At the same time, this year’s nominations reveal a trend that should give all of us pause. For the second consecutive year, racial and cultural diversity among nominees has declined, reaching an 11-year low. Just 18 Black, Asian or Latino performers were recognized among the 91 acting nominees — a sharp contrast to 2024, when Shōgun, alongside other groundbreaking work, helped drive long-overdue recognition for Asian, Latino and Indigenous artists. That year-to-year swing reminds us how fragile progress can be when it depends on a single breakout series rather than a consistent pipeline of opportunity.
While the numbers don’t diminish the accomplishments of this year’s nominees, they raise important questions about the opportunities available long before Emmy ballots are ever cast. Awards recognize excellence, but they do not create it. The work that reaches Emmy consideration is shaped years earlier — by the stories developed, the projects greenlit, the creators given opportunities, the performers cast and the investment behind them. When that ecosystem narrows, the range of work capable of achieving recognition inevitably narrows with it.
Some of television’s most defining creative periods emerged because the industry embraced new voices. Peak TV’s unprecedented demand opened doors for talent whose perspectives had not historically been represented on screen or behind the scenes. Those artists did more than bring new perspectives to television. They expanded what television could be. As production contracted, many of those opportunities disappeared with it. That isn’t simply a setback for individual careers, but a loss of creative momentum for television itself.
Shōgun is an example of what’s possible when exceptional storytellers are given a meaningful opportunity. Our responsibility is to help build an industry where those opportunities exist more broadly, so that audiences can benefit from the full range of exceptional talent our industry has to offer.
It’s easy to frame this conversation solely through the lens of representation. But it is truly about the long-term health of our industry and the future of television as a medium. Audiences have more choices than ever, and the next generation of viewers is more diverse than any generation in history. If television is going to remain the defining storytelling medium of our time, we cannot afford to narrow the range of voices shaping the stories we tell. Doing so doesn’t just limit opportunity; it limits our ability to innovate, surprise audiences and create stories that resonate across generations and communities.
The Television Academy cannot decide which projects are developed or which stories reach the screen. But we can strengthen the pipeline for emerging talent, convene meaningful conversations across our industry and continue listening to our members about where we can make the greatest difference.
Television has endured — and evolved — because each generation of storytellers has expanded what this medium can be. Protecting that cycle of creative renewal is an investment in the continued vitality, relevance and excellence of television itself.
This chair letter originally appeared in emmy magazine, issue #10, 2026.
