Saturday, August 27, 2022

'RuPaul's Drag Race' leads competition shows with eight nominations plus three more for its spinoffs


I closed 'Queer Eye' leads structured reality programs with six nominations at the 2022 Emmy Awards by telling my readers "Stay tuned as I return with the nominations for competition shows as "RuPaul's Drag Race" again leads competition program nominees at the Emmy Awards while modeling diversity and acceptance." Without any further ado, I'm sharing the show's nomination at the 74th Primetime Emmy Awards.
Outstanding Competition Program
The Amazing Race (CBS)
Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls (Prime Video)
Nailed It! (Netflix)
RuPaul's Drag Race (VH1)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Voice (NBC)
I'm going to update what I wrote last year. "RuPaul's Drag Race" has won this award four years in a row, so I consider it the favorite on that criterion as well as its leading in nominations among competition programs with eight for the main show as well as one each for "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars," "RuPaul's Drag Race Whatcha Packin' with Michelle Visage," and "RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked." Its closest competition is "Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls" with six nominations, which replaced "Dancing with the Stars" in this category, but the latter still earned three nominations at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Congratulations, Lizzo, Time's 2019 Entertainer of the Year. "Top Chef" almost ties Lizzo's show with five nominations for the show proper and a sixth for spinoff "Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen." The rest of the field consists of "The Voice" with three nominations, followed by "The Amazing Race" and "Nailed It!" each with two.

Before I re-examine the categories I already featured in previous installments of this series and categories recognizing competition programs not nominated in this category, I'm sharing Gold Derby's interview of Tom Campbell ('RuPaul's Drag Race,' 'Untucked' executive producer): 'Tenacity of the human spirit'.

Tom Campbell ('RuPaul's Drag Race' and 'Untucked' executive producer): 'It's really about the tenacity of the human spirit.' The show put 14 queens through comedy roasts, game shows, challenges, musical numbers, soap opera spoofs and lip-sync smackdowns. Gold Derby senior editor Rob Licuria hosts this chat as part of a 'Meet the Experts" panel.
"I make a political statement every time I bat my false eyelashes" — well-said and a perfect quote to support why I cover this show.

Follow over the jump to read about the other nominations for competition shows.

Before I re-hash the other ten nominations for "RuPaul's Drag Race," I'm looking at the craft nominations for two competition shows that missed being nominated for Outstanding Competition Program, "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Masked Singer."

Outstanding Choreography for Variety or Reality Programming (Juried)
Annie Live!: "Hard Knock Life" / "We Got Annie" / "NYC" – Sergio Trujillo (NBC)
Dancing with the Stars: "I Got 5 on It" / "Dark Fantasy" – Daniella Karagach (ABC)
The Oscars: "Be Alive" – Fatima Robinson (ABC)
Savage X Fenty Show Vol. 3: "Opening" – Parris Goebel (Prime Video)
Step Into... The Movies with Derek and Julianne Hough: "Moulin Rouge "Roxanne"" – Tessandra Chavez and Derek Hough (ABC)
According to Wikipedia, "Juried awards generally do not have nominations; instead, all entrants are screened before members of the appropriate peer group, and one, more than one, or no entry is awarded an Emmy based on the jury's vote." That means all of these shows are already winners. Congratulations!

Outstanding Lighting Design / Lighting Direction for a Variety Series (Area)
America's Got Talent: "Finale Results" – Noah Mitz, Michael Berger, William Gossett, Ryan Tanker, Matt Benson, Patrick Brazil, and Scott Chmielewski (NBC)
American Song Contest: "Semi-Final #1" – Noah Mitz, William Gossett, Patrick Brazil, Rob Koenig, Matt Benson, Darien Koop, and Matthew Cotter (NBC)
Dancing with the Stars: "Finale" – Tom Sutherland, Joe Holdman, Nate Files, and Matt McAdam (ABC)
The Masked Singer: "Group A Semi-Final" – Simon Miles and Cory Fournier (Fox)
The Voice: "Live Finale" – Oscar Dominguez, Samuel Barker, Ronald K. Wirsgalla, Daniel K. Boland, Erin Anderson, and Andrew Munie (NBC)
This is an area award, so one or more shows could win. In fact, all of them could, so I'm not going to bother handicapping them beyond noting that the previous winner, "Saturday Night Live," did not return, so this is an open category. Also, both "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Voice" are previous winners, so I expect both are likely to walk away with Emmy statuettes.

