Emmys Rescheduled; Emphasis Will Change

The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and CBS have rescheduled what promises to be a different kind of nighttime Emmy Awards ceremony for Oct. 7, three weeks after the show was originally to be held.

Executive producer Don Mischer announced Tuesday after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon that it was “completely inappropriate” to proceed with the awards Sunday.

Since then, there has been debate as to when the ceremony should be held. CBS and the other networks initially pressed to present the awards Sept. 23, wanting in part to ensure that the event took place before the official start of the television season. Given the logistics and security issues involved, however, the networks finally agreed to the later date, which most academy officials had wanted.

The academy indicated that the awards will depart from their traditional role as a celebration of the television industry to provide an event that will “reaffirm the spirit of the American people in dealing with this tragedy.”

Trying to Strike the Proper Tone

“It continues to be a challenge, but there is a role for television to play at a time like this,” said academy Chairwoman Meryl Marshall-Daniels. “This Emmys will reflect the tone that is needed by the country and our industry to speak about faith and hope and the wonderful qualities that TV is capable of providing.”

Marshall-Daniels acknowledged the necessity of striking the proper tone within the ceremony, adding that Ellen DeGeneres would still serve as host.

“This will not be a time of celebration,” the chairwoman said. “No question the show will be different than it would have been, just as all of our lives are different and will never be the same. The nature and degree of that change in the show has yet to be determined. But we have a group of people all striving for the same thing.”

Sources say there was no serious discussion of canceling the ceremony, currently in its 53rd year.

According to Thomas O’Neil, author of the book “The Emmys,” the awards have never been delayed before--even in 1980, when a Screen Actors Guild strike prompted a boycott that kept most of the key recipients from attending.

In fact, only in rare instances have award shows been postponed, and then only briefly. The 1981 Academy Awards were delayed one day, for example, after the shooting of President Ronald Reagan.