Actor Anthony Anderson will host the awards show where winners will be revealed during a live TV special
The 53rd NAACP Image Awards will air on Saturday, February 26, at 8 p.m. on BET. Actor Anthony Anderson, a seven-time NAACP Image Award winner, will host the live TV special.
Due to the ever-changing developments with COVID-19 and variants, NAACP and BET announced that the show will be presented without an in-person audience.
Netflix could be a dominant force at awards show. The streaming giant emerged with a leading 52 nominations including the film “The Harder They Fall.” The movie – featuring a large starry cast including Regina King, Jonathan Majors, Idris Elba and LaKeith Stanfield – pulled in 12 nominations, including for best picture. Netflix landed 23 nominations in the television/streaming categories.
“The Harder They Fall,” produced by Jay-Z, is based on real Black characters from the Old West who have generally been overlooked in the genre. The story follows Nat Love, a cowboy whose gun-slinging crew face off with Rufus Black, an outlaw who killed Love’s parents years ago.
Issa Rae’s “Insecure” earned 13 nominations including best comedy television series. “Harlem,” “black-ish,” “Run the World” and “The Upshaws” are also competing for best comedy series. “The Upshaws” and “Colin in Black & White” are among the Netflix series recognized by the Image Awards.
H.E.R. received the most nominations in the music recording categories with six, including best female artist and album for her project, “Back of My Mind.” She will compete in the outstanding album category against Silk Sonic’s “An Evening with Silk Sonic,” Drake’s “Certified Lover Boy,” Jazmine
Sullivan’s “Heaux Tales” and “When It’s All Said and Done. Take Time” by Giveon.”
Regina King will compete for entertainer of the year against Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion, Jennifer Hudson and Tiffany Haddish.
The nominees were announced by “black-ish” actor Marcus Scribner, singer Tinashe and actor/musician Kyla Pratt.
In addition to “The Harder They Fall,” the nominees for best picture are “King Richard,” “Respect,” “The United States vs. Billie Holiday” and “Judas and the Black Messiah.”
Stanfield could come away with best leading and supporting actor trophies. He’s nominated for best actor in a film for his role in “Judas and the Black Messiah” and his supporting efforts in “The Harder They Fall.”
For best actor, Stanfield will compete against Denzel Washington, Majors, Mahershala Ali and Will Smith.
The nominees for best actress in a film are Andra Day, Halle Berry, Jennifer Hudson, Tessa Thompson and Zendaya.
WarnerMedia gathered 55 nominations through its multiple entities. The entertainment conglomerate garnered nominations mostly from Warner Bros. Pictures, HBO and OWN.
RCA Records might make its presence felt with the most nominations across record labels. The label received 15 nominations with the musical success of H.E.R, Sullivan, Doja Cat and Kirk Franklin.
Voting is now open to the public to determine the winners of the 53rd NAACP Image Awards by visiting www.naacpimageawards.net. Voting closes on February 5, 2022 and winners will be revealed during the awards show on February 26.
NAACP will also recognize winners in non-televised Image Awards categories on February 21-23, which will stream on www.naacpimageawards.net, and during the NAACP Image Awards Dinner, which will be held February 25, in Los Angeles.
For all information and the latest news, follow NAACP Image Awards on Instagram @NAACPImageAwards.
