The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards will pivot from a live ceremony to a pre-recorded show airing on Sunday.
The show changes announced Friday came hours after the Writers Guild of America said it planned to picket outside Santa Monica’s Barker Hangar, where the awards were scheduled to be presented in front of a live audience. The WGA has since canceled his intention to demonstrate.
“As we carefully consider how to give the first fan awards ceremony the best we imagined our team worked so hard to create, we are pivoting away from a live event that still allows us to have a memorable evening full of exclusive sneak peeks. , irreverent categories our audiences are used to and countless moments that will both surprise and delight as we honor the best of film and TV from the past year,” Bruce Gillmer, executive producer of the MTV Movie & TV Awards, said in a statement.
A source told The Hollywood Reporter that celebrities will still be involved via pre-recorded acceptance speeches.
The ceremony would include Drew Barrymore as host, celebrity presenters and an audience. But the 50 first dates actress announced earlier this week that she would be quitting, saying she did so in solidarity with the WGA strike. MTV also previously called out the red carpet for the event.
Writers have been on strike in Los Angeles and New York since May 2, after negotiations with studios and streamers fell through the previous night.
The MTV Movie & TV Awards will continue to air Sunday at 8pm ET/5pm PT on MTV with simulcasts on BET, BET Her, Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land, VH1 .
