Content genre prioritized over program scheduling in recogniton of shifts in viewing habits
The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (NATAS) and Television Academy have jointly announced plans to realign the Daytime and Primetime Emmy® Awards. Moving forward, the competitions will be organized solely by content genre as opposed to the current method, which separates programs based on program airtime.
The announcement, which follows the Academies’ recent collaboration on expanding the Children’s & Family Emmy Awards into a standalone franchise, represents a transition that allows the competitions to reflect consumers’ evolving viewing habits, reduce category overlap, and provide clarity on eligibility requirements.
“NATAS and the Television Academy each pride ourselves on celebrating and honoring the best television has to offer, and with the evolution of our industry, it was critical to update our competitions to meet current trends in both content and viewing habits,” said Adam Sharp, president and CEO, NATAS. “These changes will allow each Academy to honor an undivided scope of achievement in our respective fields of television excellence.”
“The realignment of these Emmy competitions represents the most significant collaboration between the Television Academy and NATAS since the two became separate entities in 1977,” said Maury McIntyre, president and COO, Television Academy. “We’re proud to be responsive to the needs of the creative community and the evolution of our industry, ensuring the Emmy Award remains the preeminent mark of excellence across all genres of television.”
While further information by category will be forthcoming in the Daytime Emmys® Call for Entries, scheduled for release in January 2022, notable updates include:
- Scripted dramas and comedies will enter the Television Academy-administered national competition, irrespective of airtime, with two exceptions which will enter NATAS’ national competitions: (1) Programming intended for ages 15 and under will be represented in the Children’s & Family competition; and (2) the Daytime Drama categories will remain in the Daytime competition and be redefined to include “any multi-camera, weekday daily serial, spin-off or reboot.”
- Programming previously awarded in the Limited Drama categories of the Daytime competition will transition to the Primetime competition.
- Talk shows will be awarded in each competition, separated by format and style characteristics reflective of current programming in the daytime or late night space.
- The Morning Show and Spanish-Language Morning Show categories will be retired from the Daytime competition, with such programming eligible instead in the NATAS-administered News & Documentary Emmys or the Daytime competition’s Talk Show categories, depending on show format.
- Game Show and Instructional & DIY programming categories will remain divided by airtime for the 2022 competitions, while the Academies look to a genre-based alignment for the 2023 competition year.
- All other categories will be clarified such that content creators will submit to a single competition on the basis of submission genre, irrespective of airtime.
The Daytime, Primetime, and Children’s & Family judging periods will be spread out on non-conflicting timelines throughout the year to allow adequate time for submissions and judging.
The Television Academy and NATAS will also form a joint-Academy panel charged with making eligibility determinations between competitions and respective categories. Show producers who are unsure of the competition for which they are eligible or who are petitioning to switch contests will be encouraged to submit to the eligibility review panel prior to submission.
Jennifer Kent On Why Her Feature Directing Debut, “The Babadook,” Continues To Haunt Us
"The Babadook," when it was released 10 years ago, didn't seem to portend a cultural sensation.
It was the first film by a little-known Australian filmmaker, Jennifer Kent. It had that strange name. On opening weekend, it played in two theaters.
But with time, the long shadows of "The Babadook" continued to envelop moviegoers. Its rerelease this weekend in theaters, a decade later, is less of a reminder of a sleeper 2014 indie hit than it is a chance to revisit a horror milestone that continues to cast a dark spell.
Not many small-budget, first-feature films can be fairly said to have shifted cinema but Kent's directorial debut may be one of them. It was at the nexus of that much-debated term "elevated horror." But regardless of that label, it helped kicked off a wave of challenging, filmmaker-driven genre movies like "It Follows," "Get Out" and "Hereditary."
Kent, 55, has watched all of this — and those many "Babadook" memes — unfold over the years with a mix of elation and confusion. Her film was inspired in part by the death of her father, and its horror elements likewise arise out of the suppression of emotions. A single mother (Essie Davis) is struggling with raising her young son (Noah Wiseman) years after the tragic death of her husband. A figure from a pop-up children's book begins to appear. As things grow more intense, his name is drawn out in three chilling syllables — "Bah-Bah-Doooook" — an incantation of unprocessed grief.
Kent recently spoke from her native Australia to reflect on the origins and continuing life of "The Babadook."
Q: Given that you didn't set out to in any way "change" horror, how have you regarded the unique afterlife of "The... Read More