TV stars are gearing up for the Emmy Awards, which are happening four months late because of the Hollywood strikes. Nominations were announced in July and the ceremony was originally scheduled for September, but the writers' and actors' strikes meant very few nominees would have been able to attend. The event will finally go ahead on Monday, with Succession, The Last of Us and The White Lotus among the nominees. The ceremony will be hosted by actor and comedian Anthony Anderson. And industry rumours suggest this year's Emmys could feature a tribute to Matthew Perry from his five Friends co-stars, although nothing has been confirmed. Perry died in October at the age of 54, which a coroner later said was an accident caused by the "acute effects of ketamine". There are so many categories at the Emmy Awards that many prizes have already been handed out at an event called the Creative Arts Emmys, which itself was split over two nights. This year's Creative Arts Emmys event took place earlier this month and included categories for unscripted programmes, guest actors, and technical achievements such as sound, hair, costumes, casting and visual effects. The Last of Us was the big winner at the Creative Arts Emmys, taking home eight prizes, followed by documentary Welcome To Wrexham, which won five. Monday's main event will recognise the more high-profile categories including the best drama and comedy shows overall and the best actors in them. The enforced delay means many of the programmes being recognised will feel a little old to audiences - the ceremony covers series that aired between 1 June 2022 and 31 May 2023. For example, despite The Crown's sixth and final series being released late last year, it is the fifth series that is nominated at the Emmys. Succession is expected to take home many of the most prestigious prizes following similar success at last week's Golden Globes. The show, which follows a ruthless media mogul and the power struggles within his dysfunctional family, got rave reviews for its fourth and final season last year. Prizes could go to the show's stars Kieran Culkin, Jeremy Strong, Sarah Snook, Brian Cox, Matthew Macfadyen and Nicholas Braun, although some of them are competing against each other. The White Lotus, about the entitled guests at luxury hotels and the staff who have to cater to them, is another strong contender. A number of the show's actors are nominated, including Will Sharpe, Jennifer Coolidge, Aubrey Plaza and F Murray Abraham. It faces competition from The Last of Us, the video game adaptation that sees humans transformed into zombie-like creatures following a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection. It is nominated for best drama series, while Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey could be in line for acting prizes. Ted Lasso leads the comedy categories, with Jason Sudeikis, Hannah Waddingham, Brett Goldstein and Juno Temple getting acting nominations. Other nominated programmes include Beef, which performed well at the Golden Globes, and Wednesday, Netflix's character study of the Addams Family daughter. A victory for either Ramsey or Wednesday star Jenna Ortega would make them the youngest ever winner in their categories. House of the Dragon, Better Call Saul, Yellowjackets, Abbott Elementary, The Bear and Only Murders In The Building are among the other nominees. In the US, the ceremony will be broadcast live on the Fox network from 17:00 PT/20:00 ET and will be available to stream the following day on Hulu. In the UK, there is unfortunately no legal way to watch the ceremony live, but it will be broadcast the following evening (Tuesday 16 January) on Sky Max and Sky Showcase at 21:00 GMT. Actor and comedian Anthony Anderson, best known for his role in Emmy-winning comedy series Black-ish, will host the ceremony. He has also appeared in films such as The Departed and Scream 4, and will soon front a new music game show called We Are Family. The actor joked in a recent interview with The Hollywood Reporter: "I said yes to hosting the Emmys, maybe, 15 years ago; they're just now getting around to asking me to host." Asked if he would be making fun of some of the nominees in the room, as is tradition for awards ceremony hosts, Anderson replied: "Oh yeah, that's what being a host of one of these shows is about - taking jabs at your friends, taking jabs at other actors and television shows. "And I'll also be self-deprecating," he continued. "That's what makes it fun for the people who are sitting at home watching this and who may be thinking the same thing. "So, yeah, I will poke fun at people that are sitting in the audience, but it will be nothing personal. It will be all light humour to keep the show moving along and a smile on everyone's face." As it's the Emmy Awards' 75th year, viewers can also expect some montages and celebrations looking back at the event's history. — BBC
