Everything you need to know about the 76th Emmy Awards
By Nell Geraets
The 76th Primetime Emmy Awards are due to take place on Monday (Australian time), the second Emmys ceremony of the year. Now back in its regular September timeslot, the award show will celebrate the binge-worthiest television shows and the brightest stars of the small screen.
We’ve compiled all the key details, including where and when to watch American television’s night of nights, and why there are two ceremonies this year.
When will the Emmys take place?
The Emmys will be broadcast live on Monday, September 16, from 10am (AEST).
Due to the sheer number of awards given out, the Emmys is divided into separate events. The Daytime Emmys, covering daytime soaps and talk shows, were held in June. Last weekend, the Creative Arts Emmys were awarded and an edited-down broadcast of this aired on American network FXX on September 14 at 8pm (Los Angeles time). The main game, the Primetime Emmys, will wrap up the season.
Where can I watch the ceremony?
Streaming service Binge will broadcast the ceremony live from 10am (AEST). However, this will not include coverage of the red carpet, which begins about two hours earlier.
The Bear swept up multiple awards earlier this year. Will it continue its streak this time around?Credit: AP
You’ll be able to follow all the proceedings – including the biggest fashion moments from the red carpet via our live blog, starting at 8am. You can also catch a glimpse of the carpet via People and Entertainment Weekly, which will be broadcasting coverage from 9am on their websites and social media.
Why is this the second Emmy Awards this year?
If you feel as if the previous Emmy Awards were just yesterday, you’re not far off. It has only been eight months since the previous ceremony, rather than a full year.
The 75th Primetime Emmys were originally slated to air in September 2023, but the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and its broadcaster Fox postponed it by four months due to the Hollywood actors’ and writers’ strike. Under the terms of the strike, members of the Writers Guild of America or actors’ union (SAG-AFTRA) were prohibited from promoting new TV shows and films. That meant performers and writers could not attend events such as conventions, premieres and – you guessed it – award shows.
So American television’s night of nights can now return to its regular September scheduling. To avoid confusion, any program that aired between June 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024, is eligible for an award this time around.
Who is hosting?
To the joy of Schitt’s Creek fans, Eugene and Dan Levy will host “round two” of the Emmys this year. They will be the first-ever father-son duo to do so, and if their ABC promo is anything to go by, their monologues will be filled with quips about Eugene’s famously bushy eyebrows. They are taking the baton from Anthony Anderson (Black-ish, Kangaroo Jack), who masterfully led the proceedings in January. The actor was generally praised for his nostalgic musical numbers, which included guest appearances from Blink-182’s Travis Barker and Anderson’s own mum. Other notable hosts have been Jimmy Kimmel, who has led the Emmys three times, Neil Patrick Harris, Conan O’Brien and Saturday Night Live’s Kenan Thompson.
Father-son duo Eugene and Dan Levy will host this year’s Emmy Awards show. They are pictured with Schitt’s Creek co-stars Catherine O’Hara (second from left) and Annie Murphy.Credit: Instagram
Who made the cut, and who missed out on a nomination?
It’s a good year for Australian actresses, as Naomi Watts and Elizabeth Debicki lead the nation’s nominations. Watts was nominated for best lead actress in a limited series for her performance as Babe Paley in Feud: Capote vs The Swans, and Debicki was recognised in the supporting actress category for her performance as Diana, Princess of Wales, in Netflix’s The Crown.
Other local talent to receive nods include creative directors Patrick Clair and Raoul Marks – nominated in the main title design category for the Amazon series Fallout, Apple TV’s Silo and the Netflix drama 3 Body Problem – and producer Emile Sherman, who co-produced Slow Horses.
FX’s historical drama Shogun has received the most nods overall, with 25 nominations across the primetime and creative arts categories. Next comes The Bear (one of the biggest winners at the previous Emmys) with 23, followed by Only Murders in the Building with 21 nominations, True Detective: Night Country with 19, The Crown with 18, and Saturday Night Live with 17.
