One Reality Emmy to Rule Them All

"This striking bifurcation has a lot to do with actors. The Primetime Emmys telecast is loaded with categories honoring A-list performers, and those are the awards most people tune in to see. (If only there was an equivalent for onscreen reality talent ...) But the decision to use one main telecast Emmy to represent only a portion of the genre's programming is also a value judgment."

"The category honors shows like The Traitors, RuPaul's Drag Race, The Voice, and The Amazing Race but neglects some of unscripted TV's most popular titles: Love Island, The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives, and Love on the Spectrum. They all fall within the Creative Arts' reality categories, Structured Reality and Unstructured Reality. So reality TV is not only outnumbered but misrepresented."

"There's an easy fix to this, one that would prevent further bloat to the Emmy telecast but would shine a brighter light on a segment of television that deserves it: Combine all reality programming into the single category, Outstanding Reality Series."

"To this day, the genre gets labeled trashy or lowbrow - Andy Cohen himself still gets Housewives fans who think he'll be shocked to know they're lawyers and scientists. This is especially evident at the Emmys, where the main telecast presents 26 awards, 25 of which go to scripted programming, with just one - Outstanding Reality Competition - reserved for reality."

Reality TV has long attracted attention but often receives lowbrow labels and limited respect. At the Emmys, the main telecast presents 26 awards, with only one reality category, Outstanding Reality Competition, while nearly all other awards go to scripted programming. Additional reality-related honors are placed in the Creative Arts Emmys held the week before. This split is tied to performer-focused categories that dominate audience interest. The main reality category recognizes some popular shows but excludes other widely watched unscripted titles, which are instead grouped under Structured Reality and Unstructured Reality. Combining all reality programming into a single Outstanding Reality Series category would better represent the genre without expanding the telecast.

Read at Vulture