The 78th Emmy Awards nominations have been announced, and the TV Academy has made some significant changes to the rules and categories. The event, set to air live from L.A. Live's Peacock Theatre on September 14, will be hosted by Mariska Hargitay, the first woman to host the show in 15 years. The nominations were announced by Liza Colón-Zayas and Jeff Hiller, previous Emmy winners, and TV Academy chair Cris Abrego. The majority of the nominations were revealed at 8:20 a.m. ET/5:20 a.m. PT from the Wolf Theatre at the Academy's Saban Media Center, with two categories, outstanding variety series and outstanding reality competition, announced earlier on NBC's "Today" show. The Emmys will be broadcast live on NBC and Peacock, with the network moving the event to Monday due to its coverage of Sunday Night Football.
One of the most notable changes is the merging of talk and scripted variety into one "outstanding variety series" field. However, the number of nominations from both fields will be tracked based on the number of submissions for each format. Additionally, the outstanding variety series category will now be an "area" award, meaning nominees won't compete against each other but will independently try to get at least 90% of Emmy voters to say "yes" when asked if the nominee merits an Emmy. This could potentially lead to several winners from this year's nominee roster.
Other rule changes include a new name for the TV movie category, which will now be known as "outstanding movie." The TV Academy also revealed AI guidelines and made changes to the short form, sound mixing, and music categories. Eligibility was expanded in the casting, costume, and lighting, camera, and technical arts categories. This year, 555 programs were submitted across 14 program categories, down 7.5% from last year's 600 entrants.
The major categories for the 78th Emmy Awards include lead actor and actress in a drama series, drama series, lead actor and actress in a comedy series, comedy series, lead actress in a limited or anthology series, lead actor in a limited or anthology series, limited or anthology series, outstanding talk series, and reality competition program. The nominees in these categories will be competing for the prestigious Emmy awards, which recognize excellence in television.
While there are some surprises in the nominations, such as the absence of Crave/HBO Max's "Heated Rivalry" and Jon Hamm's "The Morning Show" guest actor nomination, the Emmys are known for their ability to surprise and delight. The event is expected to be a star-studded affair, with the winners announced on September 14. The Emmy Awards are a significant event in the television industry, and the nominations are a testament to the talent and creativity that goes into producing television shows. The winners will be recognized for their outstanding achievements, and the event will be a celebration of the best in television.
