Emmys postponed as WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes continue
It looks like the Emmys telecast is officially being postponed. It’s a fair call, since the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) strikes would have made for an embarrassing, poorly attended event.
Variety reports that vendors for the 75th Primetime Emmys have been told that the awards ceremony will no longer air on Sept. 18 as initially planned. The Creative Arts Emmys are being pushed back as well, initially scheduled for Sept. 9 and 10.
No new dates have been set, and doing so would probably be difficult considering that there’s currently no end to the strikes in sight. This is the first time the Emmys have been pushed back since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001.
SAG-AFTRA has been conducting industrial action for two weeks now, while the WGA has been on strike for almost three months. The performers and writers’ unions are refusing to resume work until the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) agrees to grant them better pay, conditions, and compensation for their work.
As part of the strike, the WGA and SAG-AFTRA members are also blocked from promoting films and television shows or attending awards ceremonies such as the Emmys. The cast of Oppenheimer even left the movie’s premiere as soon as the strike was announced.
The nominations for the 2023 Emmy Awards were announced earlier this month, with Succession, The Last of Us, and The White Lotus in the lead at over 20 nods each.
Of course, the Emmys could still go ahead and announce the winners without the pomp and circumstance of an entire in-person awards ceremony. But even if it does, we probably won’t hear many acceptance speeches any time soon.