Emmys Hope Third Time Is the Charm

With one official comparing his mandate to that of theater presenters in World War II-era England, organizers of the 53rd Annual Prime-Time Emmy Awards elaborated Wednesday on their plans for this year’s ceremony, which will be held Nov. 4 at the Shubert Theatre in Century City.

Still unknown is how many top-drawer nominees will show up Nov. 4. Some stars, including Dennis Franz, the Emmy-nominated actor on ABC’s “NYPD Blue,” have expressed the hope that the Emmys wouldn’t be held this year. The canceled Oct. 7 telecast had planned a bicoastal component, enabling nominees of New York-based shows to attend without boarding a plane. The Nov. 4 event will have no such element.

The newly revamped Emmys, which have been postponed twice since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, will still feature comedian Ellen DeGeneres as host, though Don Mischer, the executive producer of the telecast, dropped out last week and has been replaced by Gary Smith, who has previously produced television specials including “AFI’s 100 Years ... 100 Stars.” Specifics on award-show perennials such as the red-carpet arrivals are still being worked out. Nominees are still being asked to wear business attire, and the “Unity Dinner” will be held across the street at the Century Plaza Hotel.

Originally scheduled for Sept. 16 at the Shrine Auditorium, the Emmys were postponed the day of the terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon. A second attempt to stage a more sober telecast Oct. 7 was called off hours before the event after U.S. and British forces began bombing raids on Afghanistan.

In the 10 days since, speculation had the Emmys moving to a Southern California military base and reinvented as a clarion call to patriotism, with A-list celebrities rallying the troops.

But while acknowledging that such an avenue was explored with the U.S. Defense Department, Leslie Moonves, president and CEO of CBS Television, said in a conference call with reporters that “logistically there just wasn’t enough time. In addition, the military bases have concerns other than putting on an awards show.”

For CBS, the Emmy telecast will air on the first Sunday of the November ratings sweeps, a period in which networks schedule event TV in a bid to boost viewership. To that end, the Emmys would be competing with a potential Game 7 of the World Series on Fox, the miniseries “Uprising” on NBC and portions of the network premiere of “Toy Story 2” on ABC, in addition to that network’s regularly scheduled series “Alias” and “The Practice.”

While Moonves refused to discuss the Emmys in terms of the financial incentives in staging a broadcast, Bryce Zabel, chairman-elect of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, which presents the event, said the move from the Shrine to the smaller Shubert would represent a loss in revenue from tickets that are purchased by the networks and production studios. But, Zabel stressed, “we haven’t actually thought too much about the dollars.”

Instead, Zabel, as he has repeatedly done in the face of mounting cynicism toward the event, positioned the Emmys as integral to reassuring the nation that the country’s resolve hasn’t changed, even noting that plays in World War II England during German bombing campaigns paused to wait out the attacks, then resumed.

“We get that this is a television show, that this is an awards show,” Zabel said.

Moonves said “95% of the calls that I have received have been very positive,” but he declined to provide specific names of nominees who have reconfirmed. Zabel said he had talked to Aaron Sorkin, creator of the Emmy-nominated drama “The West Wing,” and the show’s executive producer, John Wells, both of whom had indicated that they would attend.

Shooting on the fourth season of the HBO drama “The Sopranos,” the series believed to be “The West Wing’s” chief competitor in the best dramatic series competition, is scheduled to begin this month. An HBO spokeswoman said Wednesday it was unclear whether the show’s New York-based actors would attend the Emmys.