The Emmys are fixing the one category that has been holding it back
Movies are about to become a big deal at the Emmys
I’ve talked about this a few times over the years in the newsletter (and there’s a reason I’m back banging the drum today), but the Emmys have had a squandered opportunity with its Most Outstanding Television Movies category.
When it comes to submitting movies for awards, the streamers will pitch their best films to the Oscars and submit others to the Emmy Awards. The last 10 winners for the Most Outstanding Television Movie at the Emmys:
2016: Sherlock: The Abominable Bride
2017: Black Mirror: San Junipero
2018: Black Mirror: USS Callister
2019: Black Mirror: Bandersnatch
2020: Bad Education
2021: Dolly Parton’s Christmas on the Square
2022: Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers
2023: Weird: The Al Yankovic Story
2024: Quiz Lady
2025: Rebel Ridge
Meanwhile the likes of Roma, The Power of The Dog, All Quiet on The Western Front, The Irishman, and Manchester By The Sea are being sent to the Oscars as Best Picture Nominees.
Was Chip ‘n Dale: Rescue Rangers a better 2022 film than All Quiet on The Western Front?
Why wasn’t Netflix nominating films like Leave The World Behind or Society of The Snow for the best movie category at the Emmys? Why wasn’t Warner Bros nominating Project Popcorn movies like Dune into the category?
Prestige is the obvious answer. Nobody wants to tell filmmakers responsible for their prestigious feature film that they are being put up for the Most Outstanding Television Movie when they could instead pitch being nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars.
‘Television Movie’ is a boner killer.
My contention has been that if Netflix and its fellow streamers embraced the Emmys best movie category full-throatedly, it would have two significant impacts:
Emmys would be won - surely ‘winner’ is a better selling point than ‘nominated’
It would create actual heat around that category. The Emmys, rightfully, should be ending its nights with the best movie category, followed by the best TV show category.
These movie nominations all come with considerable star-power for the Most Outstanding Actor and Actress categories too.
The winds of change may be set to blow in the right direction with the Emmys today announcing several category changes for 2026 – the most notable being that the Most Outstanding Television Movie category will now be Most Outstanding Movie.
Bravo. Great choice.
Of course, this may put Netflix in a tight spot. With a contentious element of its planned purchase of Warner Bros being focused on Netflix’s commitment to the cinema experience, does it really want to be seen prioritising streaming ahead of theatrical release (a condition for Oscars consideration)?
There’s nothing in the eligibility rules as they stand that would prevent Netflix from doing what it has been doing up to now. But, as is the case with almost everything, perception is what drives narratives. And the last thing Netflix wants to do is create an unnecessary controversy ahead of trying to close a deal of this size.
Which shouldn’t stop Disney, Amazon, Apple, and the rest from all trying to dominate the newly-branded category.
Read more: Television Academy
Related: Emmys introduce new Legacy Award
The Emmys this year are introducing a ‘Legacy Award,’ which will be a special Emmy that honor series that have made “a profound and lasting impact” on television.
It is not a regulation Emmy, voted upon by TV Academy members. Instead, it is voted upon internally by a small panel. A focus will be on shows that are celebrating anniversaries that year. To qualify, a show needs to have produced at least 60 episodes across at least five seasons.
In an interesting quirk, franchise properties must be considered as a whole. The example the Academy gives is that Law & Order would need to represent all Law & Order branded shows.
Some shows that we might see awarded this year, on account of it being the anniversary of their debut:
3rd Rock From The Sun (30th anniversary)
Judge Judy (30th anniversary)
The Daily Show (30th anniversary)
Spin City (30th anniversary)
Designing Women (40th anniversary)
LA Law (40th anniversary)
Dynasty (45th anniversary)
Charlie’s Angels (50th anniversary)
The Muppet Show (50th anniversary)
All In The Family (55th anniversary)
But none of those shows will be awarded.
ABW notes that neither Herman’s Head (35th anniversary) or ALF (40th anniversary) meet the rule mandating at least five seasons.
There are two very likely contenders to receive the first award this year. Keep in mind, that the show will want to award classic TV shows that will create buzzy moments on stage.
There are two shows that fit the bill.
Hill Street Blues this year marks its 45th anniversary, debuting on January 15 1981. It ran for 146 episodes across 7 seasons.
Can you legitimately name a show with a greater legacy or impact on the medium than this show? Here’s one…
Keeping in mind that franchise shows need to include ALL of the series to be eligible, the classic Star Trek TV show debuted Sept 8, 1966. While it only ran for three seasons, the countless spin-offs and sequel series certainly get it across the line in terms of season counts.
If the Television Academy doesn’t use this opportunity to get 94 year-old William Shatner out on stage along with every notable actor to have starred in a Star Trek show over the years, they really need to rethink what they’re doing.
They can revisit Hill Street Blues in another five years for the 50th. Hold on Daniel J. Travanti.
