2023 Emmys Ceremony Delayed as Hollywood Strikes Continue

The 2023 Emmy Awards have been delayed, PEOPLE has learned.

This year’s 75th annual ceremony — which was scheduled to air live on Fox on Sept. 18 from the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles — has been postponed as union action, including the Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike and SAG-AFTRA strike, continues in Hollywood and beyond. The same goes for the Creative Arts Emmys originally slated for Sept. 9 and 10.

No new dates have been announced. However, a person familiar with the plans told The Los Angeles Times Fox is expected to announce the ceremony will be rescheduled for January 2024. Variety also previously reported that Fox was aiming for a January date.

The WGA began its strike on May 2 after the writers and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) failed to reach an agreement before their deadline. It’s the first time the WGA has gone on strike in 15 years — the 2007–2008 strike lasted 100 days. The previous strike in 1988 currently remains the longest in history, spanning for a total of 153 days. 

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FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty

The strike comes on the heels of the explosion of streaming, rise of mini-rooms, and concerns over the possibility of artificial intelligence (AI) entering creative spaces. The writers are seeking higher compensation overall and better residual rates, which have plummeted in the streaming age. They are also asking for guarantees of duration of employment, a mandatory minimum number of staff writers per room, and restrictions on the use of AI. 

“On TV staffs, more writers are working at minimum regardless of experience, often for fewer weeks, or in mini-rooms, while showrunners are left without a writing staff to complete the season,” the WGA’s “Writers Are Not Keeping Up” report, released in March, reads. “And while series budgets have soared over the past decade, median writer-producer pay has fallen.”

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Writers have always played a pivotal role in orchestrating the Emmys ceremony. Per WGA rules, writers and showrunners have already not been participating in any promotion — such as the TV Academy’s For Your Consideration events — during the strike in order to not cross picket lines. Late-night shows including Late Night with Seth Meyers, Saturday Night Live and The Daily Show immediately went dark. Many productions for scripted shows, such as the final season of Stranger Things, were shut down.

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Simultaneously, 160,000 actors who are members of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA) — notably many of the 2023 Emmy nominees — are also striking.

On July 13, the actors’ union announced it had initiated a strike after its own failed contract negotiations with the AMPTP.

SAG-AFTRA members previously voted 97.91% in favor of authorizing a strike on June 5 before it began negotiations with the AMPTP on June 7.

Actors have many similar concerns to their writer counterparts (or are, in many cases, also writers). They’re seeking better compensation and benefit plans as the rise of streaming services and complications resulting from the streaming model have contributed to a decline in wages and residuals. They also are looking for protections against the impact of AI on their work.

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The Daytime Emmys, which were set to air on CBS in June, were also postponed indefinitely. The MTV Movie & TV Awards aired a pre-taped, host-less show in May due to the WGA planning to picket the ceremony. The 2023 Tony Awards proceeded on CBS without writers. 

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education