30-Year-Old Awards Show is Changing Its Name

The awards season has begun. From November to early March, we anticipate several awards shows. We just learned of the nominations for the Grammys. The ceremony will take place on February 1^st in Los Angeles.

The nominations for the 98^th annual Oscars will be announced in January, with the presentation of the gold statues in March.

Other awards presented during the season include the Critics' Choice Awards, the Golden Globes, and the Screen Actors’ Guild Awards (SAG). However, after three decades, the latter has announced a name change for its annual ceremony.

SAG-AFTRA has just shared that the Screen Actors Guild Awards have been renamed to “The Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA.” Effective immediately and at the next ceremony in March 2026, the change will be in effect.

According to its website, “Our iconic statuette has always been called The Actor. Simply evolving the show’s name to align with the award itself made obvious sense.”

They also shared that this “has been a long time coming.” Since the show began in 1995, they’ve called the statuette “The Actor.” With “the show’s global audience expanded through Netflix, the timing felt right to make the alignment official and step confidently into the show’s next era.”

It's to avoid confusion to audiences across the globe that the ceremony is about honoring actors in film and television. However, not all of the members of the guild were consulted about the name change.

The site states in its FAQ, “With more than 160,000 members, it wasn’t possible to involve everyone directly, but the Awards Committee, made up of members, was deeply involved throughout.”

Furthermore, “Our goal is, and has always been, to bring greater clarity and global visibility to every performer the union represents, and we’re confident the new name does exactly that.”

On January 7^th, the Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA nominations will be announced. The ceremony will take place on March 1^st on Netflix.