MOVIE/ MINISERIES & REALITY ISSUE

Emmy’sMeltingAppropriate AdultGlamour Movies,Epic Miniseries &Reality SubculturesBy Christy GroszPotMOVIE/MINISERIES& REALITY3ISSUEIf anything ties togetherthe longform and realityEmmy races, it’s that they couldn’t be more different from eachother. While movies and miniseries – once watercooler programmingthat generated huge ratings – have dwindled to the point that theyno longer warrant separate voting categories, reality as a genre hasproliferated into so many subsets and subcultures that the Academyof Television Arts and Sciences has a difficult task in comparing them.However, the same constant evolution of programming that keepsthe TV Academy revising and honing its rules on a regular basisalso gives viewers what they want when they want it.American Idol Sherlock Deadliest CatchSteve Buscemi steps into the lead as ‘Nucky’ ThompsonOn the longform side, westerns were considered mustyold chestnuts until Broken Trail took home an Emmyin 2007, making horseback hot again and cuttinga dusty path for this year’s blockbuster miniseriesHatfields & McCoys. And let’s be honest, havingactors like Julianne Moore in Game Change andNicole Kidman and Clive Owen in Hemingway& Gellhorn keeps the glamour quotient high for anyawards race.In terms of reality, who would have thought even adecade ago that there was room for more than ahandful of reality-competition series? Now talentshows include everything from RuPaul’s DragRace, where drag queens have to be good at sewing,lip-synching, marketing and acting to get anywhere, toThe Glee Project, where hopefuls compete for a spoton the hit Fox series.The HourDancing With the StarsTitanicFor viewers not interested in singing and dancing,there are so many shows about cooks in the kitchen,pawn shops and dangerous jobs that there’s bound tobe something that grabs the attention of even the mostdismissive audience member.Hatfields & McCoysPage EightThe Amazing RaceYes, many worthy movies and miniseries won’t getdeserved Emmy noms going forward because of thecompressed categories, and not every reality seriesmeets the standards the Emmys have come to embody.But what’s heartening for anyone who loves televisionis that the 60-year-old medium is still creating excellencein programming.Awardsline has, once again, assembled some of themost knowledgeable experts in the business to providea detailed look at this year’s movies and miniseries andreality races. Read carefully and continue digging intothose piles of screeners – ballots are due June 28!