Los Angeles (AFP)

Upset by the coronavirus pandemic which forced her to change her rules, the 72nd edition of the Emmy Awards, equivalent of the Oscars for American television, unveil the list of its candidates for 2020 on Tuesday.

Due to virus, the ceremony traditionally organized in Los Angeles will take place live but will be entirely virtual this year. It will begin at 8:30 a.m. local time (3:30 p.m. GMT) and can be followed at the Emmy Awards site.

The epidemic has paralyzed filming and deeply disrupted the production of many television series, preventing some from competing.

But with the confinement, the approximately 24,000 members of the Emmy Academy will not have missed time to view the works of the applicants.

"The Covid has obviously prevented face-to-face meetings, so this year people were unable to fuss," said Joyce Eng, specialist in prizes and rewards for the Gold Derby website.

"Between the confinement and the extension of the deadlines to compete, it is assumed that the voters spent more time in front of the television, but we do not know what they watched," she told AFP, warning of possible surprises.

"Do they watch shows that came out three years ago that they haven't had a chance to see so far? Do they watch all the new shows this year? Are they rather looking for something to change their minds? "

The competition is all the more open as the heavyweights of previous editions, such as "Game of Thrones" or "Fleabag", have hung up their gloves.

Among the favorites for the 2020 vintage for drama series, experts currently see "Succession", a dark comedy airing on HBO, and "Ozark", produced by Netflix.

- The favorite "Watchmen" -

Still at Netflix, the now famous "The Crown" should once again be in the running, as well as "The Handmaid's Tale: The Scarlet Handmaid" (Hulu) or "Better Call Saul", a derivative of "Breaking Bad", which both have also proven their worth.

"The Morning Show", a little news broadcast on the Apple TV + platform, could compete with the veterans.

Unless surprised, the actors of these series should also appear in the list of candidates, including Brian Cox for "Succession", Jason Bateman for "Ozark" and Bob Odenkirk for "Better Call Saul".

Briton Olivia Colman, Oscar for best actress for "The Favorite" in 2019, is expected to defend the colors of "The Crown" alongside Laura Linney ("Ozark"), Jennifer Aniston ("The Morning Show") and Elizabeth Moss ("The Handmaid's Tale").

On the comedy side, we should find Amazon's "The Fabulous Mrs. Maisel", which follows the adventures of a peaceful New York housewife scorned launching into stand-up, and the eccentric Canadian series "Schitt's Creek", applauded by a host of celebrities including Michelle Obama.

In the mini-series category, the tortured superheroes of critically praised "Watchmen" are almost guaranteed to be among the nominees and have a good chance of winning at the awards ceremony next September. .

"Watchmen + is already a great series in itself, but it has taken on even greater significance in recent weeks," said Joyce Eng.

The series, centered around the massacre of several hundred black inhabitants of the city of Tulsa (Oklahoma) in 1921 by white rioters, indeed plunges into the heart of racist violence and police brutality, themes which are cruelly topical in United States since the end of May.

The list of nominations will be announced Tuesday by one of the stars of the comedy show "Saturday Night Live", Leslie Jones.

The Emmy Awards will be presented on September 20, during a ceremony that is also likely to be entirely virtual, Los Angeles and its region being one of the main centers of Covid-19 on American soil.

© 2020 AFP