Breaking news: Emmys may announce the Top 10 finalist lists this Friday
For the first time, leaders of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences may unveil the top 10 finalists in the Emmy acting categories plus races for best comedy and drama series Friday.
While a final decision has not been made by the Executive Committee, an inside source says the Emmys are close to endorsing the breakthrough decree. If OK'd for release, the top 10 lists would be divulged seven days after the conclusion of the popular vote last Friday and one day before judges convene this weekend to begin selection of the five nominees in each race.
That would spoil Gold Derby's fun of the last two years when we did the honors for the Emmys, tattling on the top 10 lineups as judges exited the panels and contacted us with information that the academy tried to keep secret as it experimented with a new voting procedure begun in 2006. Now it's becoming increasingly clear to ATAS chiefs that it's nearly impossible to keep such info hushed in the Internet Age. Furthermore, more academy chiefs are agreeing that it's a good idea to disclose the top 10 finalists in order to increase interest and excitement in the annual Emmy derby.
Gold Derby has tried strenuously to persuade Emmy leaders that it's also important for lower-rated cable contenders, for example, to know that, even if they don't make it into the final five, sample episodes of their programs were viewed by judges along with those that got nominated. Emmy nominations still tend to favor broadcast TV shows, but cable programs have been making strong inroads in recent years.
This weekend judging panels will convene at the academy's headquarters in North Hollywood and the Beverly Hilton Hotel to view sample episodes of the finalists competing for best comedy and drama series. Acting races will be decided by judges who'll view episodes at home, but because mass copies of those DVDs must be made first, then shipped, those judges won't get discs till next week. As of today, academy officials still didn't know results of the popular vote, only that voter turnout was higher than ever.
Judges in each category will rank their favorites from 1 to 10 -- 1 being highest -- then accountants will mix those scores with results of the original popular vote on a 50/50 basis to determine the five nominees in each race that will be announced July 17.
Assuming the Executive Committee OKs the decision to make the finalists public, the lists will be divulged immediately so that gossip doesn't spread via the Internet this weekend, causing confusion and alarm. By sharing the info, the TV academy will be in step with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which publicly announces the finalists in all of the Oscar categories that involve runoffs, including best foreign film, documentary, visual effects etc.
Perhaps even more significant is that the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences will also be in sync with its sister — or, arguably, rival — organization. Not only does the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences reveal finalists for the Daytime Emmys, it graciously shares the lists with Gold Derby and select other media outlets in advance of officially making them public.
Memo to ATAS: hint, hint.
What about the Mini-series categories? They only picked 5 contenders. Does that mean we just wait until July 17th to know who made the cut?
Posted by: D. Johnson | June 25, 2008 at 01:23 PM