One year after the Primetime Emmy Rule-Change, the Emmy nominations proved that they can change, and they did what so many of us struggle to do: They admitted that they were wrong. After three long years of constantly ignoring what was possibly the greatest show on television, The Emmys have conceded and given "The Americans" five glorious nominations.
The Emmys have a habit of sticking with their guts when it comes to nominations, which results in outdated nominations. Once they decide that a show is worthy enough for major nominations, that show will get nominations for years to come, even if the show's quality tends to dip in quality. The same goes for the reverse. Once they declare a show unworthy for nomination, the odds on that show ever getting nominated decrease exponentially. This pattern occurred especially often with genre shows or other forms of "unconventional" television. Shows such as "Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Hannibal", and "Battlestar Galactica" suffered with no or very little Emmy nominations, despite being just as good, if not better, than their competition. Even "The Wire", possibly the greatest television drama of all time, a show ripe for Emmy love, only got two nominations throughout its five season run, both for writing.
The snubs continue even in shows that get honored as only the same people get nominated for acting awards, even if their performance in the season wasn't as inspired as some of their fellow cast-mates. The Emmy-loved show, "Veep", focuses only a few acting nominations on the same few cast-mates year after year, neglecting others with consistently excellent performances. The same pattern repeats in "A Game of Thrones", as the same actors get nominated year after year, with little surprises. It is a welcome change, then, that both of these shows have changed up their nominated actors this year.
It's understandable, this neglect of some of television's best shows. Most of them ("The Wire" excluded) are not traditional television, and would never be considered to be conventional award choices. More prevalently, though, is the desire of The Emmys to appear as an all-knowing presence in the television arena. Honoring a show after it has been snubbed implies that The Emmys were wrong. They were wrong. For "The Americans", they were wrong for three years. For Buffy, they were wrong for seven. That's why it is so great that The Emmys are finally sucking it up and admitting that they were wrong about something.
The Emmys are still wrong about a lot of things. Look at the nominations this year. Both "Outlander" and "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" deserve some real nominations, not just for design and music. "Broad City" needs some love. It's simply the worst that "You're the Worst" got no nods. HBO's greatest and most thought-provoking current drama, "The Leftovers", got zero nominations. However, the great thing about The Emmys finally recognizing "The Americans" is that it means that there is hope. Down the line, The Emmys might finally realize the greatness of all of these shows. Caitriona Balfe might one day get her Best Actress award, the same goes for Constance Wu. "UnReal", the unexpectedly excellent drama from Lifetime, might one day get a better nomination than Supporting Actress. Alison Wright, if she ever appears again on "The Americans" again, she could win all of the Emmys she deserves #PoorMartha. Bojack Horseman, the best show on television about depression, could feasibly get an Emmy one day. This year, The Emmys took a step in the right direction.
At the very least, they didn't nominate and then give the award for Best Leading Actress in a Limited Series to Lady Gaga over Kirsten Dunst, so they are already streets ahead of the Golden Globes.
For a full list of the nominees, click here.
