HBO says True Detective will compete for Best Drama because it’s not a miniseries
By Josh Hill
Credit: HBO
There has been a lot of commotion about the decision by HBO to enter their hit series True Detective has a Best Drama in this Emmy’s this year and not miniseries. While the series holds dual eligibility as a miniseries and a drama series, executives at HBO and producers of the show have come forth with their reasoning for entering True Detective the way they did.
According to HBO president of programming Michael Lombardo, in the eyes of the network True Detective is a drama series and isn’t a miniseries. Lombardo also mentions that the show isn’t out to win awards, which would have been the case had it entered a Best Miniseries category it would have run away with.
"I had a conversation with the executive producers whether we wanted to be in a possibly less competitive category if you treat this as a mini, but we never seriously considered doing so,” Lombardo said. “Everyone wants to win awards, I understand that we are competing in the most competitive area, drama series, but it felt like the wrong reason to put it in a different category.”"
By entering as a Best Drama, True Detective is setting itself up to earn it’s keep. Potential competitors include House of Cards, Game of Thrones and the final season of Breaking Bad.
While it’s a noble gesture to not shy away from a brawl, the question now becomes whether or not True Detective will hold up against the show’s it’s nominated against.