The Emmys are fixed! The Emmys are fixed!

We live in a world where, unfortunately, no one is really interested in solving problems.  Oh, they SAY they want to solve problems, yet years go by and nothing gets done.  The people who created the current policies have a vested interest in defending their work, while the people advocating for change realize they’d be out of a cushy gig if things actually changed.  Between the two forces, nothing seems to get done.

That’s why it was a shock to hear that the Television Academy had made changes to the rules surrounding the Emmys that address the most egregious of the recent abuses and are so sensible that frankly, I’m nearly speechless.

In a nod to the explosion of sources for programming, now including not only broadcast and cable but also places like Netflix and Amazon, the number of series nominated in each genre category will expand from six to seven.  Perfectly reasonable, although one could argue that given that the amount of programming has probably doubled since the categories were created that an even more series should be included.  But more than seven nominees might create voting chaos, leading to some marginal candidates winning.  Seven is a reasonable expansion.

The problem with “dramadies” was solved by splitting the baby; half hour shows, no matter how un-funny, are comedies and longer shows are dramas.  There is no logical reason for delineating between drama and comedy based on the length of the show, but there is no more practical basis either.  At least this creates a bright line, and hour-long shows can petition to be placed in the Comedy category (Ally McBeal really was a comedy).  Bad news for Orange is the New Black; it’s gone from being a not very funny comedy to a mildly amusing drama.

The debacle of shows choosing to position themselves as “dramas” or “mini-series” based on the strength of the competition was dealt with by creating a new category called “Limited Series” for a collection of episodes that tell a complete, non-recurring story (suck it, Downton Abbey, you’ll have to be in the Best Drama category next year). Again, producers will have the ability to appeal decisions. This is a good move, but still leaves a show like Fargo in a grey area; season two will be a prequel to season one, with some recurring characters played by different actors.  Since there is continuity of production I would assume Fargo will have to compete in the Drama category next year.

To counteract the domination of the Daily Show/Colbert Report axis in the Variety show category (despite the fact that both shows have lost their host), the Variety category will be split into “talk” and “variety sketch” categories.  I knew there was a downside to The Daily Show winning the Emmy in this category ten years in a row.  Presumably Saturday Night Live can go back to winning more Emmys.

A minor but annoying issue was addressed as now an actor cannot submit themselves as a “guest actor” if they appeared in more than 50% of the show’s episodes.  That seems fair.

The academy also opened up the voting process so that all voters eligible to vote in the nominating round can vote in the final round; before the Academy used a “Blue Ribbon Panel” process.  But the ease of on-line voting and the desire to democratize the process led to the change (of course some Academy members might have to have their grand-kids explain this Internet thing to them).

That’s . . . astonishing.  Nearly every major complaint addressed, and in a reasonable fashion.  My main complaint is that the new rules still establish that a minimum of six episodes are necessary to be considered a “series.”  This is probably The Mad Men rule, as if the number were upped any higher Mad Men would not be eligible for a Best Drama nomination next year.  I would like to see them raise it to at least 13 episodes as soon as possible; when you consider that shows used to produce 40 episodes a season, defining a series as six episodes is pathetic (it also discriminates against broadcast shows, which generally have to spread their talent over 22 episodes to be profitable, while cable shows can focus on fewer episodes and maintain a higher quality).

Maybe we can get the Television Academy to deal with player discipline in the NFL; they’d do a better job than Roger Goodell has.