H.E.R. will also make her Emmys debut, with an 'In Memoriam' performance, during the awards ceremony.
The 2020 Emmy Awards will certainly be a star-studded affair!
ABC and the Television Academy announced on Friday that Mindy Kaling, Bob Newhart, Ty Burrell, Ken Jeong and Tatiana Maslany will be among the stars to make special appearances during the 72nd Primetime Emmys on Sunday, Sept. 20.
Previously announced stars that will make appearances at this year's award show include Jason Bateman, Sterling K. Brown, Laverne Cox, Sesame Street's Count von Count, Morgan Freeman, Ilana Glazer, Abbi Jacobson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, D-Nice, Randall Park, RuPaul, Patrick Stewart and Jason Sudeikis, Oprah Winfrey, Issa Rae, Gabrielle Union, Anthony Anderson, America Ferrera, Lena Waithe and J.J. Watt.
GRAMMY-winning musical artist H.E.R. will also make her Emmys debut for a special "In Memoriam" performance during the awards ceremony.
Host Jimmy Kimmel will return to emcee the primetime ceremony this year, only he'll be broadcasting live from Staples Center in Downtown Los Angeles instead of onstage from the Emmys' usual home in the nearby Microsoft Theater.
Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the awards show will be following strict social distancing guidelines, which means there will be no live audience, no red carpet and no pre-show on Emmy night.
"The Staples Center makes sense because it's so big," Michael Schneider, Variety's Senior Editor of TV Awards, told ET last month of the Emmys' new location. "If you want to socially distance your crew, keep them safe, that's a huge venue."
Without nominees present to collect their awards in person, the Emmys is adopting an alternative solution for acceptance speeches: going to where the nominees are.
Producers are planning to use up to 140 live feeds from the nominees' various locations -- whether at their home in the U.S. or abroad -- that will beam in live into Staples Center. State-of-the-art cameras will be provided to ensure high-quality feeds will be available for the broadcast. Translation: No grainy Zoom videos here.
"The idea is to bring a camera operator to each house or wherever a nominee is," Schneider elaborated, adding that there is discussion of having a handful of stars at Staples to present specific awards. "The producers are talking about maybe bringing in some celebrities to the Staples Center as presenters so you may see a few. Maybe they can even interact with host Jimmy Kimmel."
After the Emmy nominations were announced in July (perhaps an early preview of what the ceremony may look like), producers sent a letter to select nominees about their plans for the virtual ceremony.
"As you’ve probably guessed, we’re not going to be asking you to come to the Microsoft Theatre [sic] in downtown L.A. on September 20th," the letter read, as obtained by multiple outlets.
The producers “are assembling a top notch team of technicians, producers and writers to work closely with Jimmy Kimmel and with you and your team, to make sure that we can film with you (and loved ones or whomever else you choose to be with) at your home, or another location of your choice. We’re going to make you look fabulous -- we’re exploring the cutting edge of 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 continued.
Watchmen is the most-nominated program at this year's awards show, with 26 nominations, including Outstanding Drama Series, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for Regina King and more. Other top nominees include The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Mandalorian, Ozark, Schitt's Creek and Succession. Tyler Perry, along with his charity, The Perry Foundation, will receive the Governors Award.
The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards will be broadcast live Sunday, Sept. 20 at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on ABC.
See more on the upcoming awards show in the video below.
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