Succession, Schitt's Creek expected to take top prizes at the virtual 2020 Emmys

Ready for the most unusual Emmys telecast we've ever seen?

The 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards will take place this Sunday, and it will be the biggest awards show yet to go forward amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Naturally, don't expect the broadcast to look anything like usual. For one, while host Jimmy Kimmel will be physically at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, none of the nominees will be there, and he won't have an audience.

"The plan is I'm going to be at the Staples Center essentially by myself," Kimmel told The Daily Beast. "...I just decided to try to think of it as a radio show with no co-host."

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Nominees will join the telecast remotely. According to Variety, at least 130 nominees are being sent "elaborate at-home video kits" to use, and producers will have "as many as 140 live feeds" coming into their control room. The nominees "might be at home, they might be in the garden, might be in a hotel, they might be standing on the side of the street," producer Ian Stewart told Variety.

In terms of the winners, pundits expect the top drama series Emmy to go to Succession and the top comedy series prize to go to Schitt's Creek, while Watchmen should easily win the limited series trophy.

The lead drama actor Emmy looks like a battle between Succession stars Brian Cox and Jeremy Strong, while with the lead drama actress Emmy, Ozark's Laura Linney, The Morning Show's Jennifer Aniston, and The Crown's Olivia Colman are all very much in the mix. Meanwhile, the lead comedy actor award appears set to go to Schitt's Creek's Eugene Levy or possibly Ramy's Ramy Youssef, while Schitt's Creek's Catherine O'Hara is favored for the lead comedy actress prize.

The 2020 Emmys will kick off on ABC — naturally, without any stars walking a red carpet beforehand — at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Sept. 20.