The Emmys Sort Out Categories For Televised Live Events

In an age where televised live events are becoming more and more popular, rules need to be changed. The Emmys are finally sorting this out, according to Variety. The awards organization has split the special class categories into variety special (live) and variety special (pre-recorded).

John Leverence, senior vice president of awards at the Television Academy, believes that this makes things more fair, allowing for an "apples-to-apples" approach to comparing the competition.

The live category honors the ability of producers to make split-second decisions and roll with the punches as they happen in real-time.

An example of a pre-recorded special will be PBS' broadcast of Falsettos, produced by Andrew C. Wilk.

"Special class used to be a safe haven for shows that were neither fish nor fowl," Wilk says. "Then it got flooded with awards shows. How do we compete with the Tonys and the Oscars or the halftime show at the Super Bowl? They ruined the safe haven, and they mucked it up for the shows that were truly special class. This may prove to be better."

Musicals that have been broadcast live, such as A Christmas Story Live! and Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert, both executive produced by Marc Platt.

Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert aired April 1 on NBC, and starred Oscar, Golden Globe, Tony and 10-time Grammy Award winner John Legend as Jesus Christ. The production also starred rock legend Alice Cooper as the flamboyant King Herod and acclaimed recording artist, songwriter and Broadway star Sara Bareilles as Mary Magdalene, as well as Norm Lewis as Caiaphas, Jin Ha as Annas, and Jason Tam as Peter. This NBC event was a one-of-a kind live staging of the iconic 1971 Broadway rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice.

"It is actually a more accurate way to discern and compare," Platt says of the Emmys' decision. "Perhaps it makes it more competitive, and in that regard it seems apt to me to do that."

Read more on Variety.

The next televised live musical will be Rent, as reported back in May 2017. Rent Live will be executive-produced by Marc Platt, Adam Siegel, Julie Larson, Al Larson and Revolution Studios' Vince Totino, Scott Hemming and Marla Levine. The production will air Sunday, Jan. 27, 2019 on FOX. Casting has yet to be announced