TV directors will be able to submit more than one episode for Emmy consideration under a rule change by the Television Academy, which has also tweaked the eligibility for guest acting categories.
The academy has also put in place a pair of changes for the Creative Arts awards in 2026 related to casting for unscripted shows and main title music.
Under the new directing rule, individuals or directing teams will be able to submit multiple episodes — provided they’re from different shows — in the directing categories for the 2025 Primetime Emmys. Until now, directors could only submit one entry per category, even if they believed they had done award-worthy work on, say, two drama series in a year.
The change to guest acting eligibility will likely only affect a handful of performers. The new rule says that any actor who has won or been nominated for a lead or supporting acting Emmy in the past can’t be considered for a guest acting award for playing the same character in the same series. Those actors would still be able to submit in the lead or supporting categories.
Both of those rules will go into effect for the 77th Emmy Awards this year. In 2026, the TV Academy will tighten up rules regarding casting for reality programs and main title music.
On the casting front, the academy says it will “streamline” the number of casting titles eligible for the Emmy for outstanding casting for a reality program. Starting with the 78th Emmys, people with the titles of casting by, executive in charge of casting, supervising casting director, supervising casting producer, senior casting director, casting director, senior casting producer, casting producer and celebrity casting by will be eligible for the award.
The academy also says that beginning in 2026, a main title theme must be used in at least half of eligible episodes to be considered for an Emmy. The academy has also further defined a main title theme as “a musical fingerprint and calling card that is identifiable and unique to a show, thereby drawing an audience in by setting the show’s tone and what is to come.”
English (US) ·