In a week where we’ve seen the Venice Film Festival manage to assemble a scintillating lineup despite pressures from the strike environment, we’ve also seen the first award ceremony opt to play it safe and postpone their televised production. Entertainment attorney Brandon Blake, from Blake & Wang P.A, unpacks the news.
Moving from September Air Date
This year marks the 75th Emmy Awards, and there’s been some trouble with viewing statistics over the last few years, especially post-pandemic. So it is no real surprise that Fox and the Television Academy were hoping for considerably more traction this year. Originally due to air on Fox on September 18, we now know it won’t happen.
What we don’t know is when it will be rescheduled to- or even if it will be. Ideally, they would want the two strike actions from SAG-AFTRA and the WGA against the AMPTP to resolve fully before going ahead with the ceremony. And, at least as it stands at the moment, that looks like it will be a long time coming. This will be the first postponement for the ceremony since 2001, when it was canceled in respect for the victims of the then-recent terrorist attacks on US soil.
Empty Chairs
The festival circuit for this year still has the buffer of both independent productions (currently not struck by SAG-AFTRA) and international actors and audiences to fill the red carpets. Not so for the Emmys, where going ahead with the initial date ran considerable risk of the ceremony playing out to empty rooms. Consider last year’s awards, where a whopping 16 of the 25 awards were presented to either writers or actors. Additionally, as a hosted show, WGA members would be responsible for the host’s material- and those hosts are typically from SAG-AFTRA’s ranks, too.
However, the phase two voting for the awards will still continue as planned, beginning on August 17. So it seems likely we will, ultimately, see a list of 2023 Emmy Awards handed out. The question remaining is if it will ever make it to TV, however.
Blake & Wang P.A- An entertainment attorney and production house in Los Angeles have a closer look on the legal matters associated with artists, musicians, producers, directors and writers. They have
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