Now a returning category from John Oliver examines inflation plus 'Last Week Tonight's Emmy nominations.
Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Series (Area)
American Idol: "Disney Night" – Charles Ciup, David Bernstein, Bettina Levesque, Bert Atkinson, Damien Tuffereau, Rob Palmer, Bruce Green, Daryl Studebaker, Mike Carr, Jofre Rosero, Nathanial Havholm, Easter Xua, Andrew Georgopoulos, Ed Horton, Brian Reason, Keith Dicker, Adam Margolis, Ron Lehman, Christopher Gray, Luke Chantrell (ABC)
The Daily Show With Trevor Noah: "Robert Glasper Performs "Heaven's Here"" – Mike Williams, Matt Muro, Rich York, Tim Quigley, Phil Salanto, Ricardo Sarmiento, Joel Sadler (Comedy Central)
Dancing with the Stars: "Horror Night" – Charles Ciup, Christine Salomon, Brian Reason, Bettina Levesque, Daryl Studebaker, Bruce Green, Bert Atkinson, Nat Havholm, Ron Lehman, Mike Carr, Adam Margolis, Damien Tuffereau, Easter Xua, Derek Pratt, Mark Koonce, Allen Merriweather, Andrew Georgopoulos, Luke Chantrell, Ed Moore (ABC)
Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: "Union Busting" – Dave Saretsky, Dante Pagano, John Harrison, Rich Freedman, Ken Thompson, Yayo Vang, Elizabeth Cavanagh, Wyatt Maker, John Schwartz, Augie Yuson (HBO / HBO Max)
The Masked Singer: "Masks Back - The Good, The Bad & The Cuddly - Round 1" – Christine Salomon, Nat Havholm, Mark Koonce, Brett Crutcher, Adam Margolis, Rob Palmer, Ron Lehman, Bert Atkinson, Bettina Levesque, Jeff Wheat, Kary D'Alessandro, Daryl Studebaker, John Goforth, Cary Symmons, Sean Flannery, Darin Gallacher, Chris Hill (FOX)
The Voice: "Live Top 10 Performances" – Allan Wells, Danny Bonilla, Mano Bonilla, Martin J. Brown Jr., Robert Burnette, Suzanne Ebner, Guido Frenzel, Alex Hernandez, Marc Hunter, Scott Hylton, Kathrine Iacofano, Scott Kaye, Steve Martynuk, Jofre Rosero, Steve Simmons, Terrance Ho (NBC)
This was the third (actually first in time order) Emmy that "Last Week Tonight" won last year, so I think it's guaranteed to win it this year. The only question is who else gets to take home a trophy.
Still true. I suspect both "Dancing with the Stars" and "The Masked Singer" have good shots.



Before I return to "RuPaul's Drag Race" proper, I'm revisiting the program nominations for two of its spinoffs, beginning with one I covered in Trevor Noah examines Manchin deal, monkeypox, and Russia announcing it will leave the ISS plus six Emmy nominations for 'The Daily Show' and its spinoffs.
Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series
Between the Scenes — The Daily Show (YouTube)
Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents: Once Upon a Time in Late Night (TBS)
RuPaul's Drag Race Whatcha Packin' with Michelle Visage (VH1)
Saturday Night Live Presents: Stories from the Show (NBC)
Top Chef: Last Chance Kitchen (Bravo)
The good news is that Trevor's only Emmy Award was for "Between the Scenes" in 2017, when it won Outstanding Short Form Variety Series, so that makes it a co-favorite in my book with "Saturday Night Live Presents: Stories from the Show." As "Creating Saturday Night Live," that won Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series in 2019. The final variety show nominee is "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee Presents: Once Upon a Time in Late Night." At least Sam and her writers got a nomination, even if it wasn't for her main show, which was snubbed once again. The rest of the nominees are from competition shows, so I'll examine this category again when I write about those.
I re-examined this category in 'Saturday Night Live' earned ten Emmy nominations plus looks back at the 2021-2022 season, but did not make a prediction. I think it will be "Saturday Night Live Presents: Stories from the Show" because I think it has the quality edge over the quantity of "Between the Scenes — The Daily Show" and because its about television and how it fits inside society. The entertainment professionals will vote for good nominees about entertainment, especially if it's flattering (that's probably why "Allen v. Farrow" lost to "Secrets of the Whales"; "Allen v. Farrow" was not flattering). With that in mind, I'm sharing Gold Derby's interview of Michelle Visage ('RuPaul's Drag Race') on original show and Emmy-nominated 'Whatcha Packin'.

