Is it time for a rapidly evolving TV industry to rethink how it hands out its awards like the Emmys and Golden Globes?
That was the message from a trio of show creators with hit series currently airing during a panel discussion in Beverly Hills on Wednesday.
Moderator Michael Schneider, the L.A. bureau chief for TV Guide Magazine, posed the question: is there such a thing as a drama or comedy anymore?
“Only for The Emmys, apparently,” replied “Bates Motel” creator Carlton Cuse, speaking at the 2014 Hitmakers Luncheon sponsored by the Hollywood Radio and TV Society.
“Orange is the New Black” creator Jenji Kohan said that it was impossible to create good drama or comedy without a bit of the other mixed in.
“I wish there was an hour-long category and a half-hour category, because for ten years we got screwed in whatever we’re doing,” said Kohan, whose earlier series “Weeds” ran for eight seasons before “Orange is the New Black” premiered. “It’s getting more and more muddled and I wish everyone wasn’t so desperate to label things.”
Cuse and Kohan’s comments came on the same day that CBS stirred up a few headlines by taking aim at “True Detective,” “Mad Men,” and “Game of Thrones” (among others) in the Eye’s Emmy campaign for hit drama “The Good Wife.”
CBS is taking issue with the fact that while “The Good Wife” has a traditional 22-episode broadcast season run, the cable shows are more akin to traditional miniseries with 10 to 13 episodes in a season.
Brief Take: With the television industry evolving by the week, and new and diversified players, platforms, and providers entering the market, it could be high time for the folks behind the Emmys, Globes, and other major awards to rethink exactly how shows are categorized.
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