Emmys Shake Things Up: New Awards Category Announced

The Emmys are adding a major new award for the first time in nearly 20 years. The Television Academy announced on Thursday that it will introduce the Legacy Award, which will honor TV programs that have made “a profound and lasting impact” on audiences and continue to be relevant in culture and the industry.

According to the TV Academy, programs eligible for the Legacy Award must have at least 60 episodes over a minimum of five seasons.

They also need to have shown lasting influence or inspiration, whether to a genre of television, audiences, or society as a whole. Franchise properties will be considered as a whole when being evaluated.

Shows that are no longer on the air, like All in the Family (1971-1979) and Will & Grace (1998-2006, 2017-2020), are eligible. Current programs, such as Grey’s Anatomy (2005-) and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia (2005-), and shows approaching their end, like The Late Show (1993-2026), also qualify for consideration.

The TV Academy said that nominees for the Legacy Award can be suggested by members of its board of governors, the special awards committee, or even by the public through letters. Winners will be selected each year by the committee now called the Special Awards Committee, previously known as the Governors Award Committee.

The Legacy Award itself will be an engraved Emmy statuette. It may be presented during the Primetime Emmys, the Creative Arts Emmys, at the Televerse festival, or during the Hall of Fame ceremony. The location of the presentation will be decided annually by the TV Academy.

This new category highlights the Academy’s effort to recognize shows that have stood the test of time and influenced television for years.

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