The 2020 Emmys Will Have a Different Kind of Red Carpet This Year

Seeing your favorite actors and actresses get recognized for their talents can make anyone's heart flutter with excitement. Also in the category of making my heart flutter: celebrities on the red carpet (opens in new tab). However, according to Variety (opens in new tab), the 72nd Primetime Emmy Awards, hosted by Jimmy Kimmel on September 20, will not have a IRL red carpet. This is part of the many changes the award show made to comply with COVID-19 restrictions. Instead of the traditional red carpet, the big plan is to have professional cameras in as many as 140 locations. That way, all of the nominees will be live for the show instead of using pre-recorded videos.

"We're not trying to make the Zoomies, we're trying to make the Emmys," Ian Stewart, president of the company producing this year's Emmy awards, told Variety (opens in new tab). "They 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. It doesn't really matter, wherever they feel comfortable. But we want to bring every nominee that we can logistically, live into the show."

Other entertainment outlets like E! (opens in new tab), PEOPLE , and Entertainment Weekly (opens in new tab) will be hosting their own versions of the red carpet this year virtually. This means that celebrities will be popping up via video chat, answering questions from the program's hosts (some even from the fans!). You can watch E!'s content through your cable provider or eonline.com (opens in new tab), and for PEOPLE and EW, you can stream on PEOPLE TV, PEOPLE.com (opens in new tab), EW.com (opens in new tab).

The schedule will look a little something like this:

• E! Countdown to the Red Carpet: 4:30-6:00 PM ET/1:30-3:00 PM PT
• Live From E!: 6:00-8:00 PM ET/3:00-5:00 PM PT
• PEOPLE & Entertainment Weekly Red Carpet Live: At Home!: 7:00-8:00 PM ET/4:00-5:00 PM PT

Additional changes to the 2020 Emmys include the show taking place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles rather than the Microsoft Theatre. As you may have predicted, it won't have a live audience either. But while the idea of seeing a range of breathtaking outfits is slim, some nominees are still going to go all out. Zendaya (opens in new tab) recently announced that she plans to dress to impress, and I'm very thankful for that!

"I do want to dress up. I still want to have the experience," she said on Jimmy Kimmel Live. (opens in new tab) "It'll be probably just my family over here, but I definitely want to pull a look and maybe just walk my living room carpet."

The award show's executive producers, along with Kimmel, have stated that the event's dress code isn't the usual black-tie affair, and people can wear whatever they please.

"Our informal theme for the night is 'come as you are, but make an effort,'" read the official statement on the dress code (opens in new tab). "If you want to be in formal wear, we'd love that, but equally if you're in the U.K. and it's 3 a.m., perhaps you want to be in designer pajamas and record from your bed! We want to work with you to style your moments, but want you to guide us on your levels of comfort—where you want to be, who you want to be with, what you want to wear, etc."

Will the night be filled with pajamas or gorgeous gowns? Either way, I'm here for it.