MOVIE/ MINISERIES & REALITY ISSUE

Evolving FormatsMAKE FOR TOUGHEMMYRealityInterventionSteve Buscemi steps into the lead as ‘Nucky’ ThompsonThe Amazing RaceFlipping OutDeadliest CatchBy Ray RichmondThe Academy of Television Arts & Sciences hasreceived a lot of criticism from the TV industry overthe past decade for the way the Emmys have dealt withthe explosion in reality and unscripted programming.Primary among the gripes are the fact there are toofew categories, too many contenders and too much ofa one-size-fits-all framework.“Everything is simply too lumped together for Emmyconsideration,” charges one reality producer. “You’reputting Jersey Shore in the same category as StorageWars. It makes zero sense.”In defense of the TV Academy, it hasn’t been easykeeping up with all of the sub-categories and sub-genresthat have evolved since the unscripted boom began.And as primetime has changed, it’s worked to keep up.It added the Outstanding Reality Program categoryin 2001, Reality-Competition Program in 2003 andReality Host in 2008. That’s in addition to categorieshonoring top Nonfiction Series and Nonfiction Special.And in May, the TV Academy’s Board of Governorsvoted to approve the creation for the first time of aReality Peer Group. The move “speaks volumes forthe academy’s sense of importance and critical massthat reality has achieved as an industry,” believes JohnLeverence, the academy’s longtime senior VP of awards.The denigration aimed at the TV Academy over howit groups and measures reality programming remainsa hot button for Leverence. He stresses that the notionthat there isn’t a depth of commitment to adequatelyrecognizing the unscripted world is “a misperception.Going back to honoring Arnold Shapiro for ScaredStraight in 1979, there’s been a presence and a placewithin the Emmy Awards for reality programming.”Perhaps part of the problem has been in the fact thatthere was only one significant reality category (realitycompetition)in the primetime telecast until 2008,when Host joined the mix. Also, the fact that one showhas so dominated serves to spur resentment, with TheAmazing Race taking home the reality-competitiontrophy seven years in a row and eight of the past nine.At the same time, television’s most popular series of thereality era, American Idol, has been shut out.Grouses one producer: “You have to ask yourself ifAmazing Race winning every time maybe has somethingto do with Jerry Bruckheimer’s being attached to it.”Lauren Lexton, co-founder and executive producer forAuthentic Entertainment – which produces a roster ofshows including Toddlers and Tiaras, Ace of Cakes andthe real estate-themed Flipping Out – has never seenone of her programs earn an Emmy nom. Yet every year,she holds out hope that Flipping Out in particular willget acknowledged.“I guess I just really don’t understand how the categoriesare comprised and the competitions are judged,”Lexton admits. “I think maybe more specificity wouldbe a good idea, so you know what you’re up against. Imean, you’ve got auction shows grouped with docusoapsand History-type shows. It’s a very big canvasyou’re talking about.”To be sure, the reality program category has seensome radically different types of winners lately, fromDiscovery’s Deadliest Catch to ABC’s Jamie Oliver’sFood Revolution to A&E’s Intervention to Bravo’sKathy Griffin: My Life on the D List. The sheer breadth ofcontenders is both a blessing and a curse for the academy,which is at once praised and slammed for the diversity.Leverence likes to point out some numbers that hebelieves brings the situation into clearer focus. He notesthat there will likely be somewhere between 35 and 40entries this year for reality-competition and roughly 80for reality program, which correlates statistically withthe number for Outstanding Comedy Series (some 55to 60 entries) and Drama Series (around 80 or 85).“If you say there is a tremendous amount of traffic inthe reality area and a need to open up more categories,then you’d really have to make the same argumentin comedy and drama,” Leverence stresses. “In fact, abetter argument could be made for comedy series lastyear, when the category was so disparate in terms ofthe kind of programming with everything from NurseJackie to The Big Bang Theory.”In terms of category and individual achievementawards, the Emmys are now adequately representingthe worlds of both reality and documentary, Leverencemaintains. When all of the reality-themed categories(including technical merit) are added up, they cometo 10, or some 10% of the 99 categories in the entirecompetition. “Considering we started 15 years ago withzero for reality, it’s not an insignificant number,” he adds.But some producers continue to dispute the applesand-orangesmeasurement they’re forced to bear whensubmitting for Emmy consideration. “You’re telling methat a comedy like (NBC’s) Betty White’s Off TheirRockers is competing in the same category as a hardcoreadventure like Deadliest Catch?” asks one realityexec producer. “How do you compare that kind ofstuff ? I honestly don’t get it.”34EMMY AWARDS PRINT EDITIONS 2012