Yesterday, the International Academy of Television Arts & Sciences announced the nominations for the 2026 International Emmy® Awards in 16 categories. Out of 64 nominees in 16 categories, Turkey (not to mention that most companies put Turkey in the Middle East in their corporate structures) was the only CEE representative which once again raises questions about the lack of lobbying for high-quality productions from the region among the members of the Academy.

At the same time, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East and Africa got significantly more entries, including from countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, India, Japan, Mexico, the Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, South Africa, and Korea.

And even though Turkey has two nominations, they are both from the same company – Ay Yapim – and both in the same category – Telenovela – which again clearly speaks of the lobbying trends and the "world view" on Turkish drama which is still defined under the Latin American term "telenovela".

And what is even harder to grasp about what the international judges considered worth nominating is that both productions, Far Away and Leyla, are not original ideas but are adapted from scripted formats: Globo's (telenovela) Avenida Brasil and Syrian-Lebanese drama Al Hayba.

The fact that broadcasters from CEE regularly host voting rounds for the International Emmys but that does not result in more nominations also speaks clearly that the region is not getting enough attention from the judges.

In other words, the CEE TV industry has a big mountain to climb to finally get the recognition it deserves, even if it is in the form of nominations, when it comes to the International Emmys. For one reason or another, the international TV community still fails to see the great shows that come out from the CEE region.