The Sex Episode of ‘Bill Nye Saves the World’ That Everyone Hates Was Nominated For An Emmy

During these divisive times, it’s rare for the internet to agree on anything. That oddity happened last April to Netflix’s detriment. For a couple of subversively blissful moments, we were all in agreement. “The Sexual Spectrum” of Bill Nye Saves the World was a bad thing.

Of course, because nothing can be easy in 2017, different groups were outraged by a children’s talk show for different reasons. Critics on the right rebuked the episode for presenting sexuality as something that existed on a spectrum, an explanation that embraced the LGBT community while breaking down what it means to be transgender. That part of the episode is certainly worthwhile, smart, and applause-worthy. The rest of the population was horrified over Crazy Ex-Girlfriend creator and star Rachel Bloom’s special song for the episode, “My Sex Junk.” Cringeworthy and overly descriptive — especially regarding fleshlights — the song is a poor example of this incredibly talented star, writer, and performer’s skills, and it was rightfully mocked by almost every corner of the internet.

The embarrassing episode in question has been nominated for an Emmy.

“The Sexual Spectrum” was nominated for an Emmy in the Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program. In September, it will be competing against a stacked streaming category that includes Hulu’s The Beatles: Eight Days a Week, Netflix’s Amanda Knox and 13th, as well as CNN’s Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown. As I mentioned before, “The Sexual Spectrum”s explanation on sexuality is a very good thing. It does what Bill Nye Saves the World excels at — taking a complicated topic and making it simple. That’s an incredibly difficult thing to do, and it’s something that writers Prashanth Venkataramanujam, CeCe Pleasants, Sanden Totten, Mike Drucker, and Flora Lichtman absolutely deserve to be recognized for.

However, as is always the case when something shockingly bad is nestled in something good, people only remember the bad. “My Sex Junk” was a very, very bad embarrassing thing we all endured together. Saves the World was also nominated for Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Nonfiction, Reality, or Reality-Competition Series, and I wish them all the best. I want Saves the World to be an Emmy-winning show. That being said, if the episode that housed “My Sex Junk” wins over 13th, I may lose it.

Let this be a lesson to us all. The Emmys do not care about what you love. The Emmys do not care about what you hate. The Emmys only care about their own vague and confusing opinions about Quality Television, and none of us are safe from their wrath or scorn. Now let us all watch Rachel Bloom’s cringeworthy sex song in this Emmy-nominated episode.

Stream Bill Nye Saves the World on Netflix

Stream "The Sexual Spectrum" episode of Bill Nye Saves the World on Netflix