Megan Amram, who created the tongue-in-cheek short-form series “An Emmy for Megan” for the express purpose of winning an Emmy, has failed to win an Emmy for the show for the second year in a row.
But the way in which she lost in the Outstanding Short Form Comedy or Drama Series category this year may have a particular sting to it — because Television Academy voters gave the prize to Nick Hornby’s series “State of the Union,” a show that wouldn’t even have been nominated if it weren’t for “An Emmy for Megan.”
One of the episodes in the first season of “An Emmy for Megan” in 2018 specifically pointed out that the Academy didn’t have any rules about minimum length for a short-form episode. That episode lasted less than 30 seconds — and after last year’s Emmys, the Academy changed its rules to require that short-form series consist of at least six episodes with a minimum running time of two minutes.
The rule change was clearly prompted by “An Emmy for Megan,” but it ended up affecting, and disqualifying, a different show entirely. “Better Call Saul Employee Training: Madrigal Electromotive Security,” a “Better Call Saul” spinoff web series, had its nomination rescinded when it was found not to meet the minimum length requirement.
Its spot was taken by the sixth-place finisher, “State of the Union,” a comedy directed by Stephen Frears and starring Chris O’Dowd and Rosamund Pike. And the joke is on Amram, because “State of the Union” wouldn’t have been able to defeat “An Emmy for Megan” if it hadn’t been for “An Emmy for Megan.”
“If that series wins, I will obviously be devastated,” Amram told TheWrap in August. “But it also will show just how random and insane these Emmys are. So maybe I’ll put all my support behind them.”
In the press room after accepting the award for “State of the Union,” actor Chris O’Dowd (who also won for the show, as did his co-star Rosamund Pike), was reminded that his series had not even been nominated initialluy. initially. “Seems dodgy. The whole thing seems suspect,” he joked, before adding, “I kind of missed what happened at the start of all that. But I’m delighted that it did.”
Amram, whose day job is as a writer and producer on “The Good Place,” created “An Emmy for Megan” in 2018 as something of a spoof on awards mania in Hollywood. The show purports to exist solely to campaign for an Emmy, though it is also a sharp and satiric look at Hollywood that includes appearances from Ted Danson, Alex Borstein, D’Arcy Carden, Jimmy Kimmel, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Shannon Woodward and Patton Oswalt, who was himself nominated for short-form acting this year for the brief appearances he makes as himself at the end of each episode.
In her interview with TheWrap in August, Amram said that she had plenty of material for a Season 3, but that she would have to end the series if she ever won an Emmy. “I think my new push has to be, ‘Give me an Emmy so I can stop — please,” she said.
Given the way she lost her Emmy this year, it’s safe to say that Season 3 is not far off.
Margeaux Sippell contributed to this report.