As this issue reaches your mailboxes, the window for voting in the 2026 Emmy Awards nominations round has just opened. Consider this your annual reminder not only to submit your ballots before the June 22 deadline, but also to make time to catch up on all the shows and performances still sitting on your watch list.
In a landscape where primetime increasingly means “on demand anytime,” that task can feel more ambitious than ever. But as members of the Academy, whose duty it is to recognize excellence in television, there is both a responsibility and an opportunity that comes with voting. The sheer volume of content today can be overwhelming, but it’s also a reflection of the creative range and vitality of our medium at its very best. As voting members, we should challenge ourselves not only to keep up with the breadth of the field, but also to seek out emerging talent and singular creative voices that may not have the loudest platform or the greatest visibility.
Part of our responsibility as an Academy is to ensure we are recognizing not only the works defining television today, but the artists and storytellers who will help shape its future. Every year, I am asked about whether the Academy favors repeat winners over new ones, but that decision ultimately belongs to you, our members. Indeed, voting season is our opportunity to decide whether to reward a returning favorite and recognize consistent excellence, or to champion something new.
After all, isn’t that why most of us got into this business in the first place? Because we love television, and because there’s still nothing quite like discovering a story, a performance or a creative voice that truly moves us. Even amid all the pressures and uncertainty surrounding our industry, there’s still something extraordinary about spending our lives immersed in storytelling. I hope the pressures of our profession never stifle the excitement and curiosity that brought us to it in the first place.
That same passion for our industry is what brought many of us to the Television Academy. We want this industry to keep evolving, to keep raising the bar creatively and to continue proving what television can do at its best. I joined this organization because I want this industry to reach its highest potential, not only for its own sake but also because television shapes us. Whether it challenges perspectives or reinforces them, creates empathy or division, it leaves a real and lasting impact on the world.
A powerful reminder of that came on May 20 at our 19th Television Academy Honors, in which we saluted six programs whose excellence has advanced the medium and also inspired meaningful cultural conversations. The documentaries Deaf President Now! and Seen & Heard: The History of Black Television chronicle campaigns for representation in academia and entertainment, while narrative series Adolescence, Dying for Sex, Heated Rivalry and South Park remind us that television is often at its most memorable when it pairs something consequential with something deeply entertaining.
As we head into another awards season, I hope that we continue to recognize work that not only reflects the creative strength of our industry but also reminds us why this medium continues to matter so deeply for audiences everywhere.
This chair letter originally appeared in emmy magazine, issue #8, 2026.
