‘Shameless’ season 5, ‘Jane the Virgin,’ ‘Glee’ let into Emmy comedy race

Well, it turned out all of the hype surrounding the Emmys and their new rules was much ado about nothing. After all, how else do you explain now the sudden turnaround when it comes to the ruling that we have today? In a statement on the organization’s website, it was made clear that “Shameless,” “Jane the Virgin,” and “Glee” have all been allowed into the Outstanding Comedy Race, despite them running an hour, which was too long for them to be automatically allowed in under some recent rulings:

“The nine-member panel, which includes five industry leaders appointed by the Academy Chairman and four appointees by the Board of Governors, has determined that the following three series are eligible to enter the competition in the comedy series category: Shameless, Jane the Virgin, and Glee. A two-thirds vote of the industry panel was required to reach each decision. … Each of these three series will compete in the comedy category for all other awards, including performer, writer, director, etc.”

Granted, we don’t really think that “Glee” is going to be getting any nominations in the first place. Not to snub or insult the Ryan Murphy creation, but this series has really been a shell of its former self for a long time now.

The biggest question that remains for us is relatively simple: What about a show like “Orange Is the New Black,” which is certainly popular but has a ton of dramatic elements? This could be the show that has the hardest time getting that approval from the panel.

Ultimately, “Jane the Virgin” here was a no-brainer. We’re a little surprised about “Shameless,” but we’re not going to complain too much; there aren’t that many Emmy-worthy comedies on right now, and we’d prefer a really good shot get nominated over anything else.

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