Why were the Emmy Awards delayed?

The 75th annual Primetime Emmy Awards will finally take place on Monday – four months later than usual

Awards season is well and truly underway, with the Primetime Emmy Awards set to honour the best of TV from 2022 to 2023 just a week after Hollywood gathered for the Golden Globes.

Among the top nominees at the Emmys is Succession, with 27 nods. The Jesse Armstrong-created drama won four awards at the Golden Globes for its final season, including Best Drama Series. So the cast and crew will be going into the Emmys feeling confident.

In further signs of HBO’s domination this year, The Last of Us has 24 Emmys nominations, while The White Lotus has 23.

You can find the full list of Emmy nominees here.

In an unusual move, the Emmys will take place on Monday 15 January – four months later than its typical date.

Why are the Emmy Awards delayed?

Usually, the Emmys are an outlier from the rest of the awards season as the ceremony tends to be held in September.

However, Hollywood was shut down for the better part of four months last year due to strike action by writers and performers.

The action caused major disruption to Hollywood productions (Chris Pizzello/AP) (AP)

The Writers Guild of America (WGA) and the Screen Actors Guild – American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (Sag-Aftra) both withdrew labour last year in protest against unfair working conditions and pay distribution.

WGA ended their strike on 27 September after reaching a deal with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), while Sag-Aftra resumed work on 9 November.

Did the delay affect the voting process?

In many ways, no. The Television Academy, which runs the Emmys, wanted to maintain the same voting processes, even if there was no concrete idea of when the ceremony could go ahead.

As a result, the 20,000-strong membership of the Academy had to cast their ballots by 28 August as usual – meaning that the winners were decided months ago, regardless of how conversations around projects may have fluctuated.

Since the nominations were announced back in July, this also means an additional delay to what seasons and projects are in contention. The Bear, for example, which has now run for two seasons, has 13 nominations, but all for its first season, which was released on Hulu in June 2022.

By the time of the ceremony, season two of the hectic drama-comedy will have been out for nearly seven months.

Jeremy Allen White and Ayo Edebiri on ‘The Bear’ (AP)

When have the Emmys been delayed before?

This year marks the first time in more than 20 years that the Emmys haven’t aired as planned in September. In 2001, the awards were postponed due to the 9/11 attacks which occurred just five days before the planned ceremony.

The 2001 Emmys were eventually held in November.

How can I watch the Emmys?

The 75th Primetime Emmy Awards will be held on Monday 15 January, at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles. US viewers can tune in on the Fox network starting at 8pm ET/5pm PT, with the show available to stream the following day on Hulu.

Unfortunately, there is no UK broadcast.