Can ‘Skyscraper Live’ Bring Some Variety to the Emmy Variety Categories?

You can’t help smiling — with a slightly arched brow — at the streamers’ recent obsession with live events. Television started out as a live medium, after all — virtually all programs were live in the early, golden age of the small screen before the use of film, and then videotape, allowed for more flexibility.

Live never went away, of course, as major sports events and awards shows remained some of the most watched telecasts on broadcast TV — even now. Streaming, on the other hand, was created specifically with an on-demand mindset: Watch what you want, when you want; no time slot necessary. And yet, there’s something about viewing a spectacle at the same time as millions of others — and eventually even the streamers caught on to the concept.

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And I don’t begrudge them that. Actually, it’s one of the things I’m happy to see return to the zeitgeist. As we move away from a monoculture, it’s exciting when we all still gather to watch something thrilling at the same time. For example, Netflix’s “Skyscraper Live,” featuring free solo climber Alex Honnold scaling the 1,667-foot Taipei 101 (the 11th tallest building in the world) in just an hour and 35 minutes was riveting to watch (well, when I wasn’t looking away in sheer anxiety) while joining the discourse on social media.

In speaking to Honnold later, I got the sense that it was a piece of cake for him — this is what he does for a living, after all. But for those of us following along at home, the terror and curiosity of what might happen made for gripping TV. (Even if, honestly, things got really quiet at times as Honnold made a very clinical surge to the top.)

Should it be nominated in the outstanding variety special (live) category, “Skyscraper Live” would be a bit of an anomaly: All of the nominees and winners in recent years have been either comedy specials, music performances or awards shows. 

Last year, “SNL50: The Anniversary Special” won the category, going up against the Oscars, “Beyoncé Bowl,” the “Super Bowl LIX Halftime Show Starring Kendrick Lamar” and “SNL50: The Homecoming Concert.” There’s no live “SNL” special this year, but the Oscars — which won in 2024 — have been nominated every year since the category launched. The Super Bowl halftime show has been an annual nominee, too, since 2020 — winning in 2022 for the edition featuring Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Eminem and Mary J. Blige.

You can’t discount the Oscars and the Super Bowl halftime show, but the predictability makes the variety special (live) category somewhat of a yawn. And that’s why I’m intrigued by the possibility of more original live events like “Skyscraper Live” entering the category.

The TV Academy split variety specials into live and prerecorded categories in 2018, removing the confusion of having both a “variety special” and “outstanding special class programs” without delineation of the two. At least now it’s clear, depending on whether it’s taped or live, where a program goes.

But that brings us to the variety special (prerecorded) conundrum. I don’t know if it’s accidental or if there just aren’t enough variety specials out there anymore, but the category has started to be dominated by stand-up special nominations. Last year, “Conan O’Brien: The Kennedy Center Mark Twain Prize for American Humor” won — beating out comedy stand-up shows by Adam Sandler, Ali Wong, Bill Burr, Sarah Silverman and Nate Bargatze. In 2024, three of the five nominees were stand-up specials (though “Dick Van Dyke 98 Years of Magic” ultimately won).

These categories are called “variety” for a reason. I’m hoping our love for big TV events, live or taped, brings more of it to the Emmys.