The 53rd NAACP Image Awards will be held Saturday, February 26 at 8 p.m. ET/PT on BET. The show returns to an in-person gala this year live from the Pasadena Civic Center, and in addition to BET will run as a simulcast across 11 Paramount Global networks: BET Her, CMT, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Paramount, Pop, Smithsonian Channel, TV Land and VH1.
Black-ish star Anthony Anderson returns to host the show, where Issa Rae, Kerry Washington, LL Cool J, Michael Strahan, Morgan Freeman, Paula Patton, Questlove, Simu Liu, Tiffany Haddish and Zendaya will be presenting along with NAACP president Derrick Johnson and NAACP board chairman Leon W. Russell.
Mary J. Blige will also perform live during the two-hour ceremony, where winners will be announced in the marquee film and TV categories to culminate a week of pre-show awards-giving across the fields of film, TV, music, books and podcasts. (See this year’s winners list so far here.)
Also slated to receive honorary awards are Samuel L. Jackson (the NAACP Chairman’s Award); Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (the President’s Award); and Nikole Hannah-Jones, the Pulitzer-winning creator of the 1619 Project (the Social Justice Impact Award).
The Image Awards celebrate the outstanding achievements and performances of people of color across more than 80 competitive categories. This year’s nominees are led on the film side by Jennifer Hudson and Respect, Oscar nominees Will Smith and Aunjanue Ellis with King Richard, and Jeymes Samuel and cast for The Harder They Fall.
The TV side is led by nominees from the likes of Black-ish, Insecure, Pose and Queen Sugar; all four titles are part of the Outstanding Comedy and Outstanding Drama Series races.
The marquee Entertainer of the Year nominees this year are Hudson, Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion, Regina King and Tiffany Haddish. D-Nice won that honor last year.
