The Television Academy has announced that it will officially be introducing a brand new Emmy Award, nearly twenty years after creating the Honors Award in 2007. The creation of the Legacy Award aims to give recognition to TV shows that have made a “profound and lasting impact” on audiences and remain relevant to society, culture, and the industry.
“The Legacy Award celebrates groundbreaking programming — programs that have stood the test of time, delivering stories that continue to engage audiences and featuring iconic and timeless characters with multigenerational appeal,” Television Academy chair Cris Abrego said in a statement. “The award allows the Academy to honor more of television’s rich history and acknowledge the storytellers whose work has resonated with viewers and continues to entertain legions of fans around the globe.”
How will the new Emmy Award fix the Television Academy’s past mistakes?
Besides currently airing shows, this new Emmy Award will also give past iconic shows like The Wire, which weren’t given much Emmy recognition, a chance to win one finally. Despite being highly-regarded as one of the best TV shows of all time, The Wire only received two Emmy nominations during its entire five-season run. In an interview with THR, TV Academy boss Maury McIntyre opened up about the intention behind the Legacy Award’s creation.
“Are we trying to correct The Wire? Is that what you’re asking? [laughs] That was not necessarily the intent, but it obviously is something that we see as an opportunity. I have to credit Pearlena Igbokwe (Chairman, Television Studios, NBC Entertainment & Peacock Scripted), quite honestly, for this award,” McIntyre shared. “Pearlena sat on our executive committee last year, but she also sat on the Hall of Fame selection committee, and she reached out to me at some point during the year and said, ‘Why don’t we have an award that’s kind of a Hall of Fame for programs?’ That was more the impetus.”
He continued, “We thought, ‘Wow, we don’t recognize programs that have had a long-lasting impact,’ and it was a bit of a no-brainer for the awards committee and for the board to say, ‘Yeah, we should do something like this.’ So the answer is yes, we can certainly use this sometimes as an opportunity to rectify a wrong if we feel a show didn’t get the Emmy love that it should have. That wasn’t necessarily the impetus, but it’s a happy byproduct.”
The candidates for the Television Academy’s Legacy Award shall be selected annually by the Governors Award committee (to be renamed the Special Awards Committee) and presented to the Board of Governors for a vote. Entries may be made by members of the Board of Governors, the Special Awards Committee, or individuals who may suggest recipients in a letter to the Television Academy.
Listed below are the Legacy Award criteria highlights:
- A minimum of 60 episodes aired across a minimum of five seasons.
- Continued or sustained relevance, influence, or inspiration: To a genre of television. To an existing or new audience. To society and culture.
- Franchise properties must be considered as a whole and awarded as such.
- Award may only be bestowed on a program once.
As with the Governors Award, engraved Emmy statuettes will be bestowed upon the recipients of the Legacy Award. According to McIntyre, the recipients will be the show’s creators, showrunners, and the network. The award may be presented during the Creative Arts Emmy ceremonies, the Emmy telecast, Televerse, or the Hall of Fame ceremony.
