In the Emmy Awards’ 75 year history, only two non-English language series have been nominated for the category of Outstanding Drama Series. This year, Emmy nominee Shogun, a historical drama set in feudal Japan and filmed in Japanese, has dominated the television scene. It ranks as the second most-watched miniseries of all time and is the most streamed show across all streaming services within a one-week period.
Given the popularity of this non-English show with U.S. viewers, it raises the question: why have so few other shows in foreign languages been nominated for Emmys? This is largely because many of these shows are produced outside of the U.S. and therefore do not qualify for Emmy nominations.
Instead, they must enter the International Emmys, a little-known Emmy spin off that is not even broadcasted on television. With a demand for international programming at an all-time high, the Emmy rule requiring nominee shows to be produced in the U.S. feels outdated. 38 percent of new Netflix shows in development are in a language other than English. As someone who has always supported the spread of and exposure to foreign culture, I was alarmed at the number of shows who could go under the radar without Emmy recognition. How many other deserving internationally-produced shows have been left out of the Emmy spotlight?
The Emmys are currently hyper-focused on U.S.-produced television; however, they should instead try to expand the diversity and breadth of their awards by giving eligibility to internationally-produced shows. The popularity of shows like Shogun and Squid Games, despite being filmed in foreign languages, indicates that people are comfortable watching television in a language they might not understand. Closed captioning and dubbing can easily bridge the gap between foreign language and English television: so much so that 50 percent of Americans routinely watch even English programming with subtitles. Watching shows in foreign languages not only exposes audiences to a different tongue, but also reveals cultural subtleties in body language, tone and other nuances. From this, audiences can gain an appreciation for storytelling styles across the world. Since American audiences don’t see language barriers as an inhibition to enjoying shows, the Emmys’ narrow focus on American content is out of sync with consumer demand.
In fact, the top 10 most viewed shows on Netflix have multiple international shows across the board. International Emmy winner Money Heist: Part 4 was produced in Spain and filmed in Spanish: with 106 million views, it was more popular than season 3 of Bridgerton and would have landed sixth on a combined English and foreign language show list. Narcos, filmed in Spanish and produced in Mexico, is considered one of the best drug cartel shows of all time and routinely tops the demand chart on Netflix, garnering three International Emmy nominations in 2016. Given the caliber and popularity of these shows, their absence on the American Emmy list is absurd. The Emmys seem far less meaningful when such high-quality programs are not in contention for the award. Audiences apparently feel similarly, because Emmy viewership has plummeted to an all-time low in 2023, with just 4.3 million viewers watching the 75th Annual Awards.
If the Emmys want to be relevant for today’s audience, they would benefit greatly from dropping the artificial gap between U.S. and internationally-produced programming. Streaming and subtitles have unlocked geographic boundaries to the point where good television is good television. The Emmys should have a chance to rejoin the conversation by highlighting the best of television worldwide.
