Emmy organizers move show outdoors and pare down invite list amid pandemic

Emmy organizers with the Television Academy announced on Tuesday that next month’s proceedings will be held outside with a pared-down guest list amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and delta variant.

The show will be held on the event deck of the L.A. Live venue behind the Microsoft Theater, ‘following discussions with health and safety experts,’ officials with the Television Academy said in a statement, according to The Hollywood Reporter. 

The outdoor venue has previously hosted Governors Balls following the show, but those are canceled amid the spike in coronavirus cases due to the delta variant.  

The latest: Emmy organizers with the Television Academy announced on Tuesday that next month’s proceedings will be held outside, with a pared-down guest list amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and delta variant

Invitations will be limited to both the Creative Arts Emmys on September 11 and 12, as well as the Emmy Awards September 19.

‘Unfortunately, this means not all nominees will be able to attend this year’s awards,’ the academy said, adding that teams with three of more people are restricted to a maximum of four tickets for each nomination; the nominees will have to determine who gets the tickets.

Shows most likely to be impacted by the revised plan are ones with multiple nods in categories, spanning programs such as The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale, The Mandalorian, Saturday Night Live, Ted Lasso and WandaVision.

‘The health and safety of our nominees is of paramount importance,’ the Television Academy said, adding that ‘conversations are ongoing, and we will provide further information as it is available.’

Scaled-down: Invitations will be limited to both the Creative Arts Emmys on September 11 and 12, as well as the Emmy Awards September 19

The show will be held on the event deck of the L.A. Live venue behind the Microsoft Theater, ‘following discussions with health and safety experts,’ the Television Academy said 

The Recording Academy this year held the Grammys with a hybrid of indoor/outdoor showcases at the Los Angeles Convention Center.

The red carpet portion of the event will be ‘very limited,’ the TV Academy said, adding that about 12 outlets will be given credentials to cover the event, while CBS will have a virtual media center in place to continue coverage of the show.

The latest developments come as the California Department of Public Health earlier this week mandated around 2.2 million health care workers to get vaccinated by September 30.