“SubwayTakes” has been nominated for Outstanding Short Form Comedy, Drama or Variety Series at the 2026 Primetime Emmy Awards. Host Kareem Rahma shoots the show on moving New York City subway trains, holding a MetroCard up as a microphone while guests deliver their hottest opinions. It launched in 2023 and has since pulled nearly 750 million YouTube views.
The nomination follows a hard push from YouTube, which spent this year’s Emmy campaign urging Television Academy members to weigh digital-first programming against the usual broadcast slate.
YouTube’s awards campaign sees mixed results
“SubwayTakes” made the ballot. Almost nothing else YouTube backed did.
Hot Ones, Challenge Accepted, Celebrity Substitute, Royal Court and HUGE If True all ran through the platform’s “For Your Consideration” campaign. None were nominated. Dropout, the independent streaming service, submitted several shows, including “Game Changer,” and came away with nothing.
YouTube has been making this case for years. CEO Neal Mohan has argued that digital creators now produce shows matching television on scale and quality.
Creator content continues to gain industry recognition
Emmy nominations for creator-led shows are rare, and Rahma framed his as a nod to the work behind the camera. Plenty of online productions now run on full teams of producers, editors, writers and technical staff, he said, the same as a television show. He credited YouTube’s promotional events and industry outreach for getting the campaign in front of voters.
One nomination out of a full slate is a foot in the door, not a breakthrough.
Rahma said the nomination represents recognition of the production work behind creator-led programming, noting that many online productions now involve teams of producers, editors, writers, and technical staff similar to those working in television. He also credited YouTube for supporting the campaign through promotional events and industry outreach.
Although “SubwayTakes” was the only YouTube-backed series to earn an Emmy nomination this year, its recognition suggests creator-produced programming is beginning to receive greater consideration from traditional television institutions.
Featured image courtesy: SubwayTakes