Is a Netflix miniseries a movie, a limited series or a TV show?
Following the footsteps of the Emmy Awards, the Golden Globes have updated the awards competition’s rule book to answer to questions like this that seems to be growing with each new streaming platform that launches.
Netflix is just one catalyst for these changes, but a small piece in the overall recognition that is absolutely changing how viewers, and now awards, define TV.
In the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s new rules, programming released in theaters at the same time as Netflix will be considered a movie, not a TV show.
The Golden Globes also changed the definition of a TV show when it comes to run time. Instead of being at least six episodes long, a TV show must now have a minimum run time of 150 minutes. This affects shows like Sherlock, for example, that may only have three or four episodes per season but clock in at roughly 90 minutes per episode.
Other rule changes define a lead actor/actress in a series as someone who “drive the narrative of the program.” Voice-only performances and roles where actors/actresses play themselves are also rules ineligible.
The 73rd annual Golden Globes will announce nominees on Dec. 10, with the awards show airing on Jan, 10, 2016 on NBC.
Read more at Variety.
Brief Take: Digital platforms are not only changing the way viewers understand TV, but also how the industry reacts to and keeps up with it - which is getting harder and harder as Netflix and other streaming competitors launch new programming in new ways.
[Image courtesy of the Golden Globes]
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