Another year, and another Emmy Awards have wrapped up, and pundits are still reflecting on how it all shook out. The big winners of the night — “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Big Little Lies” — shared a common thread, beyond giving dramatic voice to women in leading roles. Both Hulu and HBO‘s series rolled out traditionally, with week by week episodes, instead of following the Netflix and Amazon format of dumping all the episodes at once. Did this have an impact on voting?
That’s the suggestion made by screenwriter Brian Millikin, who pointed out the connection between the two shows and their victories on Twitter.
Aside from a few early eps, Handmaid's Tale & Big Little Lies released an ep a week–the traditional TV schedule. HBO largely does the same.
— Brian Millikin (@bmillikin) September 18, 2017
But if Netflix & Amazon want to enter the conversation AND remain in it a few months, they might have to start changing their approach.
— Brian Millikin (@bmillikin) September 18, 2017
The argument here is that by releasing episodes weekly, it keeps shows in the cultural conversation longer, and thus makes them more likely to be watched by Emmy voters.
It’s an interesting posit, but I’d imagine most Emmy voters are watching things on screeners anyway — though certainly, hearing the buzz around a certain show does help them decide which series to catch up with. It’s also worth noting that the networks blitz voters with all kinds of material in the lead up to voting too, which I’d imagine also carries certain weight as well.
At any rate, with the conventional wisdom in the industry that appointment viewing is dead, last night’s Emmy results certainly offered an interesting counterargument. Or, maybe, “The Handmaid’s Tale”and “Big Little Lies” simply deserved it.
Thoughts? Let us know in the comments section.