TV Guide's Mark Schwed: The Emmy nominees

Emmy

Mark Schwed is a national writer for TV Guide, with over 25 years of journalism experience. He is a former wire service and newspaper writer. Schwed also writes a column, "Hollywood Grapevine," which is published weekly.

CNN: How does the battle between "The Sopranos" and "West Wing" reflect American audiences and America in general?

MARK SCHWED: I would say it doesn't reflect anything about America in general, except that people like to watch well-written dramas, whether they be about the White House, or the Mob.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Why do well-written shows like "Ed" and "Buffy the Vapire Slayer" get snubbed so often?

SCHWED: Forget the 50s; this is the Golden Age of Television. "Ed" and "Buffy" are both great shows. "Ed" got three nominations. It's just which show would you throw out to put them in. It does seem like rerun of last year's slate, but for a few exceptions like Marg Helgenberger of "CSI" and Andre Braugher whose show "Gideon's Crossing" was cancelled. But the bottom line is, there's a lot of great stuff to choose from, and the Emmys tend to stick with the tried and true.

CNN: If "Sopranos" loses a lot this year like last year, what does that say about the Academy trusting HBO's edgier fare?

MORE STORIES Complete list of Emmy nominees   Academy of Television Arts & Sciences

SCHWED: Cable shows weren't even eligible just a few years ago, and because of the programming on HBO in particular, cable now makes a big splash at the nominations. But the voters still tend to be biased toward the big three networks: ABC, NBC and CBS. Slowly but surely, that's changing, and the fact that "The Sopranos" has more nominations than any show, 22, is a good sign that things are changing. This may be the year that "The Sopranos" wins big. But of course, we've said that now for three years.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Were there any major surprises?

SCHWED: A few. Again, Marg Helgenberger of "CSI," Andre Braugher from his cancelled show, Frankie Muniz from "Malcolm in the Middle" are a few.

CNN: Why doesn't "The Simpsons" ever get nominated?

SCHWED: Because of "The Simpsons," the Academy came up with special separate categories for animated shows. It has been nominated, and really cleared the way for other shows like "King of the Hill" to receive Emmy nominations. Don't forget, "The Simpsons" has been on for many, many years. It's not eligible for the best comedy category. That's why they set up the separate categories.

Remember that the people who do the voting don't owe any favors to cartoon characters, nor do they get paychecks from them. That's why sometimes it seems like a popularity contest, where the same people get nominated and always win, like Michael J. Fox and Candace Bergen from "Murphy Brown," who, after winning five Emmys, withdrew her name, because enough was enough.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: How are the Emmys selected?

SCHWED: It used to be that one thousand out of the ten thousand Academy members (those are the people who work in the industry, actors, writers, directors, studio people, network people) would gather at a hotel over a long weekend, and watch tapes. The busier members of the Academy didn't have the time to do this; in other words, the ones who were working the most, and the younger members of the Academy.

This explains why sometimes the list of nominees seems a little old and a little stale. Last year, the Academy changed that, and allowed all 10,000 members to vote, and simply started sending out tapes to their homes. The hope is that new shows and younger, edgier programs, like "Buffy," "Gilmore Girls," and HBO's "Curb Your Enthusiasm," would get nominated. It didn't happen, this time around.

CNN: Is Showtime too far over the edge? Yes, "Tales of the City" got nominated, but their other shows didn't, and "Tales" is really an established brand?

SCHWED: No. They just didn't get nominated. They did get a total of ten nominations. Discovery Channel, for instance, only got four. Just so you know how many people are involved in this process, there were a total of 416 nominations, in 83 categories. CHAT PARTICIPANT: Does Fox have any shoe-ins?

SCHWED: "Malcolm in the Middle" is their best bet, and it's not much of a bet. The competition is just too intense.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Why did the Emmys decide to create reality TV categories?

SCHWED: Because they couldn't ignore it. Reality shows were all over the dial before "Survivor," but after "Survivor," there was a reality show frenzy, where every network scrambled to put something on the air. This came at a time when the actors and writers were thinking about striking, so the networks had to scramble to get even more reality shows than they would have. Virtually every single one of them has been successful with some pulling in as many as 56 million viewers. They just can't ignore that.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: What's your favorite category?

SCHWED: I don't have a favorite category, but I look for surprises, people who don't just thank their agents and managers when they win-- genuine joy, just special moments-- and hopefully we'll have some special moments on September 16th, when the show airs on CBS.

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Do Emmy-winning actors have more pull when it comes to the creative directions of their shows? Mark Schwed: It depends. If George Clooney had never won an Emmy, he would still have a lot of pull on ER. But Emmys do mean something. They can save a low-rated show like "Hill Street Blues," get more people to watch an already successful show, like "The Practice," and get stars more money when it comes time to bargain. It doesn't hurt to be able to say for the rest of your life, "Emmy-winning actor."

CHAT PARTICIPANT: Who do you think is going to win the best TV show awards?

SCHWED: I'll go out on a limb. For drama, "The Sopranos." For comedy, "Everybody Loves Raymond." I know, I know... it's a long shot. But "Will and Grace" didn't have that exceptional a year.

CNN: Do you have any final thoughts to share with us?

SCHWED: We're already watching all the new shows for fall, and I can tell you two to watch for. "Scrubs" on NBC, about one young intern, and "Undeclared" on Fox, a comedy about a kid's first year in college.

CNN: Thank you for joining us today.

SCHWED: Happy surfing!

Mark Schwed joined the chat via telephone from California. The above is an edited transcript of the interview on Thursday, July 12, 2001.