Awards have been postponed by nearly four months, according to organizers, as devastating strikes by Hollywood’s actors and writers continue with no end in sight.
The television counterpart of the Oscars, which were scheduled to take place this September, will now take place in mid-January next year, according to a joint statement from Fox and the Television Academy.
“We are pleased to announce that the 75th Emmy Awards will now air on Monday, January 15, 2024,” said a Fox spokesman.
The Emmys are the most important entertainment event to be postponed thus far as a result of Hollywood’s first industry-wide walkout by both actors and writers in more than 60 years.
The last time the Emmys were postponed was in 2001, in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Because of the ongoing actors’ strike, A-list celebs and nominees would currently be unable to attend the Emmys, which would be devastating for television viewership.
Writers would also be prohibited from writing a monologue or jokes for the show’s host and presenters.
The lengthy delay is supposed to give both parties time to work out their issues, despite the fact that the various parties have rarely communicated through any formal channels since the authors’ strike began 100 days ago.
The significantly larger Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA) joined the Writers Guild of America (WGA) on the picket lines last month.
Both want higher salary and assurances that artificial intelligence will not take their jobs and money, among other things.
Reports of an Emmys postponement have circulated in recent weeks, but no new date had been announced, nor had the postponement been confirmed.
Mid-January lands the Emmys right in the middle of Hollywood’s packed film awards season.
The Emmys will now take place one week after the Golden Globes, and just 24 hours after the Critics Choice Awards.
The Oscars are set to be held on March 10.
Deadlock
With a few exceptions, such as reality and game shows, the Hollywood strikes have effectively shut down all US film and television productions.
Members of SAG-AFTRA and the WGA are prohibited from advertising their films and television shows.
The unions’ demands have centered on diminishing wages in the streaming era, as well as the threat that artificial intelligence poses to their careers and future livelihoods.
Writers and actresses claim that for years, studios have been steadily eroding their pay, making it hard for all except the very highest levels to make a living.
They claim that the rise of streaming platforms, which do not often publish viewing data, has deprived them of massive paydays when they create global hits.
Writers and studios informally met last Friday to discuss formally resuming talks for the first time since May, but even that meeting has yielded no substantive results thus yet.
Meanwhile, the nominations for the 75th Primetime Emmy Awards were announced last month, just hours before negotiations between the studios and SAG-AFTRA broke down.
“Succession,” the HBO drama about an ultra-wealthy family fighting for control of a sinister media empire, led the nominations with a whopping 27 nods, including best drama.
“The Last of Us” became the first live-action video game adaptation to earn major nominations, with 24, while satire “The White Lotus” earned 23 nods.
