Critics of the Emmy Awards have recently pointed out that Asian American and Pacific Islander casts and creators were very underrepresented in this year’s nominations and wins. Asian Americans only made up one percent of the total nominations this year, which is even less than the percentage of Asian Americans nominated last year.
This is a graphic that shows the diversity of Emmy Awards nominees in the past ten years and you can clearly see that Asian Americans have been among the underrepresented, along with the Latino, Middle Eastern, Northern African, and even Black population (who is just starting to get a little bit more of the recognition they deserve this year). White nominees have such a greater presence in the Emmys.
Many experts think that the lack of recognition for Asian Americans at the Emmys comes from the idea that some people might have that Asian American offerings on TV are considered too niche or just don’t attract mainstream appeal. For example, the show “Never Have I Ever” which is a coming of age family comedy about an Indian American family, has had high volumes of viewers and critical acclaim, but still is likely to be seen as too niche to be considered for Emmy nominations. The viewers of this show and other shows with more diversity tend to be younger generations who have most likely grown up with more diverse friend groups than older generations. The voting members for the Emmys tend to be the older generations who may just think that Asian American filled shows are too foreign to consider for Emmys. The fact that Asian American characters in predominantly white shows are also not given as much attention, time, or development in the show as the white characters also contributes to the way that Asian Americans are underrepresented in Emmy nominations. There needs to be a deeper look into diversity in shows and films, and also a deeper look into the voting members that choose the nominees. Not giving a cast or creator of a show that is “too foreign” or “too niche” isn’t an excuse to not give a truly great, highly rated show (cast or creator) a chance at a nomination.
