Emmys announce more changes, including eliminating program length requirements for comedies and dramas

Variety

The TV Academy has announced a slew of changes for the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards. Since 2015, all hourlong shows were placed in the drama category and all half-hour shows has to be submitted as comedies. But with so many hour-long comedies and half-hour dramas, the TV Academy has eliminated the program length requirement. According to Variety's Michael Schneider, "producers will now determine category submission with the stipulation that the Television Academy’s Industry Panel reserves the right to review the producer’s preference. Comedy and drama series are defined as programs with multiple episodes (minimum of six) in which the content is primarily comedic for comedy series entries or primarily dramatic for dramatic series entries. In addition, the ongoing theme, storyline and main characters are presented under the same title and have continuity of production supervision. The exception is programming under 20 minutes, which must be submitted in short-form categories." The TV Academy also further clarified the limited series category. A limited series' “story arc must be completely resolved within its season, with no on-going storyline and/or main characters in subsequent seasons,” and that “subsequent seasons of a limited series must cover completely new ground, requiring no knowledge of the events of the previous season.”