2020 Emmys Officially Going Virtual, Kicking Off What's Sure To Be A Bizarre Awards Season

Who's ready to watch their favorite TV actors and creatives give virtual acceptance speeches?

The 2020 Emmys will officially be a remote awards show, kicking off what will almost positively be a bizarre and straight up weird awards season as the coronavirus pandemic continues. The show, which is being hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, sent out letters to the recent Emmy nominees informing them that no, they don't have to worry about showing up to an event in person this year. Instead, according to the letter, the virtual show's "informal theme for the night is 'come as you are, but make an effort!'" But thankfully, it sounds like the producers are taking steps to make sure the ceremony doesn't look like just another average Zoom call.

Cases of COVID-19 are continuing to ramp up in Los Angeles County, so holding the show in person has proven impossible. The Hollywood Reporter got a hold of the letter sent to Emmy nominees, which reads in part, "We 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."

The TV Academy and ABC, the Emmys' network home, have yet to officially comment on this news or cement any plans, and while the producers are reportedly still considering a handful of options about exactly how to approach the production, THR says that the folks in charge of the broadcast "assured different technologies would be employed to make sure the telecast has a glossier look than the Zoom specials of early quarantine." While we won't be able to escape the weirdness of a once-glamorous awards show being forced down several pegs, at least it sounds like the version that we'll see on our TVs won't look quite as shaggy and low-rent as the video conferences you do with your co-workers.

And speaking of glamor, the red carpet obviously won't exist this year, so expect to see the stars in a whole new light. "If you want to be in formal wear, we'd love that," the letter says. "but equally if you're in the UK and it's 3am, perhaps you want to be in designer pajamas and record from your bed." I don't know about you, but I'll definitely be wearing my finest designer pajamas as I watch.

The 2020 Emmys is scheduled to air on ABC on September 20, 2020.