Michelle Visage ('RuPaul's Drag Race'): Emmy-nominated 'Whatcha Packin' is 'the first time I get to hug' and 'talk to' the queens. She has been with the "Drag Race" empire from the get-go, when it was a little-known mini-budget niche reality competition for drag queens. Gold Derby editor Rob Licuria hosts this webchat.
That was fun and informative. I enjoyed learning that "Talking Dead" helped inspire this show and seeing how happy Michelle Visage was to be nominated for her own show. I'm thrilled for her.


I covered the second spinoff in 'Cheer' returns, earning three Emmy nominations.
I'm moving on to Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program, which "Cheer" won two years ago and "RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked" won last year. Both returned this year, earning nominations along with returning nominees "Below Deck" and "Selling Sunset." "Love on the Spectrum U.S." joins the four returning nominees, tying "Cheer" with three nominations, so while I think "Cheer" and "RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked" are the co-favorites with the edge going to "Cheer" because of its three nominations to only one for "RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked," "Love on the Spectrum U.S." could upset both in this category.
Now for "RuPaul's Drag Race" proper.
Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program
Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls – Lynne Spillman, Blair Kim, and Jazzy Collins (Prime Video)
Love on the Spectrum U.S. – Laura Ritchie, Kat Elmore, and Jeffrey Marx (Netflix)
Queer Eye – Danielle Gervais, Jessica Jorgensen, Natalie Pino, Pamela Vallarelli, and Quinn Fegan (Netflix)
RuPaul's Drag Race – Goloka Bolte and Ethan Petersen (VH1)
Top Chef – Samantha Hanks and Ron Mare (Bravo)
It says something about the strength of the casting that "Love on the Spectrum U.S." is the only unstructured reality program to earn a nomination for casting against "Queer Eye" and three competition programs. It won't be enough to unseat "RuPaul's Drag Race," which has won this category the past two years. The only other nominee I see beating it is "Queer Eye," which won the two years before that.
Gold Derby interviewed the returning and likely winners in Goloka Bolte and Ethan Petersen ('RuPaul's Drag Race' casting) on 'authentic voices' of Season 14.

Goloka Bolte and Ethan Petersen ('RuPaul's Drag Race' casting directors) on the 'authentic voices' of Season 14. They have earned two consecutive Emmy Awards for bringing beloved drag queens to the screen. Gold Derby's Sam Eckmann hosts this webchat.
That was another fun and informative interview, including how the pandemic affected the casting process and the stories being told.
Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program
The Amazing Race – Josh Gitersonke, Joshua Argue, Kathryn Barrows, Marc Bennett, Denise Borders, Petr Cikhart, Dave D'Angelo, Chris Ellison, Adam Haisinger, Kevin R. Johnson, Daniel Long, and Jeff Philips (CBS)
Deadliest Catch – David Reichert, Bryan Miller, Kelvon Agee, Charlie Beck, Todd Stanley, Dave Arnold, Nathan Garofalos, Shane Moore, Randy Lee, Jacob Tawney, Sam Henderson, Carson Doyle, and Antonio Baca (Discovery Channel)
Life Below Zero: "Fire in the Sky" – Danny Day, Michael Cheeseman, and Simeon Houtman (National Geographic)
Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls: "HBCYOU Band" – Michael Jacob Kerber (Prime Video)
RuPaul's Drag Race – Michael Jacob Kerber, Jay Mack Arnette II, Jason Cooley, Pauline Edwards, Mario Panagiotopoulos, Brett Smith, Jeremiah Smith, Justin Umphenour, and Jon Schneider (VH1)
Survivor – Scott Duncan, Peter Wery, Russ Fill, Christopher Barker, Granger Scholtz, Josh Bartel, Marc Bennett, Paulo Castillo, Rodney Chauvin, Chris Ellison, Glenn Louis Evans, David J. Frederick, Ben Gamble, Kevin B. Garrison, Nixon George, Matthias Hoffmann, Toby Hogan, Efrain "Mofi" Laguna, Jeff Phillips, Louis Powell, Erick G. Sarmiento, Dirk Steyn, John Tattersall, Holly Tompson, Paulo Velozo, Ryan Hermosura, and Cullum Andrews (CBS)
I'm recycling my reactions, beginning with this from Barack Obama nominated for Outstanding Narrator of 'Our Great National Parks' at the 2022 Emmy Awards.
Unstructured reality shows have more about the human struggle against nature, with "Deadliest Catch" and "Live Below Zero" earning two Emmy nominations each, both for Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program, where they are competing against "Survivor," and Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program, for a total of five.
The second is an update of 'Queer Eye' leads structured reality program nominees again at the Emmy Awards while 'preaching love, acceptance, pride, and compassion', I think "Life Below Zero" will win this category for the fifth consecutive year.
While I don't think "RuPaul's Drag Race will win, I am sharing Gold Derby's interview of Jon 'Sarge' Schneider ('RuPaul's Drag Race' camera department): The queens are 'superheroes'.

