Word started getting around yesterday that the Emmy award for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Series would not be included in the prime time Emmy telecast on NBC on August 29th. The original source of the dust-up was a tweet from one of Conan’s writers, Deon Cole: NOT “NBC” but the powers that be has sent us an email saying that the category we are nominated for will not be televised this year! really? Of course, this made many people not at all happy, and a few people — myself included, I’ll admit — thought this was NBC’s way of flipping the bird at Conan O’Brien one more time.
A few blogs picked up the story and ran with it, but an official spokesperson clarified the situation by explaining which categories are being moved to the separate Creative Arts Awards ceremony, and why. From The Hollywood Reporter:
According to a TV Academy spokesperson, before last year’s Emmys, the Academy and the guilds agreed that the writing and directing categories for outstanding variety, musical or comedy (or “VCM”) series would alternate each year from the primetime telecast to cut down on the show’s length. Last year, the VCM writing/directing series slots were in the CBS telecast; this year they will move to the Creative Arts Awards, which will also be televised, on Saturday, Aug. 21.
So, yes, the winner for outstanding VCM writing will not be presented live in primetime Emmys, a category for which O’Brien’s “Tonight Show” is nominated.
BUT…
The overall outstanding VCM series category (the big one, in other words) for which O’Brien is nominated, the one that drew all the headlines when the Emmy nominations were announced … that is IN the Emmy telecast.
So there’s no conspiracy against Conan, or anyone else. But the fact is that all of the writers nominated for Emmys in the Variety, Music, or Comedy category, including the writers from The Colbert Report and The Daily Show, will have to settle for seeing their award handed out during the Creative Arts awards. Those awards will be televised, but it’s not the same as the prime time broadcast. I understand the need to keep the length of the prime time awards telecast under control, but still… a big raspberry to the Emmy Awards for depriving us of the opportunity to celebrate the winners of the writing and directing awards at the same time as the winner for Outstanding Variety, Music, or Comedy series.
Let’s just say some fan action is about to take place on this (probably lead by Team Coco’s fans but hey if Zoners wanna play, I say the more the merrier)
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That’s just awful in many ways!
And what makes it extra worse is the fact that now we won’t have the hilarious writer montages to look forward to in the Emmys. They were always among the highlights for me… :/
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Arrgh! The writer montages are the best part of the broadcast most years. Well, outside of Stephen and Co. winning Emmys!
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How do we protest? This is horrible!
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I think I’ll just watch the Creative Arts Awards this year. I really don’t give a rats dirty, hairy behind who wins for reality shows. They are neither art nor creative, yet those awards are televised. They are dreck, and those shows should be left out of the Emmys all together. This really infuriates me. First television writers were getting shafted and had to go on strike back in 2007, and now the VCM writers don’t get to accept their awards during the primetime broadcast. It sucks.
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They did all that great work and they don’t get to celebrate the way they should.
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Yes, I may sound a little cynical but to me this is “one more reason to hate the Emmys.”
I totally agree, why is there even a category for lousy reality shows? Why is there a category for guest stars, who appear on one show a year? and why do these people go onstage and not the comedy writers?
But these are the same Emmy voters who give the same awards to the same people (in both drama and comedy) again and again while ignoring so many deserving people (Stephen and co certainly among them).
Sigh
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I’m truly happy that they are including Outstanding VCM in the nightly telecast, but a big middle finger to the Emmys for not airing the awards for Outstanding Writing/Directing in primetime. Those writers and directors (I’m looking at you, Jimmy!) deserve to be with their respective shows in primetime. The way I see it, there are plenty of other ways to cut down on air time (Why do we have an award for Best Reality Host again?).
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At least the best VCM will be in there. It is a bit of a slight to the writers, but I hope TCR wins nonetheless.
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I hope they win too! But I just get so frustrated with the Emmy people I guess. One more thing – it is very unfair to both Stephen and Jon to expect them to fly out to LA two weekends in a row when they will have to work Monday as well. They should at least have the Creative show the night before.
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Why do they need reality shows anyway? They are not actors.
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Help us get Colbert and his writers on the Primetime Emmys! According to Deadline Hollywood, now the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences wants the writers to submit montages, but the category still won’t be shown on NBC’s telecast.
http://www.deadline.com/2010/07/emmys-writers-for-varietycomedy-series-invited-back-to-primetime-emmys-sort-of/
DB wrote a post on what you can do to help. It can be found here:
http://www.nofactzone.net/2010/07/26/do-you-want-the-writer-and-director-awards-on-the-emmy-presentation-make-a-call/
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