The Film Independent Spirit Awards will be a virtual event this year, Film Independent announced on Thursday.
The organization also announced the first round of presenters for the April 22 show: Adam Sandler, Renée Zellweger, Daveed Diggs, Julia Garner, Kathryn Hahn, Annie Murphy and Lulu Wang.
The Spirit Awards ceremony traditionally takes place in a tent on the beach in Santa Monica on the Saturday afternoon before the Oscars. It was moved forward two days to the Thursday night spot months ago, but the format of the show remained up in the air until now. The announcement clarified that it will be a virtual live show in partnership with Looped Live, and will place attendees of the live show inside the virtual equivalent of the Spirit Awards tent.
The show will be broadcast on IFC and AMC+ at 7 p.m. PT/10 p.m. ET. It will be hosted by “Saturday Night Live” cast member Melissa Villaseñor.
Virtual guests will have what Film Independent said will be “a fully interactive audio and visual experience,” including a virtual cocktail hour and a virtual karaoke-themed after party.
Viewers can also pay to be part of a Spirit Awards Viewing Party available exclusively on Looped.