The long-running debate over whether hour-long series belong in comedy categories at the Emmy Awards is set to resurface, as several drama-leaning shows opt to compete as comedies this year.
Among the latest is Prime Video’s ‘Young Sherlock’, starring Hero Fiennes Tiffin. The action mystery series, which imagines a young Sherlock Holmes before his rise as a famed detective, has been submitted as a comedy despite its strong dramatic elements.
Created by Guy Ritchie, the show follows a similar path to his Netflix series ‘The Gentlemen’, which also competed in comedy categories.
Young Sherlock joins a growing list of hour-long contenders entering the comedy race. These include FX’s noir series ‘The Lowdown’ starring Ethan Hawke, Peacock’s Cold War thriller Ponies featuring Emilia Clarke and Haley Lu Richardson, and the upcoming comic book adaptation Spider-Noir with Nicolas Cage. Many of these shows were initially positioned as dramas.
CBS’s ‘Elsbeth’ has also shifted to comedy after competing as a drama in its first two seasons. The move has already paid off, with nominations at this year’s Critics Choice Awards.
They will compete alongside more traditional half-hour comedies such as ‘Hacks’, ‘Abbott Elementary’, ‘Only Murders in the Building’ and ‘Shrinking’.
FX’s ‘The Bear’, another half-hour series that has sparked debate over its classification, remains in the comedy field and has previously won top honours.
The controversy dates back to 1999, when the hour-long Ally McBeal won Outstanding Comedy Series, beating several half-hour sitcoms. Since then, only a handful of similar shows, including ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’, have achieved the same.
The absence of a dedicated dramedy category continues to make classification subjective. In 2015, the Television Academy introduced rules based on episode length, placing hour-long series in drama categories by default. The policy drew criticism and was later scrapped in 2022.
Under current rules, shows can enter comedy categories without prior approval, provided they are deemed primarily comedic. However, the Academy retains the right to review and reclassify submissions.
