The Television Academy has decided to keep separate its variety talk series and variety sketch series, reversing a previous plan,"While the Academy remains concerned about the number of series produced and the relatively small pool of entries in the variety sketch genre, it acknowledges that the differences between variety sketch and talk programs merit separate consideration," reads the Academy's statement in part.
The Academy's December announcement was met with widespread dismay within the TV community. Although the current landscape isn't exactly flush with sketch series, talk is thriving. In addition to the stalwarts on network television , cable and streamers have a growing number of contenders.
This provoked the ire of many associated with late night, not least because Emmy hosts have almost exclusively come from their ranks. And a concerted pushback against the policy yielded Friday's walkback. Such a reversal is not without precedent. The TV Academy has expanded and contracted categories over the years, reacting to both the volume of eligible projects and pressures from the various voting bodies. Miniseries and made-for-TV movies have existed both on their own and grouped together, with performances in both also existing together and alone.
Given the current glut of programming, however, category contractions — especially ones as high profile as both variety races — seem out of step with the overall TV climate.
Interesting
Hey Emmys, when the hell are you going to take back Andrew Cuomo's Emmy. He doesn't deserve it!