Emmys 2020: Confusing Glitch Leads to Wrong Announcement for Outstanding Guest Actor Winner

The 2020 Creative Arts Emmy Awards broadcast might not win an award itself. During the live broadcast on FXX, the awards announcer declared the wrong winner for the Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series award, forcing the show to cut to a commercial break. When the show returned, there was an apology card shown onscreen before the real winner was announced.

It sounded like Ozark star Jason Bateman picked up the award for his performance in HBO’s The Outsider since the announcer said his name. However, the screen showed Ron Cephas Jones as the winner for This Is Us, reports Deadline. The broadcast went to a commercial before coming back to the show. Following an apology for the mistake, the graphic with Jones’ name was shown onscreen again.

Jones plays William Hill, the biological father of Sterling K. Brown’s Randall Pearson, on This Is Us. He previously won the award in 2018. The other nominees for the award this year were James Cromwell (Succession), Giancarlo Esposito (The Mandalorian), Adam Scott (Black Mirror), and Martin Short (The Morning Show). Jones’ daughter, Jasmine Jones, also won an Emmy for her performance on Quibi’s #FreeRayshawn, making them the first father-daughter duo to win Emmys.

The Guest Actor snafu was not the only mistake on the night. When the award for Outstanding Period and/or Character Hairstyling went to Netflix’s Hollywood, the names of the winning artists were listed as “NEED NAMES,” notes Indiewire. When Maya Rudolph won for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for playing Sen. Kamala Harris during an Eddie Murphy-hosted episode, the screen showed Murphy, who had also won for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series.

The main Emmys broadcast on Sunday night will be just as difficult on Sunday night. ABC will broadcast live, with Jimmy Kimmel hosting and 130 different remote cameras that need to be prepared. The broadcast starts at 8 p.m. ET. The most-nominated show Sunday is HBO’s Watchmen, which is up for 11 awards, including Outstanding Drama Series.

The other shows up for the top Drama award are Better Call Saul, The Crown, The Handmaid’s Tale, Killing Eve, The Mandalorian, Ozark, Stranger Things, and Succession. The Outstanding Comedy Series nominees are Curb Your Enthusiasm, Dead to Me, The Good Place, Insecure, The Kominsky Method, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Schitt’s Creek, and What We Do In The Shadows.