The 72nd annual Primetime Emmy Awards caps a weeklong procession of honoring the best of 2020 in television Sunday with a hybrid virtual ceremony beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on ABC hosted by Jimmy Kimmel.
The ceremony will also stream on ABC.com, and the full week of Emmy shows will be available on-demand on ABC.com and the ABC app for seven days with authentication.
HBO and Netflix go into tonight’s Primetime Emmy finale tied with 19 wins apiece overall, as the latter came into the week with a record 160 nominations overall. HBO’s Watchmen and Disney+’s The Mandalorian have the most wins for an individual program so far with seven each; both are looking for more hardware in marquee categories tonight. Watchmen had a leading 26 individual nominations going into this week.
Mirroring a year like no other, the ABC telecast tonight will be unlike any other, with about 90% of the show live despite very few people being in one place. Instead, organizers have dispersed 130 camera systems to potential winners in Los Angeles, New York, Toronto, London, Berlin, Tel Aviv and elsewhere, for hopefully glitch-free communications with Kimmel, who will be based at an empty Staples Center in Los Angeles with only a few presenters joining him.
In an effort to streamline, ABC’s broadcast on Sunday will feature 23 awards handed out, down from the usual 27 categories (see the full list of categories below so you can follow along with Deadline’s complete coverage.). It will be getting help from presenters including Oprah Winfrey, Issa Rae, America Ferrera, Anthony Anderson, Gabrielle Union, J.J. Watt. Lena Waithe., Jason Bateman, Sterling K. Brown, Laverne Cox, Morgan Freeman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ty Burrell, Ken Jeong, Mindy Kaling, Tatiana Maslany, Bob Newhart, Ilana Glazer, Abbi Jacobson, Randall Park, RuPaul, Patrick Stewart, Jason Sudeikis, D-Nice and Sesame Street’s Count Von Count.
Grammy winner H.E.R. will takes the stage for the ceremony’s annual “In Memoriam” performance.
Check here for how to watch the ceremony outside the U.S.
The usual pre-show Emmy staples are also adapting to the new normal as red carpets and in-person interviews are also no-go’s this year.
E’s Live From The Red Carpet: The 2020 Emmy Awards will be headlined by Giuliana Rancic and Vivica A. Fox along with the network’s style guru Brad Goreski, pop culture expert Naz Perez and E! News’ The Rundown host Erin Lim from the Universal lot. Coverage begins at 4:30 p.m. ET/1:30 p.m. PT with the countdown show and wraps after the ceremony with E! After Party: The 2020 Emmy Awards immediately following.
ABC’s streaming channel ABC News Live will air a live virtual 90-minute pre-show Countdown to the Emmys beginning at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT hosted by GMA Weekend co-anchors Eva Pilgrim and Whit Johnson and ABC News correspondent Janai Norman, all from from ABC News HQ in New York. Correspondent Chris Connelly and ESPN’s The Undefeated’s Kelley Carter will be live outside Staples Center.
In Los Angeles, KTLA5’s Countdown to the Emmys returns for its annual pre-show hosted by Sam Rubin, Jessica Holmes, Doug Kolk and Megan Henderson (2-5 p.m. PT). Online, the People & Entertainment Weekly Red Carpet Live: At Home!, hosted by Jeremy Parsons and Makho Ndlovu, kicks off at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT at People TV, People.com and EW.com.
Here’s the list of categories being awarded tonight:
OUTSTANDING DRAMA SERIES
OUTSTANDING COMEDY SERIES
OUTSTANDING LIMITED SERIES
OUTSTANDING COMPETITION PROGRAM
OUTSTANDING VARIETY TALK SERIES
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
OUTSTANDING LEAD ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY SERIES
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY SERIES
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA SERIES
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA SERIES
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A LIMITED SERIES OR MOVIE
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
OUTSTANDING DIRECTING FOR A LIMITED SERIES, MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A COMEDY SERIES
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A DRAMA SERIES
OUTSTANDING WRITING FOR A LIMITED SERIES MOVIE OR DRAMATIC SPECIAL