Emmys: Television Academy pushes submission and voting dates back

The Television Academy announced today that it will be pushing back some submission deadlines and condensing voting periods for the 2020 Primetime Emmy Awards in response to coronavirus pandemic that has all but shut down Hollywood.

The new deadline for submissions will be June 5 (from May 11). The first-round voting period will now be from July 2-13, (back from June 15-29), and the Primetime Emmy nominations will be announced July 28, two weeks later than the previously announced date of July 14. Round two of voting will take place August 21-31 rather than August 17-31.

The deadline for Emmy eligibility hasn’t changed and is still May 31. But, the Television Academy did make some adjustments within that eligibility. For a series, “hanging episodes” – episodes that debut after the May 31 deadline – must air by June 30 to be considered this year. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence – the third season of The Handmaid’s Tale found itself eligible last season and this season due to hanging episodes. For a limited series category it’s almost identical as the show must premiere by May 31 and all episodes must air by June 30 to make the cutoff for this year. But, if any episode airs after June 30, the entire limited series will have to move to next year’s Emmys.

The Academy did not make any changes to the date of the Primetime Emmy Awards live telecast, which is still scheduled for September 20, or the Creative Arts Emmys ceremony, still set for September 12 and 13.