The producers of Sunday’s broadcast have said gaffes could occur. Kimmel is on stage at downtown LA’s Staples Center, central command for camera feeds relayed from 130 nominees socially distanced at home or elsewhere in 10 countries and 20 cities.

Morgan Freeman, Lin-Manuel Miranda, D-Nice, Patrick Stewart and Oprah Winfrey are among those taking part in the show, which also promises the oddity of a live appearance by an alpaca named Isabella.

Other recent awards shows, including the BET Awards and the Academy of Country Music Awards, bowed to the coronavirus with a mix of pre-taped and live segments. How the Emmys fare may influence Hollywood’s awards season.

It’s difficult to imagine Emmy Awards more representative of their time.

The ceremony was live because of the devastating COVID-19 pandemic. The nominees include a record number of Black actors and other artists at a moment of racial reckoning. And a dizzying array of TV platforms are jockeying for honors, including streaming services that weren’t around to compete in the last Emmys.

The creative Emmys that were handed over five days, culminating Saturday, underscore the point: awards have been collected by 29 outlets representing cable channels, streaming services and broadcast networks. So far, longtime leader HBO and rising Netflix are tied with 19 awards each, followed by Disney+ and NBC with eight honors apiece.