Primetime Emmy should honor foreign-language international TV shows

The Hollywood Reporter

HBO's My Brilliant Friend "soars in part thanks to linguistic naturalism: The story marinates in the native vernaculars of its setting, including Neapolitan and Italian, and would have lost both its authenticity and lyricism if showrunner Saverio Costanzo had chosen to film it in English to cater to international audiences," says Robyn Bahr. "Unfortunately, My Brilliant Friend doesn’t attract the reverberating buzz of midcentury costume dramas like The Queen’s Gambit or The Crown, which also study the depths of female ambition. Had it been produced in English, My Brilliant Friend may have been dripping in Emmy Awards and nominations like these other high-quality series. That such a compelling series is ignored completely leads me to believe that Emmy voters still have a '1-inch' problem. This is how South Korean director Bong Joon Ho gently ribbed American audiences during one of his three Oscar acceptance speeches for Parasite: 'Once you overcome the 1-inch-tall barrier of subtitles, you will be introduced to so many more amazing films.' Although an important industry voting body does exist to honor achievements in global television — the International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, which hosts the International Emmy Awards — this group doesn’t have much mainstream sway. Broad audiences need a more visible beacon to shed light on the best television from around the world: We need a special Primetime Emmy category specifically dedicated to international TV series."