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Television Critics Association has overwhelmingly picked white winners for its awards over the last 35 years

  • Over the last 35 years, the TCA Awards has given 94% of its individual achievement in comedy and drama awards to white people, 96% of its outstanding new program awards to white shows, 100% of its outstanding achievement in drama awards to white shows, 95% of its program of the year awards to white shows and 94% of its career achievement awards to white people, according to Variety's Caroline Framke. "For 35 years, TCA has prided itself on cutting through the wild west of television to highlight the best and brightest the medium has to offer (I’ve been a member since 2016.)," says Framke, a Variety TV critic. "But the times when TCA physically convenes for its biannual press tour always throws its largely white membership into stark relief; clueless questions about race from white reporters to exceedingly patient non-white panelists are all too expected and dismissed. While there’s no demographic information available for the overall body of TCA, it is worth noting that the current president and vice president — Sarah Rodman and Melanie McFarland, respectively — are Black women, and that recent years have seen more concerted efforts to diversify its body by ushering in a new generation of journalists. These are encouraging signs of progress and commitment to change the tenor of TV coverage moving forward. But as far as the history of the organization and its priorities goes, scrolling through the 35-year record of shows, creators and actors that TCA has historically considered the most worthy of recognition, the undeniable truth is that they have been consistently, overwhelmingly white."

    TOPICS: TCA Awards, Diversity, TV Criticism