The 27th annual Critics Choice Awards is coming to the CW and TBS. The Critics Choice Association announced that the ceremony will air live on the two networks on March 13 at 7 p.m. This is the fifth straight year that the CW will air the award show.

The ceremony was originally set to happen on Jan. 9, but it was postponed due to the omicron variant causing a rise in positive COVID-19 cases. Critics Choice Association CEO Joey Berlin felt that the March date was the right choice under the circumstances.

“Following the science and tracking the course of the omicron variant, we believe that March 13 will be the right day to properly honor the finest achievements in film and television during the past year,” Berlin said.

“We could have proceeded with our original Jan. 9 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.”

The Critics Choice Awards will take place at the Fairmont Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, California. It will be hosted by actor Taye Diggs and comedian Nicole Byer, who was picked for the original ceremony when it was slated for January. This will be Diggs’ fourth consecutive year serving as master of ceremonies, according to Deadline.

Among the nominations for the awards this year, King Richard shines bright with six nods, as theGrio reported. These include Best Picture, Best Actor for Will Smith, Best Supporting Actress for Aunjanue Ellis, and Best Young actress/actor for Saniyya Sidney.

Going up against Smith in the Best Actor category is Denzel Washington for his work in The Tragedy of Macbeth, which is also up for Best Cinematography.

Will Smith, Saniyya Sidney, Demi Singleton, Jon Bernthal, Tim White, Trevor White, Zach Baylin, Isha Price and Jon Mone attend the UK premiere of “King Richard” on Nov. 17, 2021 in London, England. (Photo by Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Warner Bros.)

Challenging Ellis in the Best Supporting Actress category are Ariana DeBose and Rita Moreno, both from West Side Story. The Steven Spielberg update of the classic 1961 musical leads all with 11 total nominations. DeBose, who is hosting NBC’s Saturday Night Live on January 15, won the Golden Globe for the same category last weekend.

Other notable nominees include Netflix’ The Harder They Fall. The Black cowboy picture is up for for Best Acting Ensemble, thanks to the stellar cast featuring Idris Elba, Regina King, Jonathan Majors, Zazie Beetz, and LaKeith Stanfield.

The film’s song “Guns Go Bang” by Kid Cudi and Jay-Z is nominated for Best Song, but faces competition from Beyoncé, who is nominated for King Richard’s “Be Alive.”

Have you subscribed to theGrio’s podcast “Dear Culture”? Download our newest episodes now!
TheGrio is now on Apple TV, Amazon Fire, and Roku. Download theGrio today!

The post Critics Choice Awards will air live in March on CW, TBS appeared first on TheGrio.