Los Angeles
#1 Award Show
The 89th annual Oscars ceremony had everyone talking, and not just because of the gasp-inducing gaffe at the end of the show in which Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway mistakenly awarded Best Picture to La La Land instead of Moonlight. Ratings dipped slightly to nearly 33 million from just over 34 million last year, but host Jimmy Kimmel generally was well-regarded, earning him a return gig in 2018. Next: March 4, 2018
Los Angeles
#2 Award Show
“Music’s Biggest Night” garnered 26 million viewers, a slight increase over 2016, and a record-setting haul for Adele, who took home five trophies and became the first artist to sweep the categories of album, record, and song of the year twice. Hosted for the first time by the Late Late Show’s James Corden, the January event at the Staples Center included a tribute to the Bee Gees, four posthumous awards for David Bowie, and more. Rule changes allowed recordings released solely through streaming services to be considered, and for the album barrier for best new artist entrants to be removed. Next year's show will be held in New York. Next: January 28, 2018
Los Angeles
#3 Award Show
The 69th edition of the ceremony honoring television’s best performers on- and off-camera was hosted by Stephen Colbert, who embraced his recent role as President Trump's challenger-in-chief. Diversity was a theme of the night, with several firsts or firsts-in-a-long-time for women and people of color winning in various categories. Politics also had a starring role, punctuated with a surprise appearance by the controversial former Trump White House press secretary Sean Spicer. Next: September 2018
Los Angeles
#4 Award Show
For the first time, the Hollywood Foreign Press Association partnered with Twitter and Dick Clark Productions for a live official pre-show before the 74th annual celebration—which honors television and film—which brought in 2.7 million unique viewers during its initial airing. A total of 20 million viewers watched the Golden Globes, marking a 1.5 million person uptick in ratings. Mixed reviews were given to host Jimmy Fallon, who worked his way through a teleprompter malfunction at the start of the broadcast from the Beverly Hilton, while Meryl Streep made an impassioned political speech when she accepted the Cecil B. Demille Lifetime Achievement Award. Next: January 7, 2018
New York
#5 Award Show (up from #6)
This year’s group of high-profile honorees included Melissa McCarthy, Kaitlyn Jenner, Ashley Graham, and Colin Kaepernick, while the organizers of the Women’s March on Washington also were heralded at the magazine’s glitzy event at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Frederick P. Rose Hall. Musical performances were delivered by John Legend, Nicki Minaj, and Ariana Grande. Next: April 2018
Los Angeles
#6 Award Show (up from #7)
New brightly colored lighting at the Microsoft Theater and upgraded graphics gave ESPN’s sports awards a jolt for its silver anniversary, while the broadcast strayed from its entertainer-host model to tap football giant Peyton Manning for the job. The show, produced by Maggievision Productions, was viewed by 5.3 million, and former First Lady Michelle Obama presented the Arthur Ashe Courage Award posthumously to Special Olympics founder Eunice Kennedy. Next: July 11, 2018
New York
#7 Award Show
The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing’s premier award show returned to Radio City Music Hall for its 71st iteration, prompting a doubling of the live audience from 3,000 to 6,000 attendees. But without the buzz from last year’s hit Hamilton or a traditional song-and-dance man as the host (actor Kevin Spacey did the honors, with mixed reviews), the showcase for live theater took a ratings hit, coming in at 6 million viewers. Next: May 2018
Los Angeles
#8 Award Show
Bringing acclaim to some of the biggest names in music, television, and movies, the 48th annual award presentation at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium was hosted for the fourth consecutive year by actor Anthony Anderson. Among those who received accolades were Taraji P. Henson for Hidden Figures and Empire; Sterling K. Brown for This Is Us; Tracee Ellis Ross for Black-ish; Denzel Washington for Fences; and entertainers Chance the Rapper, Maxwell, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, and Pharrell Williams. Next: January 15, 2018
