Summer tends to be the slow season on network TV, as the biggest shows go on hiatus until the fall. NBC is an exception, though, and it’s all thanks to the one show that’s been going strong every summer for the past two decades. America’s Got Talentcurrently in its 21st season, is NBC’s biggest summer show by far. The network goes to great lengths to hype the series every year, and there’s never any doubt about that AGAIN will return next summer. There is a key way AGAIN does not dominate and it is on the price circuit.
America’s Got Talent has just gotten bigger and more substantial with each passing year, and has even launched multiple spinoffs on NBC. Despite its status as one of NBC’s longest-running shows, it has so far only been nominated for 12 Emmys over 21 seasons. Of course, a show’s success shouldn’t depend entirely on how many trophies it earns, but the fact is that America’s Got Talent has never won in any primetime category, while all network shows most closely resemble AGAIN has multiple Emmys.
While AGAIN is the only reality competition series that welcomes all kinds of performances, the various shows that specifically focus on dancing and singing have been much more successful on the awards circuit. American Idol and Dancing with the stars on ABC are regular winners, and Fox has earned some wins as well The Masked Singer and So you think you can dance. America’s Got Talent Missing out isn’t even a case of the network being rejected; The voice has the second-highest number of nominations among these network shows.
Now, as Season 21 continues to air on NBC, it’s becoming clearer every week America’s Got Talent deserves more recognition on the awards circuit than it got during its first two decades in prime time.
Why America’s Got Talent Hasn’t Won Any Emmys
It wouldn’t necessarily be too jarring if AGAINs lack of Emmys only applied to the biggest categories, such as Outstanding Reality Competition Program or Outstanding Host for a Reality Competition Program. Terry Crews is the host, but the majority of the focus is on judges Simon Cowell, Howie Mandel, Sofia Vergara and Mel B., and there is no Outstanding Judge Emmy. Plus, America’s Got Talent is much more spread out than other network television competition shows simply because there is no single focus for the contestants.
American Idol and The voice is about singing Dancing with the stars and So you think you can dance is about dance, and The Masked Singer is about singing in ridiculously elaborate costumes. AGAIN packs all of that into one show, so it makes sense that it’s not necessarily ranked among the best of the best in one category. It would probably never win a choreography Emmy over Dancing with the starsfor example, or a sound that confuses Emmy over American Idol.
But AGAIN is definitely worthy of at least one win in the categories it’s nominated in, especially Outstanding Lighting Design and Outstanding Technical Direction. Instead, it stands alone among similar network television shows when it comes to Emmy wins.
|
Show |
Nominations |
Winner |
|---|---|---|
|
America’s Got Talent – 21 seasons |
12 |
0 |
|
American Idol – 24 seasons |
74 |
8 |
|
Dancing with the Stars – 34 seasons |
127 |
21 |
|
The Masked Singer – 14 seasons |
9 |
2 |
|
So You Think You Can Dance – 18 Seasons |
73 |
17 |
|
The Voice – 29 seasons |
86 |
9 |
Unfortunately for America’s Got Talentthe competition in its top categories is usually very tough, and it’s not just from the other network television competition projects. Willing to show Saturday Night Live, The Late Show with Stephen Colbertand Last Week Tonight with John Oliver has been known to dominate, which is not so surprising. SNL has won the most Emmys of any show in the history of the award ceremony.
Another way to AGAIN is a departure from the other network talent shows is the fact that each season airs over the summer. American Idol, Dancing with the stars, The Masked Singerand The voice almost always release new seasons in the fall or mid-season. So you think you can dance is the only other summer show, and it’s also the only one of those six to be canceled after returning for a revival.
Why America’s Got Talent deserves an Emmy
All this said, America’s Got Talent is a fairly notable production for NBC, airing weekly throughout the summer of each year. The show may not be the most cohesive talent competition on network television, but there are a lot of moving pieces in play in each episode. By the end, the episodes have switched from pre-recorded to live, and there are usually two episodes a week towards the end of each season. That’s a tall order for network television.
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There are almost endless variables to deal with just to make the show happen every week, and that doesn’t even take into account the challenges of the performances. AGAIN not only to provide epic lighting for singers, such as The voice and American Idol do, but also for dance troupes, death-defying acrobats, comedians, magicians and even puppeteers. The show has certainly done enough to at least win an Emmy for Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction for a Variety Series at this point, if nothing else.
As long as the usual competition continues to dominate the Variety Series categories, the odds can always be stacked against America’s Got Talent. Still, NBC’s biggest summer show deserves more recognition than it’s getting.
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