The 72nd annual Emmy Awards is drawing every closer, and there’ll be plenty of interest on both sides of the Atlantic in watching America’s biggest TV awards show when it does roll around.
Despite the ongoing pandemic, the show is still scheduled to go ahead in person. We suspect that social distancing measures and other precautions will be taken – and we’re taking any announcements with a pinch of salt as the pandemic continues to unfold.
With that all in mind, here’s everything you need to know about the 2020 Emmys, including when it’s happening, who’s been nominated, and how to watch it live from anywhere in the world. If you’re more interested in music, we have a similar roundup for the VMAs.
When are the Emmy Awards?
The 2020 Emmys will take place Sunday 20 September, and the ceremony will be held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. It will kick off at 8pm EST (1am BST on 21 September) and will last for approximately three hours.
How to watch the Emmys on TV
If you’re in the US, watching along live is pretty easy: just tune into ABC when the show is on. If you’re in the UK or elsewhere it’s trickier, as the Emmys aren’t broadcast everywhere – so check out our dedicated advice to watching the show from abroad.
How to stream the Emmys online
If you’d rather watch from your phone, tablet, or computer, you should be able to watch it live through ABC online, though access to this site is limited to certain cities – so check on the ABC website to see if it’s available on your area.
How to watch from the UK or abroad
If you’re not in the US – for example, in the UK like us – things are ever so slightly trickier. If things are like last year, it’s likely that you’ll be able to catch up on the Emmys in the UK through Sky TV one day after the show is first broadcast. If this is the case, you’ll also be able to watch it via Now TV’s Entertainment Pass, which costs £8.99 per month and has a seven day free trial.
As for watching the awards ceremony live, the show won’t be broadcast on UK TV, and the ABC website won’t let you stream the channel from a local IP address. This means you’ll need a VPN if you want to follow along live – the same method can be used to watch the US election debates.
A VPN lets you use the internet while masking your true location information, meaning that you can trick the ABC website into thinking you’re browsing from the US.
There are free VPNs, but they’re usually slow and unreliable – not ideal for live streaming TV. Instead we’d recommend you pay for one, or at least use the free trial of a paid VPN. Our top recommendation is NordVPN, but check out our guide to the best VPNs for streaming if you want to see some of the other great alternatives.
Once you’ve chosen a VPN, just install it and turn it on, making sure to choose a server based in the US. Then either open up your web browser and head to ABC, which should now let you stream the Emmys live. If you’d like to know more, take a look at our article on watching ABC from abroad.
Who is hosting?
Jimmy Kimmel will be returning for the third time to host the awards evening, and will also serve as executive producer for the show. We expect there to be lots of jokes about the current state of affairs, with his statement indicating as much: “I don’t know where we will do this or how we will do this or even why we are doing this, but we are doing it and I am hosting it”.
Who are the nominees?
