Steve Pond: Burning Questions About John Oliver, Jon Stewart and the Emmys’ Messy Variety Categories

The variety and talk categories are in increasing disarray, so let's try to make sense of the jumble [Burning Questions About John Oliver, Jon Stewart and the Emmys' Messy Variety Categories]( [Jon Stewart]( [As we’ve written about before](, the pandemic and the actors’ and writers’ strikes have dealt a blow to this year’s Emmy Awards, with fewer submissions across the board meaning fewer nominees at this year’s show. But few areas of the Emmys have been affected as much as the variety categories, which are in disarray. The Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series category, for instance, dropped from 23 submissions last year to 11 this year, which puts it in line to drop from five to three nominees; Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series dropped from 21 to 14, which should cut its nominees from five to four. As for the Outstanding Scripted Variety Show category – well, that’s a real mess, and it’ll be the first of our burning questions about this year’s variety categories.  What’s the deal with the scripted variety category? How many nominees will it have? And how long can the category last? According to Emmy rules, the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series category – and its predecessor, Outstanding Variety Sketch Series – has been facing the chopping block for years. If a category has fewer than 25 eligible entries for two consecutive years, as scripted variety and variety sketch have for more than a decade, it can be eliminated and folded into a related category. The Academy briefly merged sketch and talk shows a couple of years ago, but the outcry was so big that it reversed the decision almost immediately. Since then, it has changed some category names and reclassified “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver” from a talk show to a scripted variety show, giving “Saturday Night Live” a formidable rival in the category it had won for six years in a row. Still, the category is now skimpier than ever. The Television Academy’s rules specify that for categories with between eight and 20 entries, the number of nominees is determined by dividing the number submissions by four and rounding to the nearest whole number – which basically means that 18 or 19 entries get you five nominees, 14 through 17 get you four, 10 through 13 get you three and eight or nine get you two … For the last four years, the scripted variety and variety sketch categories have had between eight and 14 submissions and either two or three nominees, with “Saturday Night Live” the only common denominator. But if there are fewer than eight nominees, the category is taken off the ballot and voting is put in the hands of a panel made up of volunteers who promise to watch all of the submissions. This year, that has happened to the scripted variety category. After regular Emmy nomination voting has closed, a panel of volunteers will watch all the submissions – “SNL,” “Last Week Tonight With John Oliver,” “After Midnight,” “Painting With John” and probably not much else – and vote whether or not each one deserves to be nominated. No more than two shows can be nominated, and a program is eliminated from contention if it doesn’t receive at least 70% approval from the panel. (Perhaps to stave off disaster, that threshold was changed from 90% to 70% only days before voting began.) If only one show makes the cut, it’ll be declared the winner on the spot.  As for how long the category can last, who the hell knows? It could have been killed or merged a few years ago, and things are now getting worse both for scripted variety programs and for talk shows. But the Emmys couldn’t do away with them in the past, so the category will probably just keep morphing and changing its name as long as they keep giving out Emmys. [Read the rest of the Awards Beat column here.]( [Read More]( --------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------------------- [WrapPRO logo] Discover why entertainment executives and professionals rely on the WrapPRO platform daily for exclusive coverage, analysis, deeper reporting, and access to VIP events & screenings throughout the year. [Subscribe Today]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( TheWrap | 2034 Armacost Ave Los Angeles, CA 90025 [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe]( [LiveIntent Logo]( [AdChoices Logo](