The Tony Awards will be on Paramount+ this year
Thursday, May 27, 2021 at 8:30PM 
Aaron Tveit and Karen Olivo in "Moulin Rouge: The Musical"
Here's a twist we didn't see coming: the long delayed Tony Awards will be on Paramount+ streaming service this September 26th at 7 PM EST followed by a starry Broadway-celebrating concert on CBS (the usual home of the Tony Awards) at 9 PM EST (both shows are two hours long). That's great timing since the shows begin to return on September 2nd (as previously discussed).
All of the awards but three will be handed out on the Paramount portion of the evening...
Best Musical and the two Best Play categories will be presented on CBS which is strange in a way since those categories often have the dullest speeches since they're from producers rather than performers.
The annoying part of this twist is that it's another example of TV networks continuing to suggest that they don't really get awards shows and don't necessarily know if they want to be in the awards show business anymore. The only shows we know that are currently invited to perform are the jukebox musicals (aka the ones with songs all the tourists know before the shows are even written): Tina, Jagged Little Pill, and Moulin Rouge!
We also now know that the Tony members already voted on the winners from October's nominations two months ago and they've just keeping the results under lock and key until late September. Poor Aaron Tveit. He's the only nominee for Best Actor in a Musical (for Moulin Rouge!) but he still doesn't know if he won! He'll have waited 11 months to find out. Crazy times we live in.
Aaron Tveit, Broadway and Stage, Paramount+, Tony Awards, musicals, streaming
Reader Comments (18)
Can't believe they're going to make Lois Smith wait for the whole summer. What a bunch of m....
Well if no one watched the Tonys before they sure as hell won’t watch them on paramount plus.
This is horrific news! I always enjoyed that award show. I do not have that streaming service, so it is pure disappointment.
what an auspicious date ;-)
the press release says musical, play and play revival are the three awards they're handing out during the cbs portion
there's a perverse part of me that wants to witness a presenter having to say "and the tony award for best performance by a leading actor in a musical goes to....[awkward pause]...nobody"
So, just so I'm clear, the eligibility season ended on February 19, 2020, the nominating committee met to vote on nominees on October 13, 2020, the nominations were announced on October 15, 2020, voters voted on winners between March 1 and March 15, 2021, and now winners will be announced on September 26, 2021. Wow.
And it is official that the three awards presented on CBS will be the three production categories, with other winners "celebrated throughout the broadcast," whatever that means:
https://www.tonyawards.com/news/announcing-the-tony-awards-present-broadways-back-74th-annual-tony-awards-sept-26-on-cbs-and-paramount/
Do they actually think I'm going to sign up for yet another streaming service just to watch these? Spoiler alert: I'm not. And I've watched the Tonys for close to 60 years.
Uh.... I don't like this idea.
I'm with Tom Q, thevoid99, and Jared. I'm not about to add an EIGHTH streaming service, so... bye bye Tonys.
Ninth. I have eight now (forgot about Shudder for a minute). I'm not about to subscribe to a NINTH streaming service. Damn.
You all know you can sign up for a free trial of Paramount Plus and then cancel, right? I did it to watch The Real World: Homecoming. It's fine, I promise.
This is smart for CBS. The Tony's are a pretty low-watched show, and their ratings are only seen as good because they air during the summer season. Also, Tony fans are pretty rabid, so they'll subscribe just to watch.
Hopefully, given the Paramount Plus/CBS of it all, we get Christine Baranski presenting an award since she's one of their top stars/leads and well loved by the Broadway community.
Did anyone see Moulin Rouge on stage? Was it any good?
Streaming was cutre when we just had Netflix and everyone said "F*ck cable! Can't believe we ever paid that much a month..." but now there's a new streaming service every few months, and the cost sure is adding up.
Paramount+ is really going for the gays between Drag Race and now the Tonys...
@jules. I did that once for a show, and I thought I cancelled, thought SURE I cancelled, but then I got billed for a month and was told, "no, I didn't cancel." If I was obsessed with the Tonys, I'd do it, but I don't like watching them THAT much.
What jules said. I've done the free trial on Paramount+ a couple of times to watch The Good Fight, Star Trek, The Real World: Homecoming etc.
Horrible news. The Tonys are becoming more irrelevant with each passing year.
Before this year’s Oscars I would’ve said “move them to HBO/HBO Max.” Forget about ratings, focus on the movies, make the show glamorous and highbrow, do the honorary awards, run over time... Many of the traps the telecast falls into relate to the network broadcast.
Then I saw this year’s show and fully understood the organization’s network death wish! They can’t get out of their own way.
I find it very disrespectful for the nominees that worked so hard and the fans to switch it to a pay channel. I won't be turning in for the show.