All the nominations are now out, and HBO’s Watchmen is leading the charge with a whopping 26 nods across all the categories. Here’s the list of the most anticipated segments for the awards evening:
Drama Series
Better Call Saul (AMC)
The Crown (Netflix)
The Handmaid’s Tale (Hulu)
Killing Eve (BBC America/AMC)
The Mandalorian (Disney Plus)
Ozark (Netflix)
Stranger Things (Netflix)
Succession (HBO)
Comedy Series
Curb Your Enthusiasm (HBO)
Dead to Me (Netflix)
The Good Place (NBC)
Insecure (HBO)
The Kominsky Method (Netflix)
The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime Video)
Schitt’s Creek (Pop TV)
What We Do in the Shadows (FX)
Limited Series
Little Fires Everywhere (Hulu)
Mrs. America (Hulu)
Unbelievable (Netflix)
Unorthodox (Netflix)
Watchmen (HBO)
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Jason Bateman (Ozark)
Sterling K. Brown (This Is Us)
Steve Carell (The Morning Show)
Brian Cox (Succession)
Billy Porter (Pose)
Jeremy Strong (Succession)
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show)
Olivia Colman (The Crown)
Jodie Comer (Killing Eve)
Laura Linney (Ozark)
Sandra Oh (Killing Eve)
Zendaya (Euphoria)
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Anthony Anderson (Black-ish)
Don Cheadle (Black Monday)
Ted Danson (The Good Place)
Michael Douglas (The Kominsky Method)
Eugene Levy (Schitt’s Creek)
Ramy Youssef (Ramy)
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Christina Applegate (Dead to Me)
Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Linda Cardellini (Dead to Me)
Catherine O’Hara (Schitt’s Creek)
Issa Rae (Insecure)
Tracee Ellis Ross (Black-ish)
Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Jeremy Irons (Watchmen)
Hugh Jackman (Bad Education)
Paul Mescal (Normal People)
Jeremy Pope (Hollywood)
Mark Ruffalo (I Know This Much Is True)
Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Cate Blanchett (Mrs. America)
Shira Haas (Unorthodox)
Regina King (Watchmen)
Octavia Spencer (Self Made)
Kerry Washington (Little Fires Everywhere)
Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul)
Bradley Whitford (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Billy Crudup (The Morning Show)
Mark Duplass (The Morning Show)
Nicholas Braun (Succession)
Kieran Culkin (Succession)
Matthew Macfadyen (Succession)
Jeffrey Wright (Westworld)
Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Laura Dern (Big Little Lies)
Meryl Streep (Big Little Lies)
Helena Bonham Carter (The Crown)
Samira Wiley (The Handmaid’s Tale)
Fiona Shaw (Killing Eve)
Julia Garner (Ozark)
Sarah Snook (Succession)
Thandie Newton (Westworld)
Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Andre Braugher (Brooklyn Nine-Nine)
William Jackson Harper (The Good Place)
Alan Arkin (The Kominsky Method)
Sterling K. Brown (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Tony Shalhoub (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Mahershala Ali (Ramy)
Kenan Thompson (Saturday Night Live)
Dan Levy (Schitt’s Creek)
Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Betty Gilpin (GLOW)
D’Arcy Carden (The Good Place)
Yvonne Orji (Insecure)
Alex Borstein (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Marin Hinkle (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel)
Kate McKinnon (Saturday Night Live)
Cecily Strong (Saturday Night Live)
Annie Murphy (Schitt’s Creek)
Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie
Dylan McDermott (Hollywood)
Jim Parsons (Hollywood)
Tituss Burgess (Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend)
Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (Watchmen)
Jovan Adepo (Watchmen)
Louis Gossett Jr. (Watchmen)
Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Holland Taylor (Hollywood)
Uzo Aduba (Mrs. America)
Margo Martindale (Mrs. America)
Tracey Ullman (Mrs. America)
Toni Collette (Unbelievable)
Jean Smart (Watchmen)
Reality Competition
The Masked Singer (FOX)
Nailed It (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Voice (NBC)
Variety Sketch Series
A Black Lady Sketch Show (HBO)
Drunk History (Comedy Central)
Saturday Night Live (NBC)
Variety Talk Series
Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
Animated Program
Big Mouth • Disclosure The Movie: The Musical! • Netflix
Bob’s Burgers • Pig Trouble In Little Tina • Fox
20th Century Fox Television
BoJack Horseman • The View From Halfway Down • Netflix •
Tornante Productions, LLC
Rick And Morty • The Vat Of Acid Episode • Adult Swim
Rick and Morty, LLC
The Simpsons • Thanksgiving Of Horror • Fox
Gracie Films in association with 20th Century Fox Television
Short Form Animated Program
Forky Asks A Question: What Is Love? • Disney+
Pixar Animation Studios
Robot Chicken • Santa’s Dead (Spoiler Alert) Holiday Murder Thing Special • Adult Swim
Stoopid Buddy Stoodios
Steven Universe Future • Fragments • Cartoon Network
Cartoon Network Studios
Via Techadvisor