MTV Movie & TV Awards 2023: Pedro Pascal scoops FIRST gong of the night at stripped back show

The Last Of Us star Pedro Pascal won Best Hero at the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards on Sunday.

Pascal triumphed over a field that included Andor’s Diego Luna, Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega, Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania’s Paul Rudd and Top Gun: Maverick’s Tom Cruise for the honours.

Cruise was named the winner for Best Performance in a Movie, beating out fellow nominees Austin Butler (Elvis), Florence Pugh (Don’t Worry Darling), KeKe Palmer (Nope), and Michael B. Jordan (Creed III).

The Kardashians were named Best Docu-reality Series through Jersey Shore Family Vacation, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition, and Vanderpump Rules.

The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards aired Sunday from the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, California in a pre-recorded broadcast during the WGA writers’ kick-off earlier this week.

Movies like Avatar: The Way Of Water, Elvis, Nope, and Top Gun: Maverick are among the nominees for the Best Movie Award, while The Last Of Us, Stranger Things, Wednesday, The White Lotus, Yellowstone, and Yellowjackets are among the nominees. the Best Show category.

The long-running awards show is one of the first victims of the ongoing dispute between the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the Writers Guild of America union.

Writers Guild officials had promised to peck at the Southern California event — which would have put celebrities in the awkward position of crossing the line — until MTV scuttled the live event Saturday night.

MTV executive producer Bruce Gillmer said in a statement: “We are deviating from a live event,” according to the AP.

Gillmer said the pre-recorded format allows the network to “produce a memorable evening filled with exclusive sneak peaks, irreverent categories our audiences are used to, and countless moments that will both surprise and delight.”

Writers are now on strike and protesting against studios, prompting host Drew Barrymore to announce she was quitting last Sunday.

The 48-year-old actress turned talk show host was set to helm the festivities, but she’s now putting her influence behind writers struggling to earn better wages and staff guarantees as studios increasingly try to outsize writers. limit ‘ rooms and reduce the number of episodes per series.

“I’ve listened to the writers and to really respect them, I’ll be hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike,” Barrymore said. Variety. “Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television stems from their creation.”

Barrymore added that she will be watching the show from home and still plans to return as a presenter next year.

While she won’t be in the Barker Hangar in person, she could still be in pre-recorded sketches filmed prior to the start of the strike.

The labor action has also caused the awards show to cancel red carpet festivities, and other stars may also be dropping out to show their support for strikers.

On Thursday, Vanderpump Rules star Lala Kent also announced she would no longer be attending as a show of solidarity.

“While Vanderpump Rules falls under the unscripted TV industry, that doesn’t excuse me to shut up and carry on as if there wasn’t so much at stake for each writer and their families,” she shared. The Hollywood Reporter in a statement. “We need to protect our creators and I hope you will stand with me and many others as we do this until we reach a resolution (hopefully very soon).”

White Lotus star Jennifer Coolidge, who appeared in the first two seasons of the hit HBO dramedy, has the chance to continue her streak of awards season wins with the Most Frightened Performance award for her work in the second season in Sicily.

She’s also slated to receive the Comedic Genius award, though it’s unclear if she’ll still be in attendance amid the ongoing strike.

The original host list included recent Oscar winner Jamie Lee Curtis, Gal Gadot, Tiffany Haddish, Sarah Michelle Gellar and Dave Burd from Lil Dicky, along with several stars from Yellowjackets, Transformers: Rise Of The Beats and Joy Ride, including Oscar-winning nominee Stephanie Hsu, though some choose to boycott the show along with Barrymore and Kent.

Riley Keough, Ayo Edebiri, Kaia Gerber, Bodies Bodies Bodies star Rachel Sennott, Camila Morrone, Suki Waterhouse and The Little Mermaid’s Halle Bailey are also expected to appear.

Top Gun: Maverick and the shows Stranger Things and The Last Of Us scored the most nominations of all films and series.

Audiences captivated by the ongoing ‘Scandoval’ on Vanderpump Rules will see the Bravo series take on Jersey Shore: Family Vacation, The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition, and The Kardashians .

As in previous years, the show will feature gender neutral award categories.

The show, previously split over two days for scripted and unscripted content, was reduced to one night this year.

The MTV Movie & TV Awards will air Sunday, May 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on MTV. It is simulcast on BET, BETHer, Comedy Central, CMT, Logo, MTV2, Nickelodeon, Paramount Network, Pop, TV Land and VH1.

Viewers can also stream the show on Paramount+.