Only new shows will be honored with Independent Spirit Awards' new TV categories

Variety

The Film Independent Spirit Awards is doing something unusual among awards shows: adding five categories that will only celebrate new TV shows, including three new performer categories. “There’s just an excitement in a debut season for any series,” says Film Independent's Setu Raval. “It’s really that moment where the creators have that opportunity to step outside some of the boundaries of television and be able to create some original content. And so we wanted to be able to support the creators in those initial moments as they begin their series.” The decision eliminates the problem of the same series winning every year and it will allow the recognition of one-and-done limited series with recurring series. “There’s definitely going to be some gray and a little bit of conversation as we dive into this,” adds Raval. “But the goal is to really recognize the series in their first year.”