Just when the Jimmys thought they were finally free of having to compete against John Oliver at the Emmys, another John has popped up in his place—John Mulaney.
Mulaney’s six-episode Netflix series Everybody’s in L.A. has been moved into the Outstanding Talk Series category. This means that, if nominated, Mulaney’s weird little show will face off against The Daily Show, Late Night, The Late Show, and The Tonight Show.
The last-minute change came about as a result of the Television Academy. Netflix had reportedly planned to submit the series for consideration in the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series category, which would see it go head-to-head with Saturday Night Live and Last Week Tonight. But, as Variety reports, “Netflix and the creative team felt the show was better suited for the talk series category and, as a result, will now compete against late-night hosts such as Jimmy Kimmel, Stephen Colbert, Seth Meyers, and Jimmy Fallon.”
Another possible competitor? Jon Stewart, part-time host and an executive producer of The Daily Show, who also happened to be a guest on Everybody’s in L.A.
For nearly a decade, Oliver has been the undisputed king of the Emmy Awards, with Last Week Tonight taking home the prize for Outstanding Talk Series for eight years in a row now. It was only last year that the Outstanding Scripted Variety Series category was created, putting Oliver and Saturday Night Live into the same category, but letting the network hosts duke it out on their own. Mulaney’s sudden arrival could change that.
Between Everybody’s in L.A. and news earlier today that YouTube series Hot Ones will also be allowed to compete for Outstanding Talk Series, the Emmys just got a lot more interesting.