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The unfortunate acronym forced upon the Screen Actor's Guild aside, the SAG Awards bring together Hollywood's best and most beautiful, all in the name of actor appreciation. Situated right in the middle of awards season, it stands apart from similar events like the Oscars or the Golden Globes in that while its peers only seem to be actors presenting other actors with awards, this one is actually actors giving other actors awards. More than 160,000 of them vote for the winners each year, after two committees of 2,100 (one from film and the other from television) select the nominees.
The SAG Awards also differ from the Oscars or the Emmys in that they unite stars from both the large and small screens. That means this year, the casts of Straight Outta Compton, Game of Thrones, and Orange Is the New Black will share the red carpet (the awards recognize both single actors as well as entire ensembles).
This also means that the SAG Awards eliminates all the categories that merely casual film and TV viewers care less about (think sound editing or screenwriting). Whether or not you've decided it's worth spending your Saturday night tuning in, here's everything else to know.
The Nominees
Aside from nominating ensembles (which this year include those previously mentioned as well as Mad Men, Transparent, The Big Short, Spotlight, Downton Abbey, and others), the SAG Awards recognize stunt actors as well — predictably, those of movies and shows like Mad Max, Jurassic World, and Game of Thrones.
Other nominees include 2016 awards season favorites Leo DiCaprio, Eddie Redmayne, Michael Fassbender, Cate Blanchett, Brie Larson, Saoirse Ronan, Rooney Mara, Alicia Vikander, and Kate Winslet. Notably absent from the Best Actress category: Jennifer Lawrence.
Over on the small screen, there's the expected nods to Jon Hamm as Don Draper, Viola Davis in How to Get Away With Murder, Robin Wright in House of Cards, Julia Louis-Dreyfus in Veep, and Uzo Aduba in Orange Is the New Black. Also nominated: Louis C.K., Amy Poehler, and Ellie Kemper.
See the full list of nominees here.
The Presenters
No, Tina and Amy aren't hosting, but they will be presenting Carol Burnett with the Lifetime Achievement Award, so there'll be sure to be a few jokes in there. Other presenters include Priyanka Chopra, Brie Larson, Sarah Silverman, Tony Hale, Idris Elba, Michael Keaton, and Kristen Wiig.
In regards to who's hosting, however, there isn't one. Years ago, SAG Executive Producer Kathy Connell explained why, saying: "We chose to not have a host was because we didn't want the time taken away from the people we were honoring. Our show is just two hours long. We wanted the whole evening to be about the actors and not about one personality
How to Watch
When
Saturday, January 30th at 8 p.m. EST. The E! Red Carpet special begins at 6 p.m.
Where
The awards will be broadcast live on both TNT and TBS.
Online
TNT will host a red carpet pre-show beginning at 6 p.m., which you can stream online here.