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RIP Tom Cherones
I was saddened to hear that Tom Cherones has died at the age of 81 from Alzheimer’s disease. He is best known for directing the first five seasons of Seinfeld. While director Andy Ackerman, who succeeded Cherones, did a fine job, the show was at its best under Cherones who kept the show a lot more grounded and realistic. I often wonder what the show would have felt like after Larry David left the show if Cherones was still directing - would it have felt as broad and over the top as that show became? Would David have even left?
He later went on to become the lead director on Newsradio (where he directed just over half of the entire run of the series, along with the second season of Ellen.
A TV sitcom legend.
Read more: Variety
Netflix launches podcasting today
Today will see the launch of the Bill Simmons Podcast, which is the first podcast to debut on Netflix. It’ll do so with a live stream - the show will go live every Sunday night in the US at 11:30pm eastern time (that’s around 3:30pm on Mondays in Sydney).
Yesterday I was listening to the most recent episode of the Podnews Weekly Review podcast where the hosts offered their 2026 predictions. Both of the hosts have been pretty negative about the introduction of podcasts onto Netflix this year.
Podnews Weekly Review host James Cridland was adamant that the deals wouldn’t be renewed after a single year.
And look, that’s not a wild prediction to make. All of the deals are a one year license, which suggests that Netflix are looking at this as somewhat of an experiment – if the viewership doesn’t do much for them, expect to see the podcasts disappear into the background throughout the year.
But what I thought was worth a discussion is what success looks like for Netflix? And why is Netflix only launching this only in the US (with a promise of other countries to follow at an unspecified date)?
Look to the Gauge. That’s the Nielsen Gauge report.
Nielsen launched The Gauge back in May 2021, which means that in just a few months we will have five full years of trending data reported. The biggest narrative to spin-out of the report (which is US only) has been about the growth of YouTube.
Every month Nielsen report the viewing figures. The first thing people look at is the gulf between where YouTube is and where Netflix is. The second thing they will look for is what those figures were the month before.
Mainstream conversation about the dominance of YouTube over Netflix has a direct correlation with the monthly launch of this report.
Back in the Christmas break, there was an article in the New York Times which mentioned that the podcasting strategy was in place to bring daytime viewers to Netflix, which is where YouTube has built its commanding lead.
So, why is Netflix launching podcasting only in the US at first? Because The Gauge is a US-only report. What does success look like? Shrinking the gap as seen on The Gauge report.
Podcasting isn’t a silver bullet solution. But, it will be part of the mix of efforts Netflix will make over the coming months to command greater daytime viewership and to shrink that gap. I’m bull-ish on the idea that Netflix will introduce FAST channels on platform, which is another way to encourage passive, always-on streaming and to shrink that daytime viewership gap.
Holy anniversaries, Batman!
Biff! Pow! Bam!
Happy anniversary to the 1966 Batman TV show, which went to air on January 12, 1966 - 50 years ago.
Every episode of this show has at least one classic scene, but there is nothing in this show that ever made me laugh as hard as this scene does:
News Desk
Black Mirror has been renewed for season 8 at Netflix. Read: THR
Expect a shorter time jump for season 3 of The Pitt, which would make it more realistic to keep most of the cast in place. Read: Variety
The recent remake of The Running Man will debut on Paramount+ in the US and Canada on Jan 13, with international dates to be announced later. Read: Deadline
Paramount is reportedly trying to find strategic partners that can revive MTV as a cultural powerhouse with a focus again on music. Read: Bloomberg
Former New Girl star Zooey Deschanel has a new packaged TV series that is being taken out to networks this week. It is reportedly a comedy set at a flagship music store. Damn the man, save the Empire, I say. Read: Deadline
There’s a story floating around about former The West Wing / Thirtysomething / The Byrds of Paradise star Timothy Busfield having a warrant issued for his arrest. It involves allegations of child sex abuse. The allegations are in relation to two boys who worked on The Cleaning Lady, a series Busfield helmed six episodes as a director on. He was also a credited Executive Producer. He claims the charges are revenge for the boys being terminated from the show. Read: NYT
Trailer Park
Eternity (a future Emmys Outstanding Movie nominee?) debuts on Apple TV Feb 13.
In an afterlife where souls have one week to decide where to spend eternity, Joan (Elizabeth Olsen) is faced with the impossible choice between the man she spent her life with (Miles Teller) and her first love (Callum Turner), who died young and has waited decades for her to arrive.
The Burbs debuts on Peacock Feb 8.
Synopsis: Set in present-day suburbia, The ‘Burbs follows a young couple returning to the husband’s childhood home. Their world is upended when new neighbors move in next door, bringing old secrets of the cul-de-sac to light, and new deadly threats shatter the illusion of their quiet little neighborhood.
Undercover Miss Hong debuts on Netflix Jan 17.
A tenacious investigator goes undercover at a securities firm to expose corruption, but her mission is complicated by its new CEO — her former lover.
That’s the newsletter for the today.
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