Don’t cancel those Emmy campaign plans: As expected, the Television Academy has decided to keep its Phase 2 calendar intact, news confirmed on Thursday night during the org’s board meeting. That means final-round voting for the 75th Primetime Emmys will still take place between August 17 and August 28 (ending at 10 p.m. PT) as previously planned.
But that also means that Phase 2 campaigning will have to continue without the presence of any of the nominated actors or writers, as the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes are ongoing. The strikes had led some awards pundits to wonder whether the TV Academy might push the Phase 2 window, given the inability of stars to campaign per SAG-AFTRA’s strike rules.
But with so much uncertainty as to when the strikes might end, such a move just didn’t make sense to the org. Pushing the voting window by weeks, or even months, would have disrupted carefully orchestrated strategies (including billboards, trade ads, pop-up events and more) and might have brought the vote’s legitimacy into question — as a lengthy delay before the vote would be akin to putting a thumb on the scale, harming some shows and perhaps helping others.
That’s why a Phase 2 shift never seemed likely. But now, after voting wraps on August 28, the TV Academy’s accountants may be sitting on the results for a long, long time. As Variety previously reported, Fox is eyeing a delay until January for the telecast, while the TV Academy had been hoping to move the show to November. But no final decision has been made just yet on when the Emmys will take place.
“Like the rest of the industry, we hope there will be an equitable and timely resolution for all parties in the current guild negotiations,” the TV Academy said in a statement. “We continue to monitor the situation closely with our partners at Fox and will advise if and when there is an update available.”
Still, it’s very likely that there won’t be a weekend of Creative Arts Emmys on September 9 and September 10, as currently scheduled, and the 75th Emmys telecast on September 18 will probably move — as the strikes are expected to continue for some time. The TV Academy and Fox are expected to make a final decision, and announcement on the date shift, by the end of the month.
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