TV networks watch as a stream of honorees from Netflix and Amazon pass them
Emmy may be giving the broadcast networks an inferiority complex.
CBS, NBC and Fox were shut out of the drama category for four straight years. But streaming services appear to be leading a charmed life.
The Netflix series “Orange Is the New Black” was nominated as a comedy last year. An Emmy rule change moved it from the comedy category to the more competitive drama side — and it was nominated again. Amazon, the streaming home of the acclaimed comedy “Transparent,” entered the arena with 12 nominations this year.
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Broadcast shows that have maintained their popularity and quality, such as “The Big Bang Theory” and “The Good Wife,” are being squeezed out as a result by the new competition.
It’s beginning to have network executives believing that series streamed on the Internet have an added cachet and, as a result, is making it difficult for their quality broadcast fare to get recognized.
“A lot of these streamed series are really good, but in the world of Emmy it’s turning us into an afterthought,” said one veteran broadcast executive who asked not to be identified. “If ‘The Good Wife’ was on Netflix it would be the best show of all time. They wouldn’t have enough Emmys to give it. They would have to create new categories.”
Networks still have to make decisions on shows based on commercial viability and not just quality. “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt,” a Netflix nominee in the comedy category, was a show that was passed on by NBC, which had two nominations in the major scripted series categories.
“As bad as NBC is doing with comedy, they knew it wasn’t going to work on their air,” the executive noted.
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Craig Dorfman, a talent manager for Frontline Management, said good actors are being drawn to series on Netflix and now Amazon because they believe there’s a better chance of being in quality work that will be recognized by Emmy voters.
“A lot of the streamed shows have star-driven writers who have complete control,” Dorfman said. “Actors want to work with those writers because they believe great stuff will be written for them.”
Netflix Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos said in a statement that he was “deeply proud” of the shows and their creators that were nominated. “To receive nods for such wide-ranging programming … is a humbling affirmation of our vibrant, diverse slate.”
Not only do streamed shows have the creative freedom that ad-supported series don’t always have, they also benefit from a lighter production schedule, turning out 13 or fewer episodes as opposed to 22 for most broadcast networks.
