For years, it has been a foregone Emmy-night conclusion: HBO will be taking home the award for Outstanding Made for Television Movie. The premium channel’s 2010 victory for “Temple Grandin” pushed its string of wins in the category to a dizzying seven in a row.
Even more impressive, HBO has failed to win the award just twice since 1993.
In February, however, the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences tossed a banana peel into the Emmy-hoarding network’s path to the podium when its board of governors voted to combine TV movies with miniseries, a category in which HBO has historically performed strongly (“The Pacific” won in 2010) but has by no means dominated.
The winnowing has generated some much-needed pre-nomination buzz for two genres that have struggled in recent years to captivate the telecast viewership. But it also begs an intriguing question: Now that miniseries have been added to the mix, has the door swung open for another network to break HBO’s stranglehold over made-for-television movies category?
HBO remains a formidable foe, with the high-profile miniseries “Mildred Pierce” (left) and a couple of pedigreed movies, including “Cinema Verite,” in the running. But its competitors see a chance to dethrone the old category's king.
“I have high hopes that will happen this year,” says Rebecca Eaton, executive producer of PBS’ “Masterpiece,” which has submitted five entries for consideration in the newly created Outstanding Miniseries or Movie category. “And I think it’ll be a sweet one if we win.”
Few would call a “Masterpiece” victory in the category an upset, as the venerable PBS program’s stock-in-trade is well-wrought period dramas and light comedies that have over the years collectively netted the franchise a respectable 51 awards in various categories, including top honors for the 2009 miniseries “Little Dorrit.” (This despite having no budget for Emmy campaigning.)
Nor will the non-profit broadcasting service be the year’s only contender to what is widely viewed as being HBO’s throne again this year; Starz (“Pillars of the Earth,” Sundance Channel (“Carlos,” right) and upstart ReelzChannel (“The Kennedys”) all have legitimate shots at scoring one of the expanded category’s six nominations.
The thrill of beating the bigger dog at the Emmy game is hardly the only prize at stake. Emmy victories for poorly-funded PBS or smaller cable networks such as Sundance can be crucial in spurring support for acquisitions and for getting ambitious productions into the pipeline. Millions of dollars in revenue is on the line, not to mention the livelihood of those whose careers depend on how well their productions do.
Money, sadly, is the root behind the merging of the categories, because the pricey cable productions have virtually eliminated broadcast networks from the equation. “It’s a reflection of the sad fact that the networks are not doing miniseries anymore,” says Eaton, who has helmed “Masterpiece” since 1985. “They’re too expensive.”
