2020 Emmy Awards: How to Watch Tonight

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The virtual ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel takes place on Sunday, Sept. 20 on ABC.

The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards are happening tonight! Television's biggest night will opt for a virtual ceremony this year, as opposed to its usual star-studded red carpet affair, but TV's best and brightest will still be honored in an event hosted by late-night host and awards show veteran Jimmy Kimmel, who is also executive producing the show, along with Guy Carrington, Reginald Hudlin, David Jammy and Ian Stewart.

Ahead of the show, ET is breaking down everything you need to know about this year's ceremony. Check back for additional details as we learn more, and take a look at the full list of Emmy nominees as well. And be sure to check out ET's celebration of the standout performances of the 2019-2020 TV season.

When are the Emmys?: The show will air live coast-to-coast on Sunday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT on ABC, which is available to cable subscribers, or to stream on Hulu with Live TV as well as fuboTV.

How Can I Watch ET's Coverage of the Emmys?:

ET will be covering all the biggest moments of the Emmy Awards through the show. Then, ET Live's Emmys after-show starts immediately following the 2020 Emmy Awards. ET's Denny Directo, Leanne Aguilera and Marisa Runyon will be joined by Variety's Angelique Jackson to discuss the winners, the fashion, the biggest moments and how the full-scale awards show was pulled off during the coronavirus pandemic.

Stream ET Live at ETLive.com, or on the ET Live App in the App Store or Google Play, as well as on your Roku, Apple TV or Amazon Fire TV device. You can also find us on channel 120 on Pluto TV, channel 1253 on Samsung TV Plus, as well as in our live streaming channel within your Paramount+ subscription.

You can watch ET's pre-coverage of the Emmys right here on ET Live and ETonline.com, where we'll have exclusive interviews with the stars, behind-the-scenes scoop and up-to-the-minute updates on all of the night's biggest moments.

You can also follow all the action in real time on Twitter (@etnow), Instagram (@entertainmenttonight) and our official Facebook page. Then, tune in to Entertainment Tonight on Monday (check your local listings) for all the post-Emmy festivities!

Who's Hosting?: After going hostless last year, this year's show will be helmed by Jimmy Kimmel, who is returning for his third round as host, previously hosting in 2012 and 2016. 

Who's Nominated? Watchmen earned the most nominations of any series this year, with 26 nods, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Regina King and more. The Marvelous Mrs. MaiselThe MandalorianOzarkSchitt's Creek and Succession followed behind among the top nominated programs,.

Additionally, Billy Porter (Pose), Jennifer Aniston (The Morning Show) and Sandra Oh (Killing Eve) all notched acting nods of their own. Additionally, prolific filmmaker Tyler Perry is set to be honored with the Governors Award.

See the full list of nominees here.

Who's appearing at the Emmys? Several celebs are confirmed for the ceremony including Gabrielle Union, Issa Rae, Anthony Anderson, J.J. Watt, Lena Waithe, Oprah Winfrey and a special performance by H.E.R.  Jason BatemanSterling K. BrownMorgan FreemanIlana GlazerAbbi JacobsonLin-Manuel MirandaD-NiceRandall ParkRuPaulPatrick StewartJason SudeikisTy Burrell, Ken Jeong, Mindy Kaling, Tatiana Maslany and Bob Newhart have also been confirmed.

When are the Creative Arts Emmys and how to watch them: This year, the virtual Creative Arts Emmys will be awarded over 4 nights broken into categories, from Sept. 14-17, streaming on Emmys.com. Additionally, a fifth, live ceremony, will take place on Saturday, Sept. 19, and air on FXX at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

The breakdown of nights will be as follows: 

Monday, Sept. 14: Reality and Nonfiction
Tuesday, Sept. 15: Variety
Wednesday, Sept. 16: Scripted (night one)
Thursday, Sept. 17: Scripted (night two)
Saturday, Sept: 19: The live ceremony featuring a multi-genre mix of awards.

How will this year's show be different? On Aug. 24, the Emmy producers detailed their ambitious plans for this year's show to Variety. The main change is venue -- Kimmel will host the telecast from Staples Center as opposed to the usual Microsoft Theatre, which allows for more room to safely produce the show.

Beyond that, there will be no red carpet and no live audience at Staples. Instead, the Emmys plan to have professional cameras in as many as 140 locations so that all the nominees may be included live in the show as opposed to via a video conferencing app.

Meanwhile, watch the video below for moments you didn't see on TV from last year's Emmys ceremony.

 

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