The Curse, a Paramount+ drama starring Emma Stone, didn’t make the cut despite its originality, A-list cast, and thought-provoking comment on gentrification and homelessness. Similarly, Expats, a limited series starring Nicole Kidman, and espionage thriller The Sympathizer both missed out, even though they received relatively positive reviews.
What our critics have said about the nominees
Outstanding Drama Series
3 Body Problem – ★★★★
“A big-ticket production that may well be Netflix’s best scripted original series since Beef, 3 Body Problem hits the (not so) sweet spot between wonder and horror. ‘In nature, nothing exists alone,’ one character ominously warns, and it’s the same with this series, which is a masterclass in adaptation that underpins its vast canvas with intimate dynamics.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
Fallout – ★★★½
“Goofy when it’s bloody, glinting when it’s conspiratorial, and always looking for another way to surprise you, Fallout has a counterintuitive rhythm: there’s too much going on, but it feels right.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
Mr & Mrs Smith – ★★★★
“Mr. & Mrs. Smith does so many things so well, whether it’s the staging of a car chase through the winding roads of an Italian village or putting Glover in an all-cream outfit. Even the movie’s greatest hits get remixed amid the emotional intricacies.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
Shogun
“Shogun is epic television as it should be. Wild plotting, complex characters and a real sense that you don’t quite know where it’s going, but you’re happy to stay for the ride.” – Read Louise Rugendyke’s full story here
Slow Horses
“Gary Oldman was outstanding. It was as close to perfect as you can get.” – Read what other readers of this masthead thought here
The Crown
“In its modern iteration, the royal family is more garden variety soap opera than political thriller, and the show’s storytelling hems too closely to the established media script instead of the untold (or at least, seemingly untold) political backroom plays which supersized it initially from mere streaming telenovela to genuine blue-chip drama.” – Read Michael Idato’s full review here
The Gilded Age – ★★★★
“If it had nothing else going for it, The Gilded Age would be a must-watch simply for Christine Baranski’s wonderfully sour one-liners.” – Read Karl Quinn’s full review here
The Morning Show
“It continues to do what the show did so well in its celebrated debut season: offering an insightful perspective on the brutal business of media; portraying a hothouse of ego and ambition in the glossy, high-stakes world of a New York TV station; presenting an array of intriguingly flawed characters; and examining a range of complicated workplace relationships.” Read Debi Enker’s full opinion piece here
Outstanding Comedy Series
Abbot Elementary
“For now, this is one of the best surprises of the television year so far. And those 22-minute episodes are an absolute balm in the current age of demanding drama.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
Curb Your Enthusiasm
“If we have actually taken anything from one of TV’s greatest minds … Larry David is not here to learn, and he’s not here to teach us a lesson; he’s here to make us laugh.” – Read Thomas Mitchell’s full review here
Hacks – ★★★★★
“Among the rapid-fire one-liners and scathing critiques of everything from culture wars, the wellness industry and Hollywood’s sexism and ageism, it’s Ava and Deborah’s relationship that remains the core of Hacks. And this season sees it, and both characters, evolve further.” – Read Kylie Northover’s full review here
Only Murders in the Building
“One of the series’ strengths is the undercurrent of emotion that runs beneath the madcap antics, and it’s anchored in the idea that these loners, each with their own private pain and regrets, have found a loving and accepting place, and a sense of purpose, in a surrogate family.” – Read Debi Enker’s full review here
Palm Royale
“From the opening frames of the technicolour beach soap opera Palm Royale, it’s clear there’s a lot more going on that acting. The frames look hand-painted in bright primary colours. And the dialogue has a wildly musical style, rhythmically bouncing from scene to scene.” – Read Michael Idato’s full review here
Reservation Dogs
“Few titles on television right now have a better sense of the perfectly timed finishing touch – the bittersweet kicker, the deadpan aside, the cutting retort – than this Native American comic-drama.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
The Bear – ★★★★★
“These 10 new episodes ... not only complement their predecessors, they serve up new insights, telling history, and unexpected paths forward. It is, like the dishes this crew aspire to make, an artisanal wonder.” – Read Craig Mathieson’s full review here
What We Do in the Shadows
“While the series is very funny, there is a subtle and serious resonance in the work.” – Read Michael Idato’s full story here
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