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Your Guide to All the Award Shows in 2018

Who votes, how you can watch, and more!

liz-raftery.jpg
Liz Raftery

The most wonderful time of the year is upon Hollywood... that's right, it's awards season! Pretty much every weekend in January, you can watch stars walk red carpets, receive awards, and general live the glitzy and glamorous lifestyle that the rest of us can only dream of. And it's all leading up to Hollywood's Biggest Night, the Oscars!

But what's the deal with all these awards shows? Who's voting on who gets the prizes, anyway? And most importantly, what does it all mean?

We've put together this handy guide to this season's awards shows, explaining when and how you can watch and why they all matter. Now, start making your picks for the winners!

Golden Globe Awards
When: Sunday, Jan. 7 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on NBC
Nominees: Check out all the nominees here!
Who votes: The enigmatic Hollywood Foreign Press Association, i.e. journalists from all over the world.
What it awards: Achievements in television and film
What to watch out for: The Golden Globes love to bestow surprise awards that are out of left field, so look for little-known newbies like Amazon's The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel to take home some of the top prizes. Plus, it's the best awards show because alcohol is served during the ceremony, and what's more fun than a tipsy celebrity giving an acceptance speech?

Critics' Choice Awards
When: Thursday, Jan. 11 at 8/7c on The CW
Nominees: Check out all the nominees here!
Who votes: Members of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, the latter of which experienced a mass exodus last year after the awards partnered with Entertainment Weekly. Both are made up of mostly American critics.
What it awards: Achievements in television and film
What to watch out for: On the film side, the Critics' Choice Awards try to be an predictor of the Academy Awards. On the TV side, it's interesting to see what shows television critics are flocking to, and how frequently they don't align with any shows "regular" people are watching.

Screen Actors Guild Awards
When: Sunday, Jan. 21 at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on TBS and TNT
Nominees: Check out all the nominees here!
Who votes: Members of the Screen Actors Guild, aka actors, and AFTRA, which includes journalists, anchors, DJs, program hosts, and yes, even weather anchors.
What it awards: Acting achievements in television and film
What to watch out for: The SAG Awards, which will have a host (Kristen Bell) for the first time this year, is a good predictor for which actors will take home Oscars, since the Academy's largest voting bloc is comprised of actors.

Academy Awards
When: Sunday, March 4 at 8 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. PT on ABC
Nominees: Will be announced Tuesday, Jan. 23
Who votes: Members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), which is comprised of film professionals, including actors, writers, producers, directors, cinematographers, costume designers, editors and more
What it awards: Achievements in film
What to watch out for: No, the Oscars don't hand out any awards related to television, but nobody wants to miss Hollywood's Biggest Night!

And later in the year...

Emmy Awards
When: Monday, Sept. 17 at 8 p.m. PT / 5 p.m. PT on NBC
Nominees: Will be announced on July 12
Who votes: Members of the Television Academy, which is comprised of more than 22,000 members "who are or who have been actively engaged in activities related to the production or distribution of audio visual works for national exhibition by means of telecommunications."
What it awards: Achievements in television
What to watch out for: The Emmys are to television what the Oscars are to movies. The ceremony takes place six months after "awards season" has ended, timed to the start of the traditional "fall TV season" - a perfect opportunity for viewers to get a sense about what shows to start or keep watching.

Other shows you won't be able to watch, but should still pay attention to:

Producers Guild Awards
When:
Saturday, Jan. 20
Nominees: Announced Friday, Jan. 5
Who votes: Members of the Producers Guild of America (PGA).
What it is: The PGA Awards honor programming in a number of categories, including television series and specials, feature films, sports programs, children's programs, and documentary films. Since they started awarding films in 1989, the best picture winner has gone on to win the Oscar for Best Picture 19 times. See a list of the full rules and regulations for the television categories here.

Directors Guild Awards
When: Saturday, Feb. 3
Nominees: Television nominees announced Wednesday, Jan. 10
Who votes: Members of the Directors Guild of America (DGA).
What it is: The DGA Awards honor directors of television programs and commercials, feature films, and documentaries. The winner of the best film director award has gone on to win the directing Oscar 62 out of 65 times.

Writers Guild Awards
When: Sunday, Feb. 11
Nominees: Check out the nominees here
Who votes: Members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA).
What it is: The WGA Awards honor achievements in film, television, radio and video game writing.

British Academy Television Arts Awards
When:
Sunday, May 13
Nominees: Will be announced Thursday, March 22
Who votes: Members of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA).
What it is: Like the Emmys, but British. (Last year's big winners included Happy ValleyandFleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge.)