Jon 'Sarge' Schneider ('RuPaul's Drag Race' camera department): The queens are 'superheroes' because 'it's incredible what they're able to do.' The global phenomenon and Emmy powerhouse has won Best Competition Program the last four years running (and is nominated again this year). Gold Derby editor Rob Licuria hosts this webchat.
Congratulations on your nomination!

Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program
Cheer: "Daytona Pt. 2: If the Judges Disagree" – Greg Whiteley (Netflix)
Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls: "Naked" – Nneka Onuorah (Prime Video)
Queer Eye: "Angel Gets Her Wings" – Aaron Krummel (Netflix)
RuPaul's Drag Race: "Moulin Ru: The Rusical" – Nick Murray (VH1)
Top Chef: "Freedmen's Town" – Ari Boles (Bravo)
This field includes a rematch of two years ago, where "Cheer" beat "RuPaul's Drag Race." Without "Cheer," "RuPaul's Drag Race" won again last year. Let's see who wins this year.
It's possible I underestimated "Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls," so watch Gold Derby's intereview of Nneka Onuorah ('Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls') on Emmys: 'We just all started screaming'.

Nneka Onuorah ('Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls') on Emmy recognition: 'We just all started screaming.' It's rare for first-year reality TV shows to break through, but that's exactly what happened to Amazon Prime Video's feel-good series. Gold Derby senior editor Marcus Dixon hosts this chat as part of a 'Meet the Experts" panel.
Now I have a pick to upset the previous winners.

Speaking of which, watch Gold Derby's Nick Murray ('RuPaul's Drag Race') on 'overwhelming' Emmy love: 'I'm living the dream'.

Nick Murray ('RuPaul's Drag Race') on 'overwhelming' Emmy love: 'I'm living the dream.' He's already won two Emmys for directing the reality TV show, and is now one of the eight nominations it nabbed this year. Gold Derby senior editor Marcus Dixon hosts this chat as part of a 'Meet the Experts" panel.
Thanks to Gold Derby, I think I've shared videos of the three nominees most likely to win. May the best nominee earn the most votes!

Now for the nominations I covered in 'Queer Eye' leads structured reality programs with six nominations at the 2022 Emmy Awards.
Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program
Bobby Berk, Karamo Brown, Tan France, Antoni Porowski, and Jonathan Van Ness – Queer Eye (Netflix)
Nicole Byer – Nailed It! (Netflix)
Mark Cuban, Barbara Corcoran, Lori Greiner, Robert Herjavec, Daymond John, and Kevin O'Leary – Shark Tank (ABC)
Padma Lakshmi – Top Chef (Bravo)
Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman – Making It (NBC)
RuPaul – RuPaul's Drag Race (VH1)
RuPaul won this award last year, and has since since 2016, a string of six consecutive years. I expect this year will be the seventh...
Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program
Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls: "Naked" – Deidre Panziera, Hannah Carpenter, Brian Murphy, and Jeanie Phillips (Prime Video)
Queer Eye: "Angel Gets Her Wings" – Nova Taylor and Sean Gill (Netflix)
RuPaul's Drag Race: "Big Opening #1" – Jamie Martin, Paul Cross, Ryan Mallick, and Michael Roha (VH1)
RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars: "Halftime Headliners" – Michael Lynn Deis, Mary DeChambres, Katherine Griffin, Laurel Mick Ostrander, and Michael Roha (Paramount+)
Top Chef: "Restaurant Wars" – Steve Lichtenstein, Ericka Concha, Tim Daniel, George Dybas, Eric Lambert, Anthony Rivard, Jay Rogers, Sarah Goff, Matt Reynolds, and Clark Vogeler (Bravo)
"RuPaul's Drag Race" won this award the past two years, but "Queer Eye" has taken home the statuette twice before, so I think the two shows are the front runners with "RuPaul's Drag Race" favored.
Here "RuPaul's Drag Race" is competing directly against its spinoff "RuPaul's Drag Race All Stars." Either one would be a win for the franchise.

