Roush on Amazing Race, Jaime Pressly and Katherine Heigl
Question: Who are the lucky individuals who get to vote for the Emmy Award winners? Is the Academy composed of actors, or is it critics? Also, is there a rule about the number of consecutive Emmys a person or show can receive? Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems like
The Amazing Race has won every year for best reality show since that category has been in existence. Just once I would love to see
American Idol win, since it is such a ratings powerhouse. What characteristics of a show or an actor's portrayal are taken into consideration when deciding nominations and subsequently voting? Sometimes I feel the results are right on (e.g.,
Jaime Pressly this year), but other times it's a miss (I feel
Chandra Wilson deserved the Emmy more than
Katherine Heigl since she plays her part
so well, instilling fear in all of us). Can you provide me some insight?
— Melanie, Lexington, Ky.
Matt Roush: The intricacies of Emmy nominating and voting are too elaborate to go into here, but generally, these are peer awards, with members of the TV academy (not critics or outsiders) making the call. The final voting is done by panels that screen specially submitted episodes from shows and actors, and it's all undeniably subjective. You have to figure that the actors have picked some of their showiest work, whether dramatic or comedic (or both), to be judged, and the rest is really just a crapshoot, which is why I've pretty much given up on trying to predict the winners, instead preferring just to say who I think ought to win from those lucky enough to make it through the nomination process.
