When the two TV academies shifted all game show eligibility to the Primetime Emmys starting this year, they couldn’t have foreseen how timely it would be. Game shows were already enjoying a prime-time renaissance, especially during the summer months. But the genre will be front and center in prime time this fall — especially on ABC — as the writers’ strike delays most scripted fare.
Until now, game shows that air before 8 p.m. have competed in a dedicated category for the Daytime Emmys (where “Jeopardy” has won six times over the past decade). Meanwhile, the Primetime Emmys grouped game shows that ran after 8 p.m. with competition reality series like “Survivor” and “Top Chef.”
Now, a pure game show category that includes both daytime and primetime shows in one place could shake things up. Fremantle’s John Quinn, the executive producer and showrunner on CBS’s “Let’s Make a Deal,” NBC’s “Password” and ABC’s “Press Your Luck,” is giddy about the move. “Getting a category for game shows, as well as game show hosts, in prime time is the biggest deal in the world for a game show guy like me,” he says. “It’s my Super Bowl.”
Quinn is excited because it finally gives primetime players like “Press Your Luck” a real shot at an Emmy nomination. “It’s all the buzz in my game show world,” Quinn says. “How is this going to be? Who will be nominated? Will it be ‘Jeopardy’ and ‘Price Is Right’ because they go up every year? Or can one of the primetime newcomers do it? »
The decision to move the Outstanding Game Show and Outstanding Game Show Host categories — which have been part of the Daytime Emmys since this awards show launched in 1974 — to prime time stems from an ongoing realignment of genres and categories in the various Emmy shows.
Game shows are actually nothing new at the Primetime Emmys; in the 1950s, a category known as “best audience participation, quiz, or panel program” rewarded series like “What’s My Line?” and “The $64,000 Question”. And as a reminder of how timeless these formats are, previous editions of shows such as “The Price Is Right,” “Password” and “To Tell the Truth” were all nominated at the time.
Whether it’s fair to pit higher-budget weekly prime-time game shows against lower-budget daily daytime shows is a question. But the move also means a change in the number of producers who will actually win a trophy, as the Primetime Emmys have a cap on how many people on any given show can win the award. This might be an adjustment for daytime production teams used to everyone getting a trophy.
The Academy also had to clarify what qualifies as a game show. According to the Academy, three boxes must be checked: the show must be largely studio-based. (This excludes “Wipeout”, for example). It should be mainly mental challenges – quiz shows, not just physical ones. (Not “American Ninja Warrior.”) And he must be self-contained, with the only carry being a returning champion. It can’t be an arc of episodes leading to a winner. (That’s why “Survivor” isn’t a game show.)
This still leaves some gray areas. “Is this cake?” from Netflix is a standalone game show where judges determine if something is cakewalk or not. But it’s also a baking show — which ultimately makes it more of a competition show than a game show.
We won’t have a good idea of how the new system worked until the nominations come out, and we find out which show actually wins. In the meantime, it’s just exciting to finally see game shows getting their due. Quinn says, “The thought of going to a Primetime Emmy event makes me feel like I’m invited to the big table.”