The Television Academy may have finally solved the problem of talk and scripted variety shows. As the number of eligible late-night talk shows and sketch series continues to dwindle, the organization’s Board of Directors has voted to once again combine the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series and Outstanding Talk Series categories into one. In short, it’s a revival of the great variety series category.
A similar attempt to restore the two variety series categories into one was met with outrage in December 2020, with the Academy forced to withdraw from the plan after an uproar from some of the biggest names in the variety field.
But just over five years later, the drop in sales has become even more pronounced and problematic. But this time, the decision to reintroduce the “Outstanding Variety Series” category comes with some twists and caveats, apparently in place to avoid further backlash. It may be a clunky solution, but it’s probably the best way to appease producers, talent and awards executives who have long complained about the category.
For example, while talk and scripted variety are being integrated, the number of nominations from both fields will be tracked based on the number of entries for each format.
Last year, there were three nominations in the Outstanding Talk category (out of 13 submissions) and two nominations in the Scripted Variety category (out of 6 submissions). (For categories with 8 to 19 entries, divide the number of entries by 4 and round to the nearest number. This is why last year, Best Speech received 3 nominations. For categories with 7 or fewer entries, the appropriate peer group must review the entries, and entries with 70% approval (maximum of 2) are nominated. Therefore, for scripted variety, last year’s (2 will be nominated).
The Academy noted that if this rule had been in place last year, there would have been five nominations in the combined outstanding variety series category, essentially three talk categories and two scripted variety categories, for a total of five nominations.
Last year, “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Talk, and “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” won for Best Written Variety. Even though these two categories have been combined this year, it’s still possible for a great variety series to produce two or more winners.
That’s because, as part of the latest rule change, the Academy has also decided to make the Outstanding Variety Series category a “regional” award. Award nominees in the “field” category are not competing with each other. Each is trying in its own way to get at least 90% of Emmy voters to answer “yes” to the question, “Does this nominee deserve an Emmy?” If 90% of voters agree, the nominated show will win an Emmy.
The idea is that if voters overwhelmingly love talk shows and scripted variety shows, then “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “The Daily Show,” “Saturday Night Live” and “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” could all win Emmys in the same year — folks.
Of course, even for the most widely loved shows, reaching that 90% figure is quite a hurdle. That’s why the Academy ensured that every great variety series always has at least one winner. Even if a nominee doesn’t reach a 90% approval rating, the nominee with the highest percentage of “yes” votes will win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Variety Series.
Meanwhile, perhaps optimistically, the TV Academy isn’t closing the door on splitting the great variety series in two again. This category is tracked, so if both Talk Variety and Scripted Variety receive at least 20 submissions in a year, the category will be immediately split into two without any review or vote from the Board.
Given that submissions to talk and scripted variety shows continue to decline, such a subdivision may seem unlikely at this point. And since “The Late Show” ends in May, the number of talks will continue to decline.
But there is a glimmer of hope here. The rise of video podcasts and creator-driven scripted variety shows on platforms like YouTube could actually reverse that submission slide, depending on eligibility and whether the program is submitted.
“Outstanding Variety Series” was an umbrella category for decades until 2015. Prior to 2012, it was called an “Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Series” for most of the 1990s and 2000s, and an “Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy Program” until the 1980s.
The initial reason for splitting the field was a complaint among growers that “superior varieties” were an apples and oranges category, putting a daily chat show and a weekly sketch series at odds. When The Daily Show with Jon Stewart (and The Colbert Report) aired non-stop starting in 2003, sketch series like SNL felt completely boxed.
In 2015, the Academy agreed that there were enough entries to split the variety series into Outstanding Talk and Outstanding Sketch. (Sketch was booming at the time, and in addition to the popular show “SNL,” there were shows like “Key & Peele” and “Portlandia.”)
Although that was better, it did not appease the producers who felt that the talk competition was still unfair, with a late-night show focused on weekday interviews, a late-night show with more variety show elements, and a weekly show with more political elements.
In 2023, the Academy sought to solve this problem by redefining a great talk series as a show that focuses on “unscripted interviews and panel discussions between hosts and guest celebrities and talent.” And replace great skits with great scripted variety series. The variety series focused on “programs that are primarily scripted or scripted and feature loose improvisation, consisting of individual scenes, musical numbers, monologues, comedic stand-up, skits, etc.”
But it was still only a stopgap solution, with the only noticeable change being that “Last Week Tonight” moved from a talk series, where it won every year, to a scripted variety show, where it won every year.
The TV Academy has plenty of precedent for merging, unmerging, and reintegrating categories as programming types expand or contract. For example, in the early 2010s, the television miniseries and made-for-TV movie categories were merged as production of both genres declined, but an increase in original cable and streaming production reversed that trend and returned television movies and miniseries (renamed “limited series”) to their own category.
The reunited Outstanding Variety Series category joins several other Emmy rule changes announced by the Television Academy earlier this month, including a new name for the Television Movie category, which will now be known as “Outstanding Motion Picture.” The organization also revealed its AI guidelines, stating that it “reserves the right to inquire about the use of AI in submissions. Our recognition remains centered on human storytelling, regardless of the tools used to bring the story to life.” And the Academy includes changes to the short form format, sound mixing, and music categories, as well as expanded eligibility in the casting, costuming and lighting, and camera and technical art categories.
