In something of a surprise, the Television Academy announced that three shows which had previously qualified for the Outstanding Limited Series or Movie categories will not for the 2019 Emmy season. FX’s “American Horror Story: Apocalypse,” USA’s “The Sinner” and Netflix’s “American Vandal” will now be categorized in the Drama Series (“AHS,” “The Sinner”) and Comedy Series (“Vandal”) categories.
In a statement, the Television Academy noted each series continued story threads and characters from a previous season. This change is currently just for this year’s Emmy season but clearly is a heads up to those showrunners that there needs to be much more differentiation to earn a “Limited Series” qualification.
“American Horror Story: Apocalypse” is the series that will be most affected by this decision. The Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk series has won 16 Emmys and been nominated for a combined 89 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmys. Jessica Lange, James Cromwell and Kathy Bates have all won acting Emmys for their work on individual seasons while Sarah Paulson has been nominated five times in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Mini-Series (now Limited Series) or Movie category. The series itself has been nominated for the top category five times.
“The Sinner” earned one nomination last year for Jessica Biel in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie category. “American Vandal” also earned one nomination last year for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series, Movie or Dramatic Special.
The voting for the 2019 Emmy Award nominations will take place between June 10-24. The nominations will be announced on July 16.
The Emmy Award winners will be revealed Sunday, Sept. 22 on FOX.
2019 Emmy Prediction Pages
Drama Series
Comedy Series
Limited Series
Lead Actress in a Drama Series
Lead Actor in a Drama Series
Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
Lead Actor in a Comedy Series
Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie