'Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special

I'm returning to the Creative Arts Emmy nominees today with Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize | The Daily Show, a nominee for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special.

Donald Trump can’t stop talking about how he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, and no, the inaugural FIFA Peace Prize doesn’t count. Jordan Klepper travels to a JD Vance event, the “burning hellhole” city of Portland, and home of the peace prize, Norway, to find out if the president actually deserves to be given this prestigious award.

That was even more hilarious than last year's 'The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special — and more violent.

Like last year, this special earned two Emmy nominations. Follow over the jump for them, the nominations for its competition, and their Gold Derby odds.

Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special

• The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize (Comedy Central)
• Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. (PBS)
• My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (Netflix)
• The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy (Apple TV)
• Tucci in Italy (Nat Geo)

Tucci in Italy earned 3 nominations, The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize and The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy both earned 2, and Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr. and My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman both have only this one. Gold Derby's experts and users think The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize is the leader as the choice of 71.4% of experts and 59.0% of users, but only 16.7% of editors. The rest of the editors, 83.3%, have chosen Tucci in Italy, while 28.6% of experts and 31.6% of users agree. The rest of the users are split among the remaining nominees, 4.9% to My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman, 3.3% to Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates Jr., and only 1.2% to The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy despite its 2 nominations.

Now for the rest of the nominations.

Outstanding Writing for a Nonfiction Program

• The American Revolution: "Episode One: In Order to Be Free (May 1754 – May 1775)" – Geoffrey C. Ward (PBS)
• The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: Give the Man a Prize – Jennifer Flanz, Ian Berger, Zhubin Parang, Devin Delliquanti, Scott Sherman, and Jordan Klepper (Comedy Central)
• The Reluctant Traveler with Eugene Levy: "Living the Royal Life in the UK" – David Reilly and Christine Rose (Apple TV)

I'm revisiting a prediction from Vietnam War and Hurricane Katrina subjects of leading nominees for Outstanding Historical Documentary at the News & Doc Emmy AwardsL "I'm noting that The American Revolution earning just this one nomination here suggests to me that it's eligible for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, so I expect it to be nominated there, too." And it earned two, this and Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series. I'll brag more when I write the entry for that category. In the meantime, The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse is the returning winner, so it's the nominal favorite, although I might change my mind when I examine The American Revolution vs. Mr. Scorsese.

I'm continuing with the categories for Tucci in Italy.

Outstanding Cinematography for a Nonfiction Program

• My Mom Jayne: A Film by Mariska Hargitay – Tony Hardman (HBO)
• Ocean with David Attenborough – Doug Anderson and Toby Strong (Nat Geo)
• The Tale of Silyan – Jean Dakar (Nat Geo)
• Tucci in Italy: "Le Marche" – Matt Ball (Nat Geo)
• The Yogurt Shop Murders: "The End of Wondering" – Justin Zweifach and Christopher LaMarca (HBO)

I'll re-examine this category at least twice, but my preliminary pick is Ocean with David Attenborough.

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction Program

• Billy Joel: And So It Goes – Bob Chefalas, Mark Mandler, David Mitlyng, Michael Steward, Bradshaw Leigh, Brian Ruggles, and Jay Vicari (HBO)
• John Candy: I Like Me – Gary A. Rizzo, Brad Dawe, Michael Kool, Mark Leone, Thomas Nino Orozco, and Donny Tam (Prime Video)
• Mel Brooks: The 99 Year Old Man! – Brad Bergbom, Dave McJunkin, Alenka Pavlin, Kevin Rosen-Quan, Earl Martin, and Brian Tarlecki (HBO)
• Ocean with David Attenborough – Graham Wild and Oliver Baldwin (Nat Geo)
• Tucci in Italy: "Naples and Campania" – Ben Newth and Christopher Syner (Nat Geo)

I'll also re-examine this category twice, but my preliminary pick is Billy Joel: And So It Goes because I think music nominees have an advantage.

That's a wrap for today's awards coverage. Stay tuned for more tomorrow, although I expect the Critics Choice Super Awards nominees will be announced later today, so stay tuned to see if I shift to them.

Previous posts about the 2026 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards

• 'The Tale of Silyan' vs 'The Librarians' for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking at the Emmy Awards
• Drink to Bad Bunny's Super Bowl Halftime Show's Emmy nominations on National Piña Colada Day
• 'Desi Lydic Foxsplains Trump's Big Beautiful Ballroom' plus the short form nominees at the Emmy Awards