On New Year’s Day, Peacock released the first three episodes of his true crime series “Paul T. Goldman,” a documentary loosely based on Paul Finkelman’s self-published semi-autobiographical book. The show, using re-enactments and behind-the-scenes footage, has the eccentric Finkelman telling the story of his relationship with his second wife, who he says was living a double life as a prostitute, dating his pimp and manager an international sex trafficking ring. .
It was directed by “Borat Later Moviefilm” director Jason Woliner, who brought an ambitious use of satire to the streaming platform. Finkelman’s unique delivery and twisted facts and attempt to set the record straight in the form of a self-directed and written film, starring himself, creates an unconventional kind of non-fiction storytelling. Still, Peacock and Woliner saw it as a documentary and decided to submit it for Emmy consideration in Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. However, not everything goes as you hope.
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After submitting, the TV Academy rejected the offer, but Woliner and Peacock persisted, submitting a petition to overturn the decision. In the petition filing, Woliner highlighted past docuseries like HBO’s “The Jinx” as references. Part of the document read, “Robert Durst is not outspoken in The Jinx, but Andrew Jarecki allows him to speak and tell his side of his story, then presents facts that contradict it. It’s the same approach I took with Paul Finkelman in this series. Using a very common true crime documentary approach, I try to hook the viewer by first presenting Paul’s unchallenged point of view before questioning, countering and debunking his statements and presenting the stories. other real people – as well as factual evidence that our team has gathered from thousands of pages. court records, police reports and other documents – to arrive, by the end of the series, at the objective truth.
Woliner also compared the documentary style to “Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse” and “The Beatles: Get Back”.
The peer group rejected the offer, saying, “The series is Paul’s one-sided account of what he says happened to him, which is not the stuff of documentary programming. Even the series itself questions whether the content is factual.
The boundaries between fiction and non-fiction and documentaries and reality TV have become increasingly blurred. This development is evident in shows such as Amazon Freevee’s mockumentary “Jury Duty,” which features an ignorant citizen (Ronald Gladden) participating in a mock court case. This series was successfully submitted as a comedy series, where it will take on scripted shows like “Abbott Elementary” and “Ted Lasso.” However, Gladden’s acting submission probably wouldn’t have been accepted into the comedy lead actor category because he doesn’t act. So don’t look for her name to be called on the morning of the Emmy nomination.
With “Paul T. Goldman” now rejected for the documentary, the creatives asked the TV Academy where he would be allowed to compete.
The next logical place was in the new category of scripted varieties (formerly sketch series), where it would stand alongside NBC’s “Saturday Night Live” and HBO’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver”, which has been moved in the category by the TV Academy. This year. The TV Academy told the creatives that would not be an option for the series as it lacks “scripted” elements.
That left the options of the main series runs – drama, comedy, and limited. Peacock and Woliner confirm Variety exclusively that the show will compete for outstanding limited or anthology series, with its central figure, Paul Finkelman, looking for an acting name against suitors Evan Peters (“Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story”) and Taron Egerton (“Black Bird”).
Woliner is “baffled” by the TV Academy’s refusal to accept it as a documentary series. “I’m well aware it’s an unusual show, but in the decade or more I’ve worked on it, I’ve always considered the project to be a documentary,” Woliner said. Variety. “At a time when similar formally experimental documentaries like ‘The Act of Killing’ and ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’ have received Oscar recognition, it’s disheartening that the Television Academy seems stuck in a rigid, outdated view. tools a documentary filmmaker can use to explore the truth.
“Borat Later Moviefilm” won two Oscars for supporting actress (Maria Bakalova) and an adapted screenplay with many improvised elements. While a nomination for “Paul T. Goldman” may seem a long way off, the debate highlights the need for the Television Academy to remain flexible in allowing shows to compete in accordance with the vision of the creatives who created them.
In addition to Woliner, the show is produced by Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, who owns production company Point Gray Studios. Other executive producers include James Weaver and Loreli Alanis for Point Grey, Megan Ellison for Annapurna, and Michael Sagol and Bert Hamelinck for Caviar. Tyler Ben-Amotz produces for Caviar.
The show is now airing on Peacock.
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Creative Arts and Other Emmy Categories
GUEST ACTOR (DRAMA) | GUEST ACTRESS (DRAMA) | GUEST ACTOR (COMEDY) | GUEST ACTRESS (COMEDY) | VOICE OVER | SHORT FORM | DOCUMENTARY | MUSIC | ANIMATED |