Writers and Directors Guilds Push Back on Plan to Pull Categories From Primetime Emmys: 'WGA Has Not Agreed to Anything'

The Directors Guild of America and Writers Guild of America both pushed back Thursday night against plans by the Television Academy to move four categories, including one for writing and one for directing, from the main Primetime Emmys telecast.

“WGA has not agreed to anything,” a representatives of the guild told TheWrap in a statement. A spokesperson for the Directors Guild of America concurred, telling TheWrap that “The DGA has not signed off on this.”

Earlier on Thursday, the Television Academy announced that this year’s Emmys will be split into six shows — four pre-recorded Creative Arts ceremonies on Sept. 14, 15, 16, and 17, followed by a live Creative Arts Awards on Sept. 19, and then a live Primetime Emmys telecast on Sunday, Sept. 20. All ceremonies will be filmed remotely due to the coronavirus pandemic, and to reduce the logistical challenges brought on by having so many remote feeds during the live broadcasts, the Academy pulled four categories — Variety Series Directing, Variety Series Writing, Variety Sketch Series, and Television Movie — from the main event.

Also Read: TV Academy Sets 5-Night Plan for Creative Arts Emmys, Trims 4 Categories From Primetime Emmys Telecast

This reduces the number of awards for writing and directing during the Primetime Emmys to three each. However, the TV Academy is contractually obligated to include at least four writing and directing awards. That said, both of the bumped writing and directing awards will air during the live Sept. 19 broadcast, and it’s possible the Academy hoped this would meet the criteria of the agreement.

However this is eventually resolved, the new plan marks a departure from the typical two-night Creative Arts Emmys ceremony held in a normal year. This year’s awards were initially scheduled to be handed out on Sept. 12 and 13 until the pandemic forced the TV Academy to call off the in-person ceremony. Bob Bain Productions will produce the Creative Arts Emmys broadcasts.

Here is how the categories will be broken up, see the full list of categories below.

Monday, September 14: Reality and Nonfiction
Tuesday, September 15: Variety
Wednesday, September 16: Scripted Night One
Thursday, September 17: Scripted Night Two
Saturday, September 19 (FXX): An eclectic mix of awards across all genres

The Television Academy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.

Emmy Nominations 2020: Snubs and Surprises, From Bob Odenkirk to Baby Yoda (Photos)

Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.
Surprise: "What We Do in the Shadows" FX's series adaptation of the vampire mockumetary from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi only secured two below the line nominations for its first season, but it's second outing scored big with eight nominations, including an Outstanding Comedy Series nod.
FX
Surprise: "The Mandalorian" Drama heavyweight "Game of Thrones" was out of the running this year, leaving room for a new series to sneak in among a slew of past nominees like "Better Call Saul," "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Crown." But instead of Apple TV+'s "The Morning Show," voters went with a different new streaming service, nominated Disney+'s "The Mandalorian."
Disney+
Snub: Bob Odenkirk, "Better Call Saul" Odenkirk has been a perennial nominee in the lead actor category since 2015, but this year the "Better Call Saul" star was overlooked in favor of a pair of actors from "Succession" and "The Morning Show" star Steve Carell.
AMC
Snub: Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale" Moss won the award for lead actress in a drama series in 2017 and has been nominated numerous times in the past, but, like "This Is Us" star Mandy Moore and "How to Get Away With Murder's" Viola Davis, failed to make the cut for the most recent season of "Handmaid's Tale."
Hulu
Surprise: Zendaya, "Euphoria" In a category comprised mostly of returning players, dark horse candidate Zendaya managed to sneak a lead actress nod for her role on the HBO drama "Euphoria," slipping in alongside fellow category newcomer Jennifer Aniston of "The Morning Show."
HBO
Snub: "Big Little Lies" HBO's Liane Moriarty adaptation was the belle of awards season in 2017, all but sweeping the limited series categories with its roster of big-name stars including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. But Season 2's move to the drama series category hurt the show, leaving "Big Little Lies" with only two nominations for supporting stars Laura Dern and Meryl Streep.
HBO
Surprise: "The Masked Singer" Fox's absurdist singing competition finally became too big for Emmy voters to ignore in Season 2, shaking up the Oustanding Competition Program category with 10-time winner "The Amazing Race" ineligible this year.
Fox
Snub: "Westworld" Turns out "Westworld" wasn't the "Game of Thrones" successor HBO hoped iy would be, earning only two acting nods for its third season, for supporting actors Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright, and missing out on the marquee drama series category entirely.
HBO
Snub: Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever, "Unbelievable" For much of the voting period, the two stars of Netflix's harrowing "Unbelievable" seemed like locks for lead actress in a limited series nominations, but neither made the cut in a crowded category, not even TV Academy darling Merritt Wever, who has twice before pulled out a surprise upset on Emmy night.
Netflix

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”Better Call Saul“ and ”The Handmaid’s Tale“ leads miss out, while ”What We Do in the Shadows“ sneaks in

Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.

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Emmy Nominations 2020: Snubs and Surprises, From Bob Odenkirk to Baby Yoda (Photos)

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