Gold Derby interviewed the returning winner of this category in Jamie Martin ('RuPaul's Drag Race' editor): 'My goal is to tell stories of the queens truthfully'.

Jamie Martin ('RuPaul's Drag Race' editor): 'My goal is to tell the stories of the queens truthfully and in a way the audience can really connect with.' She discusses the Emmy-winning series hosted by RuPaul, for which she has won three times for her work on the VH-1 reality TV show. Gold Derby senior editor Denton Davidson is the host of this editing panel.
I'm impressed with Jamie Martin's experience in editing reality TV. No wonder she's won twice and is my pick to win again.

I first mentioned a nomination for "RuPaul's Drag Race" in 'Lucy and Desi' leads Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special nominees with six nominations.
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera) (Area)
The Beatles: Get Back: "Part 3: Days 17-22" – Michael Hedges, Brent Burge, Alexis Feodoroff, Giles Martin (Disney+)
George Carlin's American Dream – Earl Martin, Jason Gaya, Brad Bergbom, Kevin Rosen Quan (HBO / HBO Max)
Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls: "Becoming 100% That Bitch" – Erik Brena, Ross D'Alessandro, Julianne Kane, Deanna Decenario (Prime Video)
McCartney 3,2,1: "These Things Bring You Together" – Gary A. Rizzo, Laura Cunningham (Hulu)
RuPaul's Drag Race: "Big Opening #1" – Erik Valenzuela, David Nolte, Glenn Gaines (VH1)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy: "Venice" – Tom O'Pray, Renato Ferrari (CNN)
The reality shows have a strong showing in this category, so I'll reexamine it when I write about them.
I revisited this category in 'The Beatles: Get Back,' 'We Need to Talk About Cosby,' and 'Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy' all nominated for five Emmy Awards in nonfiction series and wrote "'McCartney 3,2,1' [has] the best chance to upset 'The Beatles: Get Back.'" "RuPaul's Drag Race" and "Lizzo's Watch Out for the Big Grrrls" both have uphill battles to win this category.

I previewed the last category in Colbert examines Manchin agreeing to the reconciliation bill that would fight climate change.
Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Reality or Competition Series (Area)
A Black Lady Sketch Show: "Anybody Have Something I Can Flog Myself With?" – Cindy Chao, Michele Yu, and Lizzie Boyle (HBO/HBO Max)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert: "Colbert's "Lord of the Rings" Rap Celebrates 20 Years of The Greatest Trilogy in Movie History" – Jim Fenhagen, Larry Hartman, Brendan Hurley, and Riley Mellon (CBS)
Queer Eye: "Angel Gets Her Wings" – Thomas Rouse and Josh Smith (Netflix)
RuPaul's Drag Race: "Catwalk" – Gianna Costa and Allison Spain (VH1)
Saturday Night Live: "Host: Kim Kardashian" – Eugene Lee, Akira Yoshimura, Keith Ian Raywood, N. Joseph DeTullio, and Melissa Shakun (NBC)
"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" is the only variety talk show nominated in this category, competing against the two nominees for variety sketch series and the top nominees for structured reality show and competition show. While that means that this episode had the best production design of all the variety talk shows, beating out "Last Week Tonight," which earned a nomination in this category last year but not this year, I doubt that will be enough. "Saturday Night Live" has won this award five years in a row and I expect it will win it again.
The only hope for the other nominees, including "RuPaul's Drag Race" and "Queer Eye" is that this is an area award, so several shows could win, including "RuPaul's Drag Race." I'm OK with that.

For tomorrow's Sunday entertainment feature, I plan on taking a break from the Emmy Awards to begin my examination of the Saturn Awards nominations. Stay tuned.

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