The Emmys are no place for RuPaul’s Best Friend Race. After years of dominating the Television Academy’s awards ceremony, RuPaul’s Drag Race lost 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 Traitors season 2 swept the floor, taking home three out of five awards in its first year of being nominated. Notably, the series took home arguably the two top titles in the category of Outstanding Host for a Reality Program and Outstanding Reality-Competition Program.
The Peacock series triumphed over the RuPaul Charles-led drag show that has been on air since 2009. Year after year, RuPaul’s Drag Race has excelled in the reality categories of the Emmys, and is regarded as a modern juggernaut at the ceremony. The show was considered a powerhouse by the Television Academy until The Traitors came along. Alan Cumming’s murder mystery series has taken television by storm, and its success is at Drag Race‘s expense. With only two seasons under its belt, how did The Traitors manage to murder RuPaul’s Drag Race at 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 the Emmys website, 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 Race was 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, when The Traitors, as per the Emmys, website officially got on the Television Academy’s radar. The two shows were put head to head in three different reality television categories, and The Traitors took home two of those awards, including Outstanding Host and Outstanding Competition Program.
RuPaul’s Drag Race 2024 Emmys Nominations | The Traitors 2024 Emmy Nominations |
Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program | Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality-Competition Program (WINNER) |
Outstanding Reality-Competition Program | Outstanding Reality-Competition Program (WINNER) |
Outstanding Directing For A Reality Program | Outstanding Directing For A Reality Program |
Outstanding Production Design For A Variety Or Reality Series | Outstanding Cinematography For A Reality Program |
Outstanding Choreography For Variety Or Reality Programming | |
Outstanding Picture Editing For A Structured Reality Or Competition Program | |
Outstanding Casting For A Reality Program | |
Outstanding Sound Mixing For A Reality 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 that The Traitors snatched the Emmys for the night’s two most pivotal reality categories. The Traitors beating out RuPaul’s Drag Race for 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 Race has been on the air for over a decade while The Traitors is merely reaching its sophomore season. Now, both reality shows are highly anticipated though 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 behind RuPaul’s Drag Race found 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, where Drag Race diverts from typical reality programs is that each win is subjective, while other programs utilize an objective scale.
On Survivor, castaways win individual immunity by completing physical or mental challenges. On RuPaul’s Drag Race, queens win challenges based on how the judges think they perform. Drag Race has lost all sense of objectivity, allowing the show to teeter on the line and “ rig ” moments in 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 Detective has 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 Race has 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 infamous Drag Race Lip Sync for The Crown. However, to restore Drag Race to 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
As RuPaul’s Drag Race faced criticism for its “riggory,” a new show is now reality royalty. The Traitors debuted its first U.S. series in 2023 on Peacock with a cast of reality stars and a few everyday people. Its format was similar to Survivor and Big Brother, tasking contestants to vote each other out but 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 Traitors isn’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 to The Traitors , but so did the Television Academy. Reality television was in dire need of a new force, and The Traitors has 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 Race will 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. Survivor is 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 of Drag 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, but Drag 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 Race reached 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 Race needs 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.
RuPaul’s Drag Race is available to stream on Paramount+.
Sources: Emmys, Emmys, The Drag Detective/YouTube, The Drag Detective/YouTube, ABC/YouTube
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