Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 10

Taylor Sheridan’s TV Empire Lands 1 Emmy Nod as “Landman” and “The Madison” Are Shut Out

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jul 10

Taylor Sheridan’s TV Empire Lands 1 Emmy Nod as “Landman” and “The Madison” Are Shut Out

Q: With the new 90% vote rule, could the Emmys' most unpredictable category actually end up with no winner?

No. Even under the new “area award” format for Outstanding Variety Series, the category is not expected to end with no winner. The Academy’s announced change means nominees are no longer judged strictly head-to-head. Instead, each program is evaluated on whether it merits an Emmy, with a 90% “yes” threshold creating the possibility of multiple winners. But the reporting tied to this year’s rule change indicates that if no nominee reaches that bar, the program with the highest level of support would still win. In practical terms, that preserves at least one winner. That also aligns with the broader Emmy rules framework, which traditionally says the winner is the nominee receiving the highest number of votes, with ties producing multiple winners. The confusion comes from the new “area” designation, which changes how the category is judged, not whether the Academy can leave it empty. So the unpredictability is real, but it cuts in a different direction: the category could produce more than one winner, not none. With nominees including “The Daily Show,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live!,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and “Saturday Night Live,” the bigger question is whether any of them can clear the unusually high threshold — and if not, which one still emerges on top.

3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jul 10

One 2026 Emmy nomination—stunt coordination for “Tulsa King”—was all Taylor Sheridan’s TV slate received, while “Landman” and “The Madison” were completely left off the ballot.
Industry observers tied the shutout to Sheridan’s open contempt for the Television Academy and to voters’ preference for moodier, less overtly commercial dramas over his broad, audience-driven hits.
Sarah Schmidt said the snub may reinforce Sheridan’s outsider brand rather than damage it, even as she argued the real cost falls on actors and crew who lose awards visibility.
The omission extends a longer pattern of Emmy indifference toward Sheridan’s popular franchise, underscoring the gap between academy recognition and the mass viewership that has fueled his TV empire.