It’s that time of year when YouTubers roll up their sleeves and make a play for the most prestigious TV award you can get, an Emmy. In this Uppload, we unpack the challenges they face and 3 shows that might just win. Stick around to hear about the internet’s push to preserve our “digital culture”, summer beats and the chance to win a DJI Mic Mini, plus a free annual subscription to Uppbeat Pro!
Can a YouTuber win an Emmy? These creators think so.
Year after year YouTube shows make a play for the Emmys. And whilst digital creators have won in Creative Arts categories before, they’ve yet to win the most prestigious of Primetime Emmys.
Creators have famously lost out on “TV’s Oscars” for nearly a decade, with voters preferring traditional productions, even for short-form categories. As Awards Editor and podcast host Katey Rich puts it, creators have a unique challenge: “First convince [judges] to consider your show at all, and then get them to love it.”
Traditionally, YouTube has been put in a box by the industry, half perceived as a place for grainy video cams, rather than high-production, award-winning shows. But are things changing?
Creators are making TV shows. TV celebs are making YouTube channels. The line between YouTube ‘content’ and production-level broadcasting is blurring and it’s only going to get blurrier as YouTube surpasses film and traditional channels to become the top-watched service on TV. In short, the Emmys might find it hard to ignore the power of creators for much longer.
3 YouTube shows making a bid for an Emmy... and why they deserve to be considered →
- Kareem Rahma, SubwayTakes
Exactly what it says on the tin. SubwayTakes comedian Rahma rides the New York subway with a guest to ask their most controversial takes with hilarious viral potential.
- Cleo Abram, Huge If True
Can we imagine a better future? Abram believes so. Her YouTube series Huge If True is an optimist’s guide to the possibilities of tech and science to change the world.
- Brittany Broski, Royal Court
Pass Broski’s vibe check and join her “trusted council.” This royal talk show takes celebrities back to the medieval courts to withstand some serious questioning. “Huzzah!”
Save the date: On July 8 we’ll discover whether YouTube’s 2026 stars have received their Emmy nominations, with the official awards taking place on 14 September. Uppbeat’s take? If a YouTuber doesn’t win a Primetime Emmy this year, it’s only a matter of time.
Meet the people preserving the internet
With content take downs, platform shifts (see, Vine’s 2017 closure), and algorithmic regency (algorithms burying older uploads) what we share online can be lost to time if measures aren’t in place to protect them.
Introducing the people preserving the internet → In an effort to save our digital history, the British Film Institute (BFI) has “enshrined” over 400 viral videos shot between 1990-to the present day; from classics like Charlie Bit My Finger to the iconic “Badgers”.
The how → BFI researchers first identified ‘culturally relevant’ videos, before locating the original footage and making not one but three copies. Two are stored in a “robot-operated library” (your best guess is ours) and the third, 50 miles away… you know, just in case a natural disaster claims the first two copies of Charlie Bit My Finger.
What deserves to be preserved? → BFI says it collected videos which felt representative of “online video as a whole” during each period of the internet. “[Lose them], you would lose access to what life was like at this time and how people were expressing themselves,” says BFI curator Leo Sands.
The important bit → Whether it’s a funny meme, decaying lettuce or something more ‘serious’, what we choose to post online doesn’t just stay online. It shapes culture and life offline too.
No matter how big or small the creator, all content has a real-world impact. So keep making what’s important to you… and who knows, maybe in 30 years time there’ll be a Gen-Alpha researcher immortalising your uploads.
What are we watching?
We talked to Uppbeat’s Marketing Coordinator, Maria, about a creator she’s been loving recently and why.
What’s your favorite channel right now? “Mina Le (@gremlita), a commentary YouTuber, Substacker and all-round icon."
3 words to describe them? “Niche. Researched. Fascinating.”
Why do you love them? “Mina Le is the queen of research. Her videos tackle pop culture moments and are all super in-depth and thought out – she always has something new and interesting to add to a conversation, even for ‘done-to-death’ trending subjects like Wuthering Heights or AI. Basically, I want her brain in the least creepy way possible.”
We think they would love… "Core to the commentary creator’s tool box is overlays and graphics (they keep things interesting as you talk). But for Mina Le? I think she’d love our paper titles. Cool, edgy and a little bit different.”
Elsewhere on the web
- 503,000,000 and counting. Mr Beast makes history by becoming the first YouTuber to hit half a billion subscribers.
- “Stare at a wall.” One girl’s viral response to the UK's new under-16 social media ban.
- Does TikTok have a ‘slop problem’? Up to 60% of videos served to new users can be categorised as ‘AI slop.’
- Cute, yet mighty. Two years after his viral short film broke the internet, Wesley Wang returns with Two Bunnies Rob a Bank.
- For the super fans. Catch your favorite artist’s concerts live on YouTube with Music Nights.
Latest Uppdates
Summer is officially here and that means two things: warm, sunny days and even more possibilities for great content. Soundtrack every moment with our collection of sunny beats, or head to the Uppbeat blog to learn how you can build community around your next upload. To help you capture the very best of summer, we’re also giving away DJI Mic Mini, plus a free annual subscription to Uppbeat Pro! Check out Uppbeat's Instagram to learn more.
