don mischer

After the brouhaha developed over CBS's decision to pre-tape some Emmy presentations in order to keep the broadcast moving, it only seemed like a matter of time before the network decided that the hassle wasn't worth it. So when, thanks to The Wrap's Josef Adalian, the news broke that the Eye Network and Emmy producers were abandoning the time-shifting plan, it wasn't a big surprise.

No matter how many times producer Don Mischer explained the time shift to critics at the TCAs last week, it didn't seem that many people were convinced the ploy wasn't going to shortchange the people whose wins were among the edited group. It seemed especially galling to a lot of the writers and producers of the honored shows that whatever time was being given up was going to be used to "celebrate the best of TV" that year, whether it was nominated or not.

The final panel of CBS's day was for the 61st Annual Emmy Awards, which the network is broadcasting. Given the controversy over the news that the academy is going to pre-tape eight awards before the main ceremony goes live and play edited versions of the presentations during the show, it promised to be a bit of an inquisition. In fact, it was such a hot topic that show producer Don Mischer was more sought after for answers than host Neil Patrick Harris, who appeared via satellite from Montreal.

Mischer showed us what he had in mind, culled from a presentation from last year's low-rated ceremony. Essentially, he trimmed the reading of the nominees, then cut a lot of the walk-up to the podium, the hugs and kisses, and some of the winner's speech. But, it seemed to keep the essence of the speech intact. Yes, I'm sure those people who are being edited might not feel that way. But Mischer has a pretty legitimate reason why he and the Academy are doing this: They need to make the broadcast more accessible.