Let’s get meta for a moment. The Television Academy awards almost every facet of primetime TV for the Emmys… except for the Emmys themselves. That’s right: Who will Emmy the Emmys?
The campaign trail is a long slog, and we’re now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The votes are in, the FYC events are over (sorry, back to having to pay for your own dinners, Emmy voters!) and most of the awards executives have already turned their attention to the film world and that “Oscars” thing they do over there.
But before we hit the Creative Arts Emmys this weekend (Sept. 7 and Sept. 8) and then the 76th Emmys live Sept. 15 on ABC, I thought we’d dole out our own awards recognizing some of the highlights, extremes and surprises of this year’s Emmy campaigns. And I’ve asked some of my Variety colleagues to help me out too.
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So without further ado (drumroll please), it’s the 1st Annual Emmy Emmys!
Outstanding Quid Pro Quo: There has always been a bit of an uneasy relationship between the TV Academy and the Paley Center. Both orgs celebrate both the legacy of TV and its modern-day landscape, both hold regular panels and events with popular shows and newsmakers — but each has its own mission. In the early 2000s, as the broadcast networks struggled to make a telecast deal with the TV Academy, they even hinted at partnering with the Paley Center to launch a new Emmy rival. That didn’t come to fruition, and these days there seems to be a bit of a détente — so much so that a good chunk of this year’s PaleyFest in Los Angeles doubled as Emmy FYC events, including for “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Late Night With Seth Meyers” and “The Morning Show.”
Outstanding Performance By an FYC Poodle: Amazon MGM Studios head of awards Debra Birnbaum outdoes herself every year with the Amazon “Prime Experience” activation, featuring food, sets, wardrobes, props and more from its contenders. But the real star of those events is Birnbaum’s Sammy Nugget Poodle, who has become Amazon MGM Studios’ unofficial mascot and can often be found strolling through the exhibits.
Outstanding Category Game Changer: Netflix sure didn’t love it, as it suddenly threatened what was probably a sure thing for “The Crown.” But when FX decided to move “Shōgun” to the drama series race, it threw the competition into turnaround and suddenly made for a much more interesting field.
Outstanding Use of Icons: The fact that Carol Burnett, 91, and Dick Van Dyke, 98, were out there campaigning – panels, events, tons of interviews — should put the rest of you to shame. As Burnett promoted Apple TV+’s “Palm Royale” and Van Dyke stumped for CBS’ “Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic,” there are people a quarter of their ages who were too busy or couldn’t be bothered to promote their contenders.
Outstanding Shameless Use of a Podcast to Get Free Chicago-Style Pizza: Oh hey, that’s me, having recorded a podcast with Seth Meyers to talk all about pizza. The fine folks at Gino’s East in Sherman Oaks brought along more food than we could possibly eat, and our pizza discussion was a great jumping-off point to talk about his upbringing, (including his first job), his family now and the battle of New York vs. Los Angeles.
Outstanding Show-Appropriate Mailer: Peacock’s “The Traitors” sent out a box it called a “Scottish summer survival kit,” featuring items inspired by the show — including a version of contestant Parvarti Shallow’s ubiquitous headbands.
Outstanding Performance By an FYC Food Deliver Robot: Well, it’s gotta be Saymo, who stole the show on John Mulaney’s “Everybody’s In L.A.” series for Netflix, and who then later showed up with the show’s FYC event.
Outstanding FYC Event DJ: An Emmy event titled “Drag Race @ Roller Rink” promised a fun celebration for MTV’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” But then RuPaul showed up and spent most of the night in the DJ booth, spinning tracks like ABBA’s “Waterloo” and a remix of Mariah Carey’s “Fantasy.”
And now we head into the final gauntlet — good luck to everyone at this weekend’s Creative Arts Emmys, and we’ll see you next week during the final Emmys 2024 circuit. And if you do pick up a win on Sept. 15 at the Primetime Emmys ceremony, say hello to me in the press room!
