Ever since its launch in the middle of a pandemic, Quibi has been having a rough go of it. However, the bite-size streaming service just scored a much needed break by surprising industry watchers with 10 Emmy nominations. To put those numbers in context, that’s around the same amount of nominations for traditional broadcast channels like Comedy Central and BBC America.
Quibi made a name for itself by cutting huge checks to land big name actors for its unusual programming approach, and that decision has seemingly paid off when it comes to award season. According to Variety, the streaming service dominated the less crowded (and, yes, less prestigious) short-form categories with nominations for its reboot of Reno 911, Anna Kendrick‘s Dummy, Laurence Fishburne’s #FreeRayshawn, Kaitlin Olson‘s Flipped, and Liam Hemsworth and Christoph Waltz’s Most Dangerous Game.
The Emmy nominations arrive after a series of struggles for Quibi. The streaming app recently made headlines after it was reported that over 90% of its early users bailed on the platform once their free trial ended. The fledgling service also received criticism from its employees after it executed a number of cost-saving measures while continuing to give out huge paydays to stars like Reese Witherspoon for voice work. That practice is presumably still ongoing given the announcement of a brand new animated series starring Ryan Reynolds and Samuel L. Jackson, and you know those two don’t come cheap.
But with Quibi landing Emmy noms for its short-form projects, that could draw even more stars to the platform and boost its content offerings. With a combination of award-winning series and A-list actors continuing to jump aboard, the struggling service still have a chance at greener pastures ahead after a rocky first couple of months.
(Via Variety)