Tag: Emmy Awards

What last night’s Emmys mean for diversity on screen

via Yahoo Last night’s Emmy Awards highlighted the diversity of the nominees and winners, especially in contrast to this year’s widely derided Oscars. The 2016 Emmys featured shows, stories, and artists from a wide spectrum of race, gender identity, and disability. Plus, we’re happy any time Key & Peele wins an award. Nooice! The Chicago … Continue reading “What last night’s Emmys mean for diversity on screen”

via Yahoo

Last night’s Emmy Awards highlighted the diversity of the nominees and winners, especially in contrast to this year’s widely derided Oscars. The 2016 Emmys featured shows, stories, and artists from a wide spectrum of race, gender identity, and disability. Plus, we’re happy any time Key & Peele wins an award. Nooice!

The Chicago Tribune published a great summary of why this year’s ceremonies were different and how that different mattered creatively. Featuring an increasingly higher numbers of non-white nominees doesn’t just capture the country more accurately; it also leads to greater diversity in subject matter, and the huge range of shows at the Emmys – including Master of None, Mr. Robot, and Orphan Black – reflects how media changes when you bring in new perspectives and voices. (There’s also the added benefit that diverse representation may help ratings.)

If the Emmys are a sign of the general direction television is heading, diversity in perspective, representation, and talent are intertwined and growing. Take note, film!

If you want to understand the Emmys, start with Mad Men

The Emmys are tonight! We love a celebration of the best of television as much as anyone, but as with any award show, remember that the nomination process is highly political and probably reflects the tastes and temperament of the voting body more than an objective measure of quality. It’s interesting to see what Emmy … Continue reading “If you want to understand the Emmys, start with Mad Men”

The Emmys are tonight! We love a celebration of the best of television as much as anyone, but as with any award show, remember that the nomination process is highly political and probably reflects the tastes and temperament of the voting body more than an objective measure of quality.

It’s interesting to see what Emmy voters broadly consider to be the most prestigious shows. The number-crunching wizards at FiveThirtyEight took a shot at quantifying the types of programs the Emmys love to nominate.

Generally speaking, sci-fi, fantasy and period dramas get nods for the technical awards. Late night comedy mops up for writing. Guest appearances on Law & Order will get you a nomination for acting. And right in the middle of all this is Mad Men, a show with a nomination pattern that matches the average Emmy show almost exactly. Unsurprisingly, that’s one of the most award-friendly shows in the last decade.

That article is super stats-wonky, but the point is that the Emmys have their own predictable tastes and politics. A show like The Americans is more likely to appeal to Emmy voters than Bob’s Burgers, even if Bob’s Burgers is wonderful and terrific.

Usher in Fall 2014 with the 2014 Emmys!

Today marks the star of the fall 2014 semester! After a slow, low-profile summer, we’re ready for another couple months of reservations, class screenings, and paper-writing. Today is also the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. This is highly unusual, given that the Emmys usually air in September on Sunday, but we like to think that the … Continue reading “Usher in Fall 2014 with the 2014 Emmys!”

Today marks the star of the fall 2014 semester! After a slow, low-profile summer, we’re ready for another couple months of reservations, class screenings, and paper-writing. Today is also the 66th Primetime Emmy Awards. This is highly unusual, given that the Emmys usually air in September on Sunday, but we like to think that the television industry conspired with AU to give you the ultimate after-class activity.

If you’ve enjoyed television in the last year, this year’s Emmy ceremony is one to watch. There are many contentious categories (will Modern Family and The Big Bang Theory sweep comedy awards again, or is it time for Orange is the New Black?), but the big draw will be the showdown between Breaking Bad and True Detective. Both shows had truly standout seasons, and Bryan Cranston and Matthew McConaughey can both make a solid case for being the best Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

The Emmys begin in about four hours, but that’s enough time to watch one or two episodes of some of the best shows. There are many, many programs nominated for the Emmy this year, but we’d like to direct your attention to the big ones in contention (though many are not yet on DVD).

Outstanding Drama Series
True Detective, Season 1 – HU DVD 11445
Breaking Bad, The Final Season – HU DVD 14053
House of Cards, Season 2 – HU DVD 14211

Outstanding Comedy Series
Orange is the New Black, Season 1 – HU DVD 11416

Outstanding Television Movie
Sherlock, “His Last Vow” – HU DVD 7958

Want to see how the Emmy sausage is made? Now’s your chance

We’ve previously covered the shadowy process behind Oscar nominations. It’s unclear how films are nominated, and that’s a frequent criticism of the Academy. When Ben Affleck was passed over for a Best Director Oscar for Argo, it caused understandable alarm regarding the transparency and politicization of the process. In contrast, the Emmy’s are letting everything … Continue reading “Want to see how the Emmy sausage is made? Now’s your chance”

We’ve previously covered the shadowy process behind Oscar nominations. It’s unclear how films are nominated, and that’s a frequent criticism of the Academy. When Ben Affleck was passed over for a Best Director Oscar for Argo, it caused understandable alarm regarding the transparency and politicization of the process.

In contrast, the Emmy’s are letting everything spill out publicly. The Television Academy recently posted its complete list of potential Emmy nominees as nominated by their respective studios producers. This is all extra-nerdy inside baseball stuff, but it’s fascinating to see what shows are nominated in which categories, as well as which have been omitted. Even without extra analysis (Treme is considered a mini-series! Key and Peele was nominated for hairstyling!), it’s an exciting laundry list of all the quality shows currently on television.

If you’re big on television, prepare to lose a lot of time looking through this behind-the-scenes look at the nomination process. And prepare to be amazed at how minor of a role you can have and still be nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

Netflix overshadows Emmy nominations; the future of television is here to stay

Remember how excited we were about the Oscars? After a few months, we finally managed to get over it and stop talking about Argo. But now award fever has hit once again: this morning, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced its nominees for this year’s primetime Emmys. Many of the nominees are exactly what … Continue reading “Netflix overshadows Emmy nominations; the future of television is here to stay”

Remember how excited we were about the Oscars? After a few months, we finally managed to get over it and stop talking about Argo. But now award fever has hit once again: this morning, Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced its nominees for this year’s primetime Emmys. Many of the nominees are exactly what you’d expect. Modern Family and Louie lead in comedy, Homeland, Breaking Bad, and Mad Men, are in contention for drama, and HBO original movies continue to lead the miniseries category.

But there are a few notable shockers on the list, primarily the inclusion of programs debuted on non-television services. Netflix’s House of Cards, Hemlock Grove, and Arrested Development all received nominations, and the Xbox-exclusive Halo 4: Foward Unto Dawn miniseries received a nod. Even Zack Galifianakis’s low-budget web series Between Two Ferns got a nod. For the first time, the distinction of “television” is no longer just confined to what’s broadcasted on-air. It can be available through a service or exclusively via a certain platform. Soon it might be silly to call these awards “primetime.”

Consider that a film must be played in a Los Angeles theater for one week to be Oscar-eligible. By comparison, the television industry is quickly recognizing new trends in consumption and technology. If television is really in a golden age, as many critics and filmmakers suggest, then this marks a turning point for television as a truly modern medium.

The Los Angeles Times has a complete, easy-to-navigate list of the nominees on their website. We can’t wait until September 22 to see who comes out on top.