Emmy Awards 2020 Ceremony Will Be Held Virtually; Producers Promise ‘Celebratory, Safe’ Show

The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, which will be held in September, will be a virtual event due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The Television Academy and ABC said that the live show will be both "celebratory and safe."

"As ABC and the Television Academy continue to formulate plans for the Emmys telecast, producers have taken the proactive step of reaching out to some nominees now to inform them of our intent to deliver a live show that is both celebratory and safe," ABC said in a statement obtained by Entertainment Weekly. "We look forward to sharing information with you in the weeks ahead, as we solidify our plans for TV’s biggest night."

This news comes after Variety reported on Wednesday that this year's Emmy executive producers, including host Jimmy Kimmel, sent a letter to some nominees asking them to be prepared to participate from home or any other location of their choice.

"As you've probably guessed, we're not going to be asking you to come to the Microsoft Theatre in downtown LA on September 20," the letter obtained by Variety read. "This year, it's still going to be the TV industry's biggest night out... but we'll come to you!"

The letter also said that a team of technicians, producers and writers was being put together to ensure that the awards night goes smoothly.

"We're going to make you look fabulous — we're exploring the cutting edge technology to allow to use good cameras and lighting and look forward to working with you to produce your unique 'on screen' moments," the letter, signed by Kimmel and executive producers Reggie Hudlin and Ian Stewart, Guy Carrington and David Jammy from telecast producer Done+Dusted, read.

On Tuesday, the nominees for this year’s Emmys were announced, with Netflix setting a record for a streaming platform after scoring 160 nominations. HBO’s “Watchmen” secured the most nominations for any show with 26 nods.

This was followed by “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” with 20 nominations, while “Ozark” and “Succession” got 18 each.

The Academy also honored a record number of Black actors with nominations. There are 102 acting nominees, and Variety reported that 34.3% of them are Black.

Those who received nods include Zendaya ("Euphoria"), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II ("Watchmen"), Jeremy Pope ("Hollywood"), Regina King ("Watchmen"), Don Cheadle ("Black Monday") and Cicely Tyson ("How to Get Away with Murder").

The 2020 Emmy Awards nominations announcement was also a virtual event that featured Laverne Cox, Josh Gad, Tatiana Maslany and Leslie Jones presenting the nominations.

The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on Sept. 20 on ABC.