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The MTV Movie and TV Awards will continue to take place live next Sunday. But due to the ongoing WGA strike, it will take a different format than previous years, TheWrap can confirm.
Bruce Gillmer, president of Music, Music Talent, Programming and Events at Paramount Global, and executive producer of the MTV Movie & TV Awards, said in a statement: “As we carefully research the best way to deliver the first awards show for the Fans, we imagine our team has worked so hard to create, we are moving away from a live event that still allows us to produce a memorable night filled with exclusive sneak peeks, irreverent categories our audience has come to expect, and countless moments that will surprise and delight in honoring the best of cinema and television during the last year”.
What is known for sure is that the MTV Movie and TV Awards will be a live show that will take place in front of a live audience. as for the deadline report that up to 75% of the nominees and presenters have withdrawn from the event for fear of crossing the pickets, the same source stated that it was taken out of context.
This news comes on the heels of Drew Barrymore stepping down as an awards show host. In a press release, Barrymore said he withdrew from the awards show “in solidarity with the strike.”
That’s not the only strike-related news to emerge ahead of Sunday’s event. On Friday, the WGA announced that it will picket the Barker Hanger, the site of the MTV Movie and TV Awards. The protest will begin on Sunday, May 7 at 5 pm (Pacific Time), the same time the awards show is supposed to start. MTV canceled the red carpet and talent interviews planned for the event.
Sunday night will serve as a litmus test for Hollywood, as the MTV Movie and TV Awards is the first major awards show to take place during the 2023 strike. It’s also one of the first awards shows to have to adapt to a strike in modern history. Although the 2007 writers’ strike lasted 100 days, it took place during the fall and winter, meaning only the Golden Globes were held. Due to boycotts and picketing, the awards show was canceled and the winners were announced at a press conference. Instead of airing the conference, NBC aired a special in which Billy Bush and Nancy O’Dell broke down the results.
That is not the case this time. The WGA strike not only began the week before the big MTV show, but it’s also happening while the Emmy campaign is in full swing. How the network and the industry as a whole respond to Sunday’s event will likely set the tone for the upcoming awards season.
