Emmy Awards move to January as new date announced

Television's biggest night has been delayed because of the ongoing actors' and writers' strikes

The strike-delayed 75th Emmy Awards were originally due to be broadcast on September 18. AP

The strike-delayed 75th Emmy Awards have a new date – one that places them squarely within Hollywood's awards season, for a change.

Fox announced on Thursday that the Emmys will take place on January 15 at the Peacock Theatre at LA Live in Los Angeles. The show will be broadcast on the US Martin Luther King Jr holiday.

The timing means that the Emmys – which honour the best shows on television – will occur weeks before the Screen Actors Guild Awards, which celebrate film and television actors.

Numerous other shows, such as the Golden Globe Awards, which haven't been confirmed for a return to network television, and the Critics Choice Awards, are also held in January.

The ceremony will take place roughly four months later than originally planned.

While the move could be seen as a throwback – the first Emmys, where only six awards were handed out, were held in January 1949 – the show traditionally airs in September, a slot that once heralded the upcoming fall television season.

But that timing dates back to when broadcast television dominated – both in viewership and Emmys contenders – in a way that has been effaced by cable television and streaming services.

A person with knowledge of the plans but not authorised to speak publicly said last month that the show, originally scheduled for September 18, would be moved because of the continuing strikes by film and television actors and screenwriters.

HBO is the leading nominee heading into the ceremony, with three of its series – Succession, The Last of Us and The White Lotus – racking up 74 nominations. In all, HBO received 127 nominations.

Because of the dual strikes, actors and writers cannot campaign for their shows or do promotional interviews. The writers' strike is now on its 101st day – longer than the 2007-2008 stoppage – and no end is in sight.

No host has been announced for the ceremony, which will celebrate the Emmys' diamond anniversary.

The ceremony has grown into a two-weekend affair, with many nominees in craft and guest-acting categories receiving their awards during the Creative Arts Emmys, which will be held a week earlier on January 6 and 7. An edited version of that ceremony will air on Fox on January 13.

The Emmys will be executive produced by Jesse Collins, Dionne Harmon and Jeannae Rouzan-Clay of Jesse Collins Entertainment.

Collins has become a go-to producer of Hollywood awards shows and other spectacles, producing the Grammys and Oscars, as well as the acclaimed 2022 Super Bowl half-time show featuring Dr Dre, Snoop Dogg and Mary J Blige in a hip-hop celebration.