How to watch the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards—and how the writers' strike will affect it

What you need to know before you tune in to the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards

Sydney Sweeney, winner of the Best Show, Best Fight, and Here For The Hookup awards for ‘Euphoria’, poses backstage during the 2022 MTV Movie & TV Awards at Barker Hangar on June 05, 2022 in Santa Monica, California
(Image credit: Vivien Killilea/Getty)

The 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards are fast approaching, which means it's time to celebrate our favorite characters and storylines from the past year. These projects, and their creators, deserve a round of applause—and then some.

From Jenna Ortega's beloved interpretation of Wednesday Addams, to the infamous Don't Worry Darling drama and even the likes of #Scandoval, both of which will go down in infamy, our screen time has certainly been prolific, but which ones have truly defined the past 12 months? We're about to find out. 

Despite the recent writers' strike, the show will go on this Sunday, May 7 at 8pm ET/PT, albeit with a few key changes. Here's what to expect, how to tune in and more. 

How to watch the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards:

  • When: Sunday, May 7 at 8pm ET/PT

Ready to see who takes home the golden popcorn trophy? There are plenty of ways to catch the live show from Barker Hangar in Los Angeles, depending on your location. Here are a few to note. 

How to watch the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards in the US

If you don't have cable, there's an option to register for a free 24-hour viewing pass on the MTV website. Just make sure you sign up within the appropriate time frame!

Additionally, streaming services including Paramount+ with Showtime, Philo, Sling and FuboTV will be providing access to the show.

How to watch the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards in the UK

For our friends across the pond, the best way to tune in live—should you find yourself up in the wee hours of the morning—would be via a VPN.

A VPN is a handy device that allows you to change your IP address so you can browse anonymously, making your mobile, computer or laptop thinks it's in another location, even an entirely different country. We recommend Express VPN, the top-rated service by our colleagues at TechRadar.

Will the writers' strike affect the MTV Movie & TV Awards?

Due to the writers' strike, the red carpet portion of the show has been cancelled, according to Variety, and unfortunately, host Drew Barrymore has announced that she will step down out of solidarity with the writers' guild, but will assume the role in 2024. 

“I have listened to the writers, and in order to truly respect them, I will pivot from hosting the MTV Movie & TV Awards live in solidarity with the strike. Everything we celebrate and honor about movies and television is born out of their creation,” Barrymore said in a statement.

She continued: “And until a solution is reached, I am choosing to wait but I’ll be watching from home and hope you will join me. I thank MTV, who has truly been some of the best partners I have ever worked with. And I can’t wait to be a part of this next year, when I can truly celebrate everything that MTV has created, which is a show that allows fans to choose who the awards go to and is truly inclusive."

What are the 2023 MTV Movie & TV Awards categories?

Wondering where your favorite stars stack up at the big event? Have a look at each category and try to guess who will come out of the evening victorious.

Best Movie

  • Avatar: The Way of Water
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
  • Elvis
  • Nope
  • Scream VI
  • Smile
  • Top Gun: Maverick

A post shared by MTV (@mtv)

A photo posted by on

Best Show

  • Stranger Things
  • The Last of Us
  • The White Lotus
  • Wednesday
  • Wolf Pack
  • Yellowstone
  • Yellowjackets

Best Performance in a Movie

  • Austin Butler — Elvis
  • Florence Pugh — Don’t Worry Darling
  • Keke Palmer — Nope
  • Michael B. Jordan — Creed III
  • Tom Cruise — Top Gun: Maverick

Best Performance in a Show

  • Aubrey Plaza — The White Lotus
  • Christina Ricci — Yellowjackets
  • Jenna Ortega — Wednesday
  • Riley Keough — Daisy Jones & the Six
  • Sadie Sink — Stranger Things
  • Selena Gomez — Only Murders in the Building

Only Murders in the building mabel charles and oliver

(Image credit: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu)

Best Hero

  • Diego Luna — Andor
  • Jenna Ortega — Wednesday
  • Paul Rudd — Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
  • Pedro Pascal — The Last of Us
  • Tom Cruise — Top Gun: Maverick

Best Villains

  • Elizabeth Olsen — Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness
  • Harry Styles – Don’t Worry Darling
  • Jamie Campbell Bower — Stranger Things
  • M3GAN – M3GAN
  • The Bear — Cocaine Bear

Best Kiss (presented by Cheetos®)

  • Anna Torv + Philip Prajoux — The Last of Us
  • Harry Styles + David Dawson — My Policeman
  • Madison Bailey + Rudy Pankow — Outer Banks
  • Riley Keough + Sam Claflin — Daisy Jones & the Six
  • Selena Gomez + Cara Delevingne — Only Murders in the Building

Riley Keough (Daisy Jones) sat on the floor wearing a colorful fur-trimmed jacket in Amazon Prime's Daisy Jones & The Six

(Image credit: Lacey Terrell/Prime Video)

Best Comedic Performance

  • Adam Sandler — Murder Mystery 2
  • Dylan O’Brien — Not Okay
  • Jennifer Coolidge — Shotgun Wedding
  • Keke Palmer — Nope
  • Quinta Brunson — Abbott Elementary

Breakthrough Performance

  • Bad Bunny — Bullet Train
  • Bella Ramsey — The Last of Us
  • Emma D’Arcy — House of the Dragon
  • Joseph Quinn — Stranger Things
  • Rachel Sennott — Bodies Bodies Bodies

Best Fight

  • Brad Pitt (Ladybug) vs. Bad Bunny (The Wolf) — Bullet Train
  • Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) vs. Ghostface — Scream VI
  • Jamie Campbell Bower (Vecna) vs. Millie Bobby Brown (Eleven) — Stranger Things
  • Keanu Reeves (John Wick) vs. Everyone — John Wick 4
  • Escape from Narkina 5 — Andor

Most Frightened Performance

  • Jennifer Coolidge — The White Lotus
  • Jesse Tyler Ferguson — Cocaine Bear
  • Justin Long — Barbarian
  • Rachel Sennott — Bodies Bodies Bodies
  • Sosie Bacon — Smile

Jennifer Coolidge HBO The White Lotus Season 2 - Episode 7

(Image credit: Fabio Lovino/HBO)

Best Duo

  • Camila Mendes + Maya Hawke — Do Revenge
  • Jenna Ortega + Thing — Wednesday
  • Pedro Pascal + Bella Ramsey — The Last of Us
  • Simona Tabasco + Beatrice Grannò — The White Lotus
  • Tom Cruise + Miles Teller — Top Gun: Maverick

Best Kick-Ass Cast

  • Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
  • Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
  • Outer Banks
  • Stranger Things
  • Teen Wolf: The Movie

Best Song

  • Demi Lovato — “Still Alive” (Scream VI)
  • Doja Cat — “Vegas” (Elvis)
  • Lady Gaga — “Hold My Hand” (Top Gun: Maverick)
  • OneRepublic — “I Ain’t Worried” (Top Gun: Maverick)
  • Rihanna — “Lift Me Up” (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever)
  • Taylor Swift — “Carolina” (Where the Crawdads Sing)

Best Docu-Reality Series

  • Jersey Shore Family Vacation
  • The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills
  • Family Reunion: Love & Hip Hop Edition
  • The Kardashians
  • Vanderpump Rules

SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 10: (L-R) Kris Jenner, Kourtney Kardashian, Khloé Kardashian and Kim Kardashian attend`Kim Kardashian the 2019 E! People's Choice Awards at Barker Hangar on November 10, 2019 in Santa Monica, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

(Image credit: Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)

Best Competition Series

  • All-Star Shore
  • Big Brother
  • RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars
  • The Challenge: USA
  • The Traitors

Best Host

  • Drew Barrymore — The Drew Barrymore Show
  • Joel Madden — Ink Master
  • Nick Cannon — The Masked Singer
  • RuPaul — RuPaul’s Drag Race
  • Kelly Clarkson — The Kelly Clarkson Show

Best Reality Onscreen Team (presented by SONIC®)

  • Mike “The Situation” Sorrentino, Vinny Guadagnino, Pauly D (MVP) — Jersey Shore Family Vacation
  • Tori Deal and Devin Walker — The Challenge: Ride or Dies
  • RuPaul Charles and Michelle Visage — RuPaul’s Drag Race
  • Ariana Madix, Katie Maloney, Scheana Shay, LaLa Kent — Vanderpump Rules
  • Garcelle Beauvais and Sutton Stracke — The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Best Music Documentary

  • Halftime
  • Love, Lizzo
  • Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me
  • Sheryl
  • The Day the Music Died: The Story of Don McLean’s American Pie

Watch this space for any additional updates on the May 7 ceremony!

Danielle Valente
Digital News Writer

Need a TV show recommendation? Maybe a few decor tips? Danielle, a digital news writer at Future, has you covered. Her work appears throughout the company’s lifestyle brands, including My Imperfect Life, Real Homes, and woman&home. Mainly, her time is spent at My Imperfect Life, where she’s attuned to the latest entertainment trends and dating advice for Gen Z.


Before her time at Future, Danielle was the editor of Time Out New York Kids, where she got to experience the best of the city from the point of view of its littlest residents. Before that, she was a news editor at Elite Daily. Her work has also appeared in Domino, Chowhound, and amNewYork, to name a few. 


When Danielle’s not writing, you can find her testing out a new recipe, reading a book (suggestions always welcome), or rearranging the furniture in her apartment…again.