First of all, kudos to the Television Academy for finally doing something about the boring talk and scripted variety show categories.
A revival of the category that combines great variety series was needed, given that networks and streamers are scaling back their talk and sketch show ambitions and submissions are dwindling. Last year, there were only three nominees in the talk category, and only two in the scripted variety category. It wasn’t sustainable.
The problem with the talk and scripted variety (and before that, sketch) categories is that these types of shows are often very different. What Jimmy Fallon does on “Tonight” doesn’t compare to what John Oliver does on “Last Week Tonight.” And “Saturday Night Live” is their apple. Therefore, the Academy made the decision to stick with the imperfect status quo for many years before finally making this change.
Still, the result will be just as clunky. The new general category will consist of two separate talks and scripted variety “tracks,” with the number of nominations for each track determined by the number of respective entries received. In announcing the rules, the Academy acknowledged that had the changes been implemented last year, there would not have been much of a change. The three talk shows and two scripted variety shows would have been nominated in the same category. If the number of applications continues to decline this year, the number of candidates in this category could be reduced to just four.
Another big change in the field is that starting this year, there will be an “area” award for the best variety series. This means that candidates will not compete with each other. Instead, a show must have at least 90% of Emmy voters answer “yes” to the question “Does this nominee deserve an Emmy?” Shows that reach that standard win an Emmy Award.
It remains to be seen how the Academy will handle multiple variety series winners on the live Emmy Awards if all nominees reach the 90% “yes” level. Still, they’ll likely want to televise this category this year, as potential winners like Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel could provide the night’s most powerful moments for the telecast.
Part of that is because this will be the last time Colbert will be honored on “The Late Show,” which ends May 21. Whatever the reason for CBS canceling “The Late Show,” the network’s handling of the show was questionable. The decision came at about the same time Paramount was finalizing its acquisition by Skydance and paying off the Trump administration over the fake “60 Minutes” lawsuit. Given this, the perception that Mr. Colbert was fired to offend the White House will never go away. To his credit, Colbert hasn’t stopped satirizing the Trump administration.
But now that there could be multiple variety show Emmy winners, both Colbert and Kimmel could win. We also got to see John Oliver on stage with them, whose “Last Week Tonight” is included in the scripted variety track.
With CBS eliminating “The Late Show” (and still insists it was a purely financial decision, come on), traditional talk shows continue to disappear. Additionally, sketch shows are in short supply as the genre dries up.
I keep waiting for the video podcast revolution to swoop in and make the variety competition big. We’ve seen several YouTube series campaigns, including “Hot Ones” and “Subway Takes.” If more programs are picked up, the variety category may regain some authority. After all, these are talk shows, so why not?
The reborn variety series division was undoubtedly the biggest rule change this season. But the TV Academy is making some other notable adjustments, including a new name for the TV movie category: “Outstanding Movies.”
And then there’s the Legacy Awards, created to recognize “television programs that have had a profound and lasting impact on viewers and remain relevant to society, culture, and industry.”
Ironically, I would put talk shows like Kimmel and Colbert at the top of that list. But it’s better to act quickly. Stories don’t come cheap, and sadly none of these shows seem to last long.
Speaking of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and its final episode airing Thursday night, I wanted to address this ongoing saga in which the series and some of its competitors have forcibly changed the tone of late night with political humor. Politics has always been a part of late night, folks. When Jay Leno recently lamented how political his show had become, he somehow forgot about the years he spent making bluff jokes about Bill Clinton and womanizers. No, even though politics, governments and the White House have changed, late night hasn’t changed much.
If you thought late night didn’t focus on politics much before 2016, guess what’s happened since then? A former reality star took over the government and blew away any remaining sense of civility, civility, and integrity in Washington. The rifts were deepening, rules were being broken with no consequences, new Watergate-level scandals appeared every day, and the situation was irreversible.
So if there’s a perception that late night has become more political, it’s because the world has become more political. His late-night monologues always reflected the current state of the country, and when it came to political jokes, he poked fun at the world’s absurdities, scandals, and unbelievable headlines. Trump and his ilk have turned all this up to 100. As a result, I had to step up my game even more late at night.
Thankfully, hosts like Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, John Oliver, Jon Stewart and “The Daily Show” have done just that. And with Colbert gone, the remaining members thankfully continue to work, providing us with the laughs we need in addition to insightful and honest truths. That’s always what topical comedy does best.
