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2018 Emmys: When it’s on, what to watch for

Will John Legend add another E to his EGOT? Will Tina Fey win a 10th Emmy? And what are the Emmys doing on Monday, anyway?

Colin Jost, left, and Michael Che will host "The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards."
Colin Jost, left, and Michael Che will host "The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards."Read moreMary Ellen Matthews/NBC

The first thing to know about the 70th Primetime Emmy Awards is that the show's on Monday, Sept. 17 — because NBC, whose turn it is to air it, has Sunday Night Football on the usual night.

The show starts at 8. If you want to hit the red carpet with NBC, tune in at 7:30.

Other things to know:

  1. This year's hosts are Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" duo, Michael Che and Colin Jost, and, according to Variety, they're expected to receive plenty of help, onstage and off, from the much-nominated SNL and its veterans. So don't be surprised if Fred Armisen and Maya Rudolph — whose new Amazon show, Forever, premiered on Friday, show up.

  2. Ardmore's Benj Pasek lost his first shot at EGOT status — an exclusive club of people who have won an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony — during the Creative Arts Emmys this month when he and his composing partner Justin Paul didn't win for "In the Market for a Miracle" from Fox's A Christmas Story Live! But, hey, they're 33. They'll be back.

  3. University of Pennsylvania grad John Legend, who's made it to EGOT status already with a producing credit on NBC's Emmy-winning Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, is still in the running for a prime time Emmy on Monday for playing the title role in that production.

  4. Upper Darby's Tina Fey, who was nominated for guest actress in a comedy for hosting SNL, lost that Emmy during the Creative Arts Emmys to Tiffany Haddish — who won for hosting SNL. Fey, who already has nine Emmys, still has a shot at a 10th on Monday. Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, the show she created with Robert Carlock, is nominated for outstanding comedy. Radnor High grad Meredith Scardino, already a four-time Emmy winner, is a co-executive producer on the show.

  5. Though HBO's The Tale didn't win for TV movie, its star, Laura Dern, remains a contender  for her performance in the lead. The film by Narberth native and Germantown Friends grad Jennifer Fox was inspired by her experiences as a filmmaker coming to terms in middle age with having been sexually abused as a young girl.

  6. Sandra Oh was nominated — and lost — five years in a row for playing Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy. She's already  made Emmy history as the first woman of Asian descent to be nominated as lead actress in a drama (BBC America's splendid Killing Eve). Will she win? It's a tough category: Her competition includes Orphan Black's Tatiana Maslany, The Americans' Keri Russell, and  The Crown's Claire Foy, all nominated for their final seasons of their respective series; and The Handmaid's Tale's Elisabeth Moss, and Westworld's Evan Rachel Wood.

The 70th Primetime Emmy Awards. 8 p.m. Monday, NBC.