The Emmys are no place for RuPaul’s Best Friend Race. After years of dominating the Television Academy’s awards ceremony,RuPaul’s Drag Racelost to its reality rival,The Traitors. After captivating the entertainment world with a cast of dynamic reality stars, murderous gameplay, and plenty of viral memes,The Traitorsseason 2swept the floor, taking home three out of five awards in its first year of being nominated. Notably, the series took home arguably thetwo top titles in the category of Outstanding Host for a Reality Program and Outstanding Reality-Competition Program.
The Peacock series triumphed over theRuPaul Charles-led drag showthat has been on air since 2009. Year after year,RuPaul’s Drag Racehas excelledin the reality categories of the Emmys, and is regarded as a modern juggernaut at the ceremony.The showwasconsidered a powerhouse by the Television Academy untilThe Traitorscame along. Alan Cumming’s murder mystery series has taken television by storm, and its success is atDrag Race’s expense. With only two seasons under its belt, how didThe Traitorsmanage to murderRuPaul’s Drag Raceat the 2024 Emmys?
RuPaul’s Drag Race Didn’t Win Any Emmys For The First Time In Eight Years
RuPaul Won Outstanding Reality Host For Eight Years Until 2024
As per theEmmyswebsite, the drag queen series received its first Primetime Emmy nomination in 2015, with the show’s former makeup department head Mathu Andersen receiving a nod for Outstanding Makeup for his work on season 7’s “ShakeQueer” episode. The next year, RuPaul was nominated for (and won the coveted title of) Outstanding Host at the 2016 Emmys. From that year on,RuPaul took home the win in the category and had an eight-year consecutive winning streak.RuPaul’s Drag Racewas nominated for the Outstanding Reality-Competition Program for the first time in 2017 after its ninth season.
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Outside the top two reality categories, the show received multiple nods and at least one win for each season after RuPaul’s historic first win for hosting in 2016. However, the show’s winning streak died out at the 76th Emmys, whenThe Traitors, as per theEmmys, websiteofficially got on the Television Academy’s radar. The two shows were put head to head in three different reality television categories, andThe Traitorstook home two of those awards, including Outstanding Host and Outstanding Competition Program.
Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program
Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program(WINNER)
Outstanding Production Design For A Variety Or Reality Series
Outstanding Choreography For Variety Or Reality Programming
Outstanding Picture Editing For A Structured Reality Or Competition Program
The Traitors Murdered Drag Race In Two Pivotal Reality Categories
Oustanding Host & Competition Reality Program Were Dominated By Drag Race For Years
It’s quite notable to point out thatThe Traitorssnatched the Emmys for the night’s two most pivotal reality categories.The Traitorsbeating outRuPaul’s Drag Racefor the Oustanding Reality-Competition Program isn’t as surprising as RuPaul’s loss. Over the past decade, the series has been nominated seven times for competition program, taking home the title four years in a row, in 2018-2021 and again in 2023. RuPaul is a legend in the entertainment industry, and after eight years of winning the coveted award for reality host, Alan took away the title after leading his show for just two seasons.
How did he do it? Alan’s success can be attributed to his unique approach to hosting the murder mystery show. Aside from his iconic fashions episode after episode, he makes the audience believe the contestants are actually murdering one another.Alan has a certain wit and charm that is unique, but so does RuPaul.RuPaul’s Drag Racehas been on the air for over a decade whileThe Traitorsis merely reaching its sophomore season. Now, bothreality shows are highly anticipatedthough Drag Race has lost its cachet.
Drag Race Has Become Infamous For “Rigging” Their Shows
Fans Have Critiqued Drag Race’s Tendency To “Rig” The Competition
After 15 years on the air, the team behindRuPaul’s Drag Racefound a formula that works. The series is a drag competition at its heart, but at the end of the day, it’s a reality television show. The format includes tasking its contestants with competing in a series of challenges, handing out wins to those who excel, and having two drag queens lip sync for their lives to stay in the competition. However, whereDrag Racediverts from typical reality programs is that each win is subjective,while other programs utilize an objective scale.
OnSurvivor, castaways win individual immunity by completing physical or mental challenges. OnRuPaul’s Drag Race, queens win challenges based on how the judges think they perform.Drag Racehas lost all sense of objectivity, allowing the show to teeter on the line and “rig” momentsin favor of the show’s storyline. Despite how a queen performs, the editors can edit an episode to portray a narrative that aligns with what production wants. Fans have grown tired of the show’s tendency to throw challenge performances out the window, and have been quick to call out production.
The Drag Detectivehas a running “Riggory” YouTube series that digs deeper into the “editing, storytelling, and production decisions on ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’” because while it would be great to believe the show was merely based on the queen’s showing in challenges, this isn’t the case.Drag Racehas become entirely too predictable, with so many repeated editing patterns. The show has attempted to revamp its format with the addition of immunity twists, episode-long lip-sync battles, and the infamousDrag RaceLip Sync for The Crown. However, to restoreDrag Raceto its glory, production must lighten its heavy hand.
While Drag Race Lost Its Novelty, The Traitors Rose To Reality Royalty
The Traitors Is A Fresh, Exciting Reality Show
AsRuPaul’s Drag Racefaced criticism for its “riggory,” a new show is now reality royalty.The Traitorsdebuted its first U.S. series in 2023 on Peacock with a cast of reality stars and a few everyday people. Itsformat was similar toSurvivorandBig Brother,tasking contestants to vote each other outbut with a real-life murder mystery. With a few Traitors running among the group, the Faithfuls must sniff out the rats while the Traitors take turns voting out innocent bystanders.The Traitorsisn’t an entirely unique concept, but it’s undeniably successful.
After season 1 was well-received, the casting team pushed the envelope in its second season by tapping a full cast of reality stars. Reality icons like Phaedra Parks, Parvati Shallow, and Dan Gheelsing banded together and created one of the best early seasons of a reality show.Not only did fans take a liking toThe Traitors, but so did the Television Academy.Reality television was in dire need of a new force, andThe Traitorshas cemented itself as that.
Drag Race’s Major Emmy Loss Should Wake The Show Up, But Will It?
What Drag Race Producers Should Learn From The 2024 Emmys Loss
RuPaul’s Drag Racewill always be regarded as one of the best reality television shows of all time. As the niche division of the entertainment industry has grown, some of the great series have faltered in popularity.Survivoris regarded as an OG of reality, and with almost 50 seasons in its repertoire, it hasn’t always been the talk of the town. However,part ofDrag Race’s loss at the 76th Emmys may be its monotonous format.
Fans have been calling for a shift in the show as it’s grown, butDrag Race’s problem is greater than its format. The formula works, which is why it’s been nominated for 71 Emmys over the years. The solution and problem with RuPaul’s show lies in its dependency on the past.
Drag Racereached its peak when the show-runners weren’t focused on creating viral, award-worthy moments, but when the show highlighted the artistry of its contestants.RuPaul’s Drag Raceneeds to go back to the basics, and if it doesn’t, they can expect Emmy losses in the future. Hopefully, producers will turn things around.
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