"Shameless" switching Emmy categories from drama to comedy

"Shameless" is switching sides.

The Showtime series about a poor Chicago family will compete as a comedy at this year's Emmy Awards, after being submitted as a drama for its past three seasons.

"We'd always thought of it as a comedy, and as the series has unspooled, it became clearer," executive producer John Wells told The Hollywood Reporter. "A show like 'True Detective' is definitely a drama. Ours is a comedy with dramatic elements. We want the show to be judged as such."

While miniseries have made the jump to and from traditional TV categories in the past (like "Downton Abbey" and "The Big C"), "Shameless" -- which is often described as a dramedy or dark comedy -- marks the first show to make a drama-comedy move since the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences enacted a rule allowing such shifts in 2009, THR reports.

Last year, the TV Academy nominated NBC's "30 Rock," CBS' "The Big Bang Theory," ABC's "Modern Family" (the winner), FX's "Louie" and HBO's "Girls" and "Veep" in the outstanding comedy series category. "30 Rock" concluded its run last year and is no longer eligible, leaving space open for another potential contender.

In the outstanding drama series category for 2013, nominations went to AMC's "Breaking Bad" (the winner) and "Mad Men," Netflix's "House of Cards," Showtime's "Homeland" and HBO's "Game of Thrones," all of which will be back in contention again this year.

"Shameless," starring William H. Macy and Emmy Rossum, is currently airing its fourth season on Showtime.

Tell us: Do you think the show is more of a comedy, or a drama?