Here’s How Long You Can Expect To Be Glued To Your Couch For The Emmys On Sunday

Awards season is officially ditching Zoom. Following a remote ceremony last year, the 2021 Emmys will be back in person for the 73rd annual show. That means saying goodbye to the technical difficulties, hilarious cardboard cutouts of nominees, and staffers in hazmat suits from last year. It also means we can expect the 2021 Emmys to be as long as the prior in-person ceremonies have been.

Here’s what to know: the Emmys will air live from Los Angeles’ Microsoft Theatre on Sunday, Sept. 19 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on CBS, as well as stream live on Paramount+. Per the TV Guide schedule, it’s set to run for three hours until 8 p.m. PT/11 p.m. ET — unless it runs over, which it almost always does.

The broadcast will be hosted by Cedric the Entertainer, who’s new to the Emmys stage. “I hosted the American Music Awards before, the Billboard awards, so I’ve been in this seat a little bit,” Cedric told Variety. “Television definitely was a thing that got us through a lot of [the pandemic]. So I want to celebrate these stars. I want people to have their moment, to have a good time. So that’s what we’re going to really do.”

Per The Hollywood Reporter, there will still be a “very limited” red carpet, as well as a limited number of attendees. Each nominee — aka, each TV show — is only allowed four tickets, which means that creative teams are going to have to decide who gets to attend. This will be especially tough for popular shows like The Mandalorian, WandaVision, and Ted Lasso — all of which have over 20 nominations — as that means that the vast majority of the people who made the show a success will have to watch from home.

“I’m very excited that there will be some degree of an audience there, still be some celebs in the room,” Cedric told Variety. “The virtual aspect of last year, even though I thought they did a great job, that probably wouldn’t have been as appealing to me. I’m excited with having some people there.”

The ceremony will also be a mixture of an “indoor/outdoor” setting, with the awards being handed out at the event deck at LA Live, which is located behind the Microsoft Theatre. (LA Live is where the Emmys afterparty is typically held, but that’s been scrapped due to the ongoing pandemic.)

Aside from Cedric, other presenters include Angela Bassett, Kate Beckinsale, Adrien Brody, Stephen Colbert, Jennifer Coolidge, Kaley Cuoco, Lane Factor, Beanie Feldstein, Allyson Felix, America Ferrera, Sterlin Harjo, Devery Jacobs, Ken Jeong, Mindy Kaling, Vanessa Lachey, Dan Levy, Eugene Levy, Jessica Long, Annie Murphy, Catherine O'Hara, Sarah Paulson, Amy Poehler, Billy Porter, Michaela Jaé (MJ) Rodriguez, Seth Rogen, Tracee Ellis Ross, Hailee Steinfeld, Patrick Stewart, Wilmer Valderrama, Kerry Washington, D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai, and Bowen Yang.

As for who’s in the running, the Emmys nominees include Mare Of Easttown, I May Destroy You, The Queen’s Gambit, and The Underground Railroad. There are several newcomers to the Outstanding Comedy Series category, like Cobra Kai, Emily in Paris, Hacks, Pen15, Ted Lasso and The Flight Attendant. Both Jonathan Majors and Jurnee Smollett have been nominated for the first time for Lovecraft Country, as well as Regé-Jean Page for Bridgerton. And Uzo Aduba, who won Outstanding Supporting Actress for Mrs. America last year, is up for nomination again for her lead role in In Treatment.