There Are Scores of Great New Animated Shows. The Emmys Won’t Nominate Them.

One of the great creative innovations America has given the world in the past 30 years is TV animation.

That sounds like hyperbole, but it’s true. The Simpsons changed how we look at the American family (and current events). Rick and Morty changed how we looked at comedy and the tragedy behind it. (“Wubba lubba dub dub.” Also, current events.) South Park changed how we looked at each other (and current events).

The problem is that those shows all started doing that a very long time ago. Rick and Morty is nine seasons in. South Park is 28. The Simpsons is 37 damn seasons deep. There are children who weren’t born when the series debuted who now have children who themselves are old enough to think Bart has got this whole life thing figured out. Related Stories Hollywood Flashback Before 'The Pitt,' There Was 'St. Elsewhere' 'Awards Chatter' Podcast Emmy Nominee Patrick Ball on His Rollercoaster Journey to 'The Pitt' and How His Own Addiction Battle Has Informed His Performance

All three of those shows are nominated for outstanding animated program this year. So is Bob’s Burgers , which just completed its 20th season. Now, a charitable view would hold that such shortlisting reflects the durability of these shows — how they manage to maintain their creative spark through so many changing winds.

There is something to that — it’s not easy to do anything well for three decades, let alone maintain character freshness.

But I fear the fact that animated characters don’t age — and that they’re basically money-minting machines for a few networks (especially Fox) — has led us to a pretty calcified place. No show should so regularly take a place on the Emmys stage. The Simpsons and Bob’s Burgers have been nominated every year since the Obama days. Nothing is that good for that long.

What isn’t on the animated shortlist this year? Dark sci-fi like Owen Dennis’ Among Us on Paramount+. The acquired taste but still bold stylings of Raphael Bob-Waksberg’s time-jumping family series Long Story Short on Netflix. Joe Cappa’s Adult Swim single-dad delight Haha, You Clowns . These are all newish shows from the past year or two with great energy and original takes. But to look at the Emmys noms is to not even know they exist (and indeed, many viewers won’t without the exposure).

A little breath of fresh air in the category comes via Smiling Friends , Adult Swim’s truly wacky take on a nonprofit and what it means to do good/be happy. And while I would hardly call anything in the George Lucas-verse fresh in 2026, Star Wars: Visions at least uses varied artists and styles in a way that feels original. But these shows seem token-y amid the Simpsons and South Park oak trees and probably won’t win anyway.

What can the Emmys do to fix this? Fortunately, there are a few things.

For starters, stop with just nominating a single episode. Unlike TV Academy convention elsewhere, the Emmys don’t award a show — they award an episode. That means that the kind of newer, zanier material that takes months to really settle into is completely disadvantaged — you’re not going to appreciate something weird and new if you just try to watch one episode.