The 2022 awards season continues its uncertain march toward spring. After postponing the original date of Jan. 9 because of the omicron surge, the Critics Choice Association announced Thursday that the 27th annual awards ceremony will air live on the CW Network and TBS on Sunday, March 13, beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The previously announced co-hosts, Taye Diggs and Nicole Byer, are still on board to welcome guests to the in-person gala, which will be held at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California.
“Following the science and tracking the course of the omicron variant, we believe that March 13th will be the right day to properly honor the finest achievements in film and television during the past year,” Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin said. “We could have proceeded with our original January 9th date with limited attendance or switched to a virtual awards show like we did last year, but we decided to wait until we could safely gather in person and truly celebrate with the creative community, industry leaders and our CCA members all together in one beautiful setting for all the world to see.”
With 11 nominations each, Kenneth Branagh’s “Belfast” and Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” lead the pack of contenders in the film race, followed closely by Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” and Jane Campion’s “The Power of the Dog,” which both racked up 10 nods. In the television competition, HBO scored the most nominations, with “Succession” (eight nods) and “Mare of Easttown” (five).
Historically, the Critics Choice Awards have been a reliable bellwether for Oscar attention. At last year’s virtual CCA event, also hosted by Diggs, Chloé Zhao won Best Director for her drama “Nomadland,” which also took home Best Picture (while Netflix’s “The Crown” dominated in the TV categories). On Oscar night, Zhao repeated these wins, taking home Best Director and Best Picture.
Voting for the 2022 Critics Choice Awards will wrap up March 9-11.