“Orange Is the New Black” is ineligible to compete in comedy categories for the 2015 Primetime Emmys and must instead compete among the drama series, the Television Academy has ruled.
The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Industry Panel decided Friday that the hour-long Netflix series does not qualify as a comedy, though it competed in comedy categories for its first season in 2014.
“‘Orange is the New Black’ is a truly pioneering series and an iconoclast which has always defied genre or easy categorization,” Netflix Chief Content Office Ted Sarandos said in a statement.
“While we’re disappointed in the committee’s decision, we believe that ‘Orange’ represents the best of television in either category,” Sarandos added.
The panel ruled earlier this week that fellow hour-long series “Jane the Virgin” (CW), “Shameless” (Showtime) and “Glee” (Fox) could be entered into comedy categories.