Critics Choice Awards Reschedules To Be On The Same Night As The BAFTAs?!

The Critics Choice Awards have decided to reschedule their event… to be on the same night as the BAFTA film awards!

The Critics Choice Awards decided to push back the date of their awards ceremony from January 9 due to the recent outbreak of cases reportedly caused by the Omicron variant; however, they have chosen the date to be Sunday, March 13, which is the night the BAFTA film awards had already chosen.

This not only presents a problem for fans hoping to catch both awards shows, but for nominees, who may have to make a choice between appearing in Los Angeles for the Critics Choice Awards or in London for the BAFTAs.

In an official statement, Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin said, “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.”

“We could have proceeded with our original January 9th date with limited attendance or switched to a virtual award 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.”

A spokesperson for BAFTA responded to a request from Deadline for more information, saying, “We are aware of the date change for the Critics Choice Awards 2022 and understand the unprecedented circumstances that have led to their decision this year.”

“There are no changes to our current plans for an in-person event for the EE British Academy Film Awards on 13th March and we look forward to welcoming everyone to London’s Royal Albert Hall for a safe and memorable event,” they added. “There are no current plans for any satellite link-up.”

In a phone conversation reported by Deadline, Berlin explained that they are still working with the BAFTA association to figure out how to handle nominees who are nominated for both awards.

“We had no choice,” Berlin is quoted as saying during the phone conversation. “We did not choose the date lightly.”

“We had contractual obligations with our networks and our venues and our sponsors,” he continued. “Taking into consideration the networks’ commitment to other scheduled live events and the need contractually to deliver a three-hour Sunday show, plus the availability of the venue where we had a contract with, there was only one date between the Super Bowl and the Oscars and that is March 13.”

“So I did reach out to BAFTA immediately and told them we regret this but had no choice, and they were great and understood,” he added. “They couldn’t have been more gracious. We talked about an idea on how the talent could participate in both shows on the same day and put their safety and comfort first.”

However, he mentioned, “Who knows about traveling both ways between London and L.A. at that time, and so many awards-season things are getting rescheduled and squeezed into this tight window, and there is ton of overlap we can’t control.”

“Our discussions are continuing,” he went on. “We proposed possible ways to make lemonade out of these lemons. It is a tough situation, but we hope this could be a way by trying to give people a benefit of both events wherever they are, L.A. or London.”

He also remains sympathetic to the nominees who might have to make a choice between which awards ceremony they choose to attend.

“We are trying. We certainly don’t want to say you have to choose,” he added. “We are happy to take people on satellite, which we never have done, and maybe people want to stay in L.A. or London for COVID reasons or otherwise.”

“I have tremendous respect for BAFTA, for Amanda Berry and her team and their awards ceremony, and how gracious they have been,” he said, adding, “This will never happen again. We would never dream of going on a date that a major awards event has already claimed if the choice weren’t based on going on that date or not going on at all.”