Andrew Cuomo To Receive International Emmy For 'Masterful' COVID-19 Briefings

The Emmys have always had a soft spot for politicians. In the past two decades, the annual television awards have dealt out nods or outright wins for a slew of famous names: There's Selina Meyer, for one, not to mention Josiah Bartlet and Claire and Frank Underwood, among others.

The thing is, most of those politicians are, you know, fake.

The International Academy of Television Arts and Sciences announced Friday that it is breaking with tradition and awarding its International Emmy Founders Award to a real politician who is currently in office. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is being honored his daily coronavirus briefings earlier this year.

"The Governor's 111 daily briefings worked so well because he effectively created television shows, with characters, plot lines, and stories of success and failure," the academy's president and CEO, Bruce Paisner, explained in a statement announcing the decision. "People around the world tuned in to find out what was going on, and New York tough became a symbol of the determination to fight back."