A NIGHT LIKE NO OTHER
Curiosity is high for television's first virtual awards Sunday night
72nd Emmy Awards Sunday, ABC/CTV
California may be burning and the world is in the midst of the novel coronavirus pandemic, but Hollywood is hoping there might be some relief in a party — albeit at a distance — at Sunday's Emmy Awards.
The highest awards in television are going ahead as a live, virtual ceremony, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel in the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles — but without a celebrity audience or a red carpet — after six months of lockdowns, no live concerts and a lost summer movie season.
“Television has really dominated and helped people in the last six months of pandemic. So there perhaps is a sense of wanting to see how these things we discovered during quarantine, or watched again, will fare on Sunday,” said Gerrad Hall, senior television editor at Entertainment Weekly.
Emmy producers say they have
thrown out the awards show playbook and are looking to do something fun and unexpected, while cognizant of massive wildfires, the pandemic and a divisive presidential election campaign.
“We are not tone deaf. We are trying to make this show in the backdrop of a lot of things going on in this country,” co-producer Ian Stewart told reporters.
Television proved an escape for millions during the lockdowns, but many of the shows up for Emmys are far from frivolous in a lineup that is stronger than ever on diversity.
Watchmen, based on a comic book but infused with themes of racial injustice, goes into Sunday's ceremony with a leading 26 nods and is expected to end up one of the night's biggest winners.
“It's big in scope, and its message of institutional racism and diving deep into this country's history of inequality couldn't be more timely,” said Michael Schneider, senior editor at Variety.
Schneider called Watchmen a “dead cert” to win the Emmy for best limited series, with Regina
King's police detective seen as favourite for best actress.
The race for best drama series appears to be a close contest between money laundering thriller Ozark, starring Jason Bateman and Laura Linney, and squabbling media family saga Succession, led by a patriarch played by Brian Cox.
“It's strange in this day and age to see people rooting and caring so much for rich, white people, but there is also a thrill in watching them squirm,” said Hall, talking of Succession.
Both shows, which tied with 18 Emmy nods, “benefited from all the binge-watching that people did during quarantine,” Hall said.
By contrast Schitt's Creek, a leading contender for best comedy series honours, is a quirky Canadian feel-good show about a rich family forced to live in a rundown motel. It also got nods for writing, directing and for its four main actors — Eugene Levy, Catherine O'hara, Daniel Levy and Annie Murphy. During Thursday's Creative Arts Emmys presentation, Schitt's Creek won its first Emmy of 2020 for casting.
Previous Emmy champ The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel is also in the running, but sentiment appears to be with Schitt's Creek, which went from obscurity in the U.S. to a fan favourite in its sixth and final season.
Hoping to avoid the feel of a Zoom call, Emmys staff shipped dozens of movie-quality cameras, lights and microphones to capture live and spontaneous reactions from winners in their living rooms. Producers will monitor 130 live feeds from about 20 cities, including Los Angeles, New York, London and Berlin.
A lineup of “special guests” including Oprah Winfrey, Sterling K. Brown and Bateman is slated to appear in some form.
While the lack of a red carpet will disappoint many fans, Breanne Heldman, senior TV editor for People magazine, expects stars will don notable attire.
“There will be some women who don't want to pass up on this big moment and wear the gown,” Heldman said. “And why not? Put on those Jimmy Choos. You don't have to walk around in them.”