Dear Gossips,
Emmy nominations begin in June, and we have an interesting development in the Outstanding Talk Series category. Youtube show “Hot Ones”, hosted by Sean Evans, has successfully petitioned to be included in the talk series category, which puts Evans up against network stalwarts like Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, and Seth Meyers, and The Daily Show. (John Oliver was basically unbeatable in that category, but last year, Last Week Tonight shifted over to Outstanding Scripted Variety Series, allowing Trevor Noah and The Daily Show to win for Noah’s outgoing season as host, a milestone moment.)
“Hot Ones” is MASSIVELY popular. Like, based on views, “Hot Ones” is probably more watched than any talk show. “Hot Ones” averages 3-5 million views for its episodes on Youtube, with blockbuster guests like Jennifer Lawrence or Conan O’Brien pulling in 10+ million views. Meanwhile, the most popular late-night shows are currently The Late Show with Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel Live! and average around 2.2 million viewers per night. So, “Hot Ones” is comparable to legacy late-night shows, in terms of ratings, with the ability reach an audience five times larger for a big enough guest.
There’s no denying shows like “Hot Ones”, or Amelia Dimoldenberg’s whimsical “Chicken Shop Date”, are changing the celebrity interview show format. With Conan out of the game, and Seth Meyers openly disinterested in interviewing people he doesn’t like—which is a “good for him” move but also limits who he’ll have on his show—and the overall decline of linear TV viewing, it was only a matter of time before a show like “Hot Ones” shook up the Emmys categories. “Chicken Shop Date”, Seth Meyers’ digital spin-off “Corrections”, and Rhett & Link’s “Good Mythical Morning” are still considered in the comedy short-form category, but you have to wonder how long that will last.
The television academy is generally resistant to adding new categories because they don’t want to make their awards show any longer than it already is, and that’s not a bad instinct to have, but some of these matchups don’t make any sense. I mean, “Hot Ones” IS a talk show, so its inclusion in that category makes sense. But Last Week Tonight ISN’T a variety series, not like SNL or any other sketch show. It’s news! It should be competing against 60 Minutes!
There used to be more delineation, in the 2010s the Emmys separated short form into “comedy or drama” and “variety” categories, but in 2021 they recombined all the categories into one short-form branch. But that means stuff like “Corrections” and “Chicken Shop Date” are up against fictional shorts like webisode spin-offs of network sitcoms, AND actual sketch series like I Think You Should Leave, which should be competing against SNL! None of this makes any sense!
Admitting “Hot Ones” into the talk series category feels like the first step in another, probably inevitable, reorganization of Emmy categories. We need to admit that a news show can be hosted by a comedian and move Last Week Tonight and The Daily Show into the news category, and short-form needs to at least be split between “narrative” (sketches) and “non-narrative” (interviews). That might make some of these competing series make more sense than they currently do. In the meantime, a “Hot Ones” series win would be another sign of the decay of legacy media.
Live long and gossip,
Sarah