I asked my readers if they had any suggestions for today's post at the end of HBO dramas and 'SNL' split the nominees for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series at the 2023 Emmy Awards. No one left a comment here or anywhere else they could have seen the link, like the Crazy Eddie's Motie News Facebook page, so I decided to move from documentaries and nonfiction to reality. Here are the nominees for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program at the 75th Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards.
Outstanding Unstructured Reality ProgramWelcome to Wrexham earned the most nominations with six, followed by Vanderpump Rules and the 2021 winner and returning nominee RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked both with two, then Indian Matchmaking, returning as a nominee from 2021, and three-time nominee Selling Sunset each earning one. Based on the nominations alone, I think Welcome to Wrexham is the favorite. The experts at Gold Derby agree, ranking it first, followed by Vanderpump Rules, RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked, Indian Matchmaking, and Selling Sunset. I'm going with the experts.
Indian Matchmaking (Netflix)
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked (MTV)
Selling Sunset (Netflix)
Vanderpump Rules (Bravo)
Welcome to Wrexham (FX)
I'm embedding the trailers for the nominated shows, starting with Welcome to Wrexham Documentary Series Trailer.
Check out the new Welcome to Wrexham Season 1 Trailer starring Rob McElhenney & Ryan Reynolds!I found this trailer inspirational in the same way that Cheer was and for many of the same reasons. Both are sports documentary series masquerading as reality programming. The Critics Choice Association (CCA) has honored the series as both, with Welcome to Wrexham tying with Citizen Ashe for Best Sports Documentary and winning Best Sports Show at the Critics Choice Real TV Awards. The CCA can't make up their collective mind, either!
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Synopsis: Rob McElhenney (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Ryan Reynolds (Deadpool) navigate running the third oldest professional football club in the world. Welcome to Wrexham is a docuseries tracking the dreams and worries of Wrexham, a working-class town in North Wales, UK, as two Hollywood stars take ownership of the town’s historic yet struggling football club.
In 2020, Rob and Ryan teamed up to purchase the 5th tier Red Dragons in the hopes of turning the club into an underdog story the whole world could root for. The worry? Rob and Ryan have no experience in football or working with each other. From Hollywood to Wales, from the pitch to the locker room, the front office to the pub, Welcome to Wrexham will track Rob and Ryan’s crash course in football club ownership and the inextricably connected fates of a team and a town counting on two actors to bring some serious hope and change to a community that could use it.
On the other hand, Your First Look at Vanderpump Rules Season 10! | Bravo lived down to my expectations of it as well-done but still trashy reality fare.
About Vanderpump Rules: It’s the dawn of a new age with babies, engagements, and new businesses keeping everyone busy; but no matter how many “firsts” these friends go through, some things never change. Join the passionate, volatile and hot-and-bothered staff at Lisa Vanderpump's West Hollywood mainstay, SUR, as they pursue their dreams and each other while working at her "Sexy Unique Restaurant."I suspected this show was related to the Real Housewives franchise, but now I know it is, as Lisa Vanderpump was one of the Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. That didn't surprise me. What did was that this show has been going for ten seasons and finally attracted the attention of the Television Academy voters. I guess this season finally broke through.
While I know there are lots of fans of this genre, as I used to be a moderator of a web forum about Survivor and other reality TV shows, I'm no longer one of them. I'm recycling the final paragraph of 'The Hunger Games' as the endpoint of reality TV as an explanation.
I must say that since I've stopped watching "Survivor," I'm a nicer person, although there are many confounding variables on that outcome. However, that doesn't mean I've completely given up on watching reality competition shows; it's just that I'm sticking to those that are talent competitions instead of social competitions, such as "The Next Iron Chef" and "