AFAIK, Borat 2 had zero theatrical presence, so in theory could be eligible for Emmys by the similar means as Hamilton since its only presence was on a digital platform.
I just get annoyed with all the adulation that Hamilton gets. IMO it's almost as though it's seen as its own separate entity, where it can do whatever it wants. (I also personally find it incredibly overrated as a show, but that's just my opinion)
That was most likely due to the craziness of the CRUD where the Academy decided to let things slide a bit regarding theatrical releases. They even expanded the calendar year for eligibility because of it. It seems the Academy still had eligibility requirements, which
Borat 2 met.
Although the “Borat” sequel was shot during the pandemic and never had a conventional theatrical release planned, it will meet the Academy’s standards for Oscar contenders this year through one of its more recent loopholes. Amazon is qualifying “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” via drive-ins and putting it on the Academy Screening Room within 60 days; the awards team has been waiting to track reaction before getting to full campaign mode.
As for
Hamilton, I mean I get annoyance with something that's well-received but you personally don't like it. Believe me, there are tons of things people love that I dislike and I think everybody can relate to that. However, I don't think that has anything to do with whether it's treated like it's own "special entity". I don't believe it has been treated that specially considering everything. I personally hate
The Queen's Gambit but I'm not going to argue about its eligibility.
It was not wrong to be nominated for an Emmy in terms of eligibility criteria. IMO, the Globes were wrong to put it in the movie category just to fill up their Comedy/Musical categories, but they are a separate entity from the Television and Film Academies and can do what they want with their own award show. Remember that at the SAG awards, Hamilton was also nominated in the television categories too. The annoying thing was Disney's strategy in just submitting it everywhere but a lot of studios are obnoxious when it comes to award campaigning.
It's not like
Hamilton got to double dip (and if it did it wasn't that special considering the fact that some documentaries did double dip before the Television Academy closed the loophole). The Academy put its foot down because they never rewarded taped live performances before and weren't going to start. So no Oscar nominations for it. The Emmys, otoh, have a rich history of nominating filmed live plays/musicals/concerts, so
Hamilton is following that history.
Also, every official guild award categorized it in television categories, not film categories. The NAACP awards categorized it with television, not film. That makes sense because taped live performances have often been considered television (if it was streamed or aired on TV obviously). Not quite special treatment. In other words, other than the Globe putting it in the movie category (and the Satellite awards which nobody pays much attention to), it's not as if
Hamilton was nominated at both the Oscars and the Emmys (the way some documentaries were in the past before the Television Academy put their foot down). So, I don't think it really got special treatment.
Speaking of the Golden Globes, they've have had many other issues (like how studios wine and dine members so movies blurring the lines between drama and comedy can be submitted in the 'easier' category or the more 'serious' category to boast their contenders' future award chances at Oscar. That's why they've been sort of a joke of the industry for decades.
IMO, category fraud with leading performances being put in supporting categories is a much more egregious problem and has been happening since the Oscars invented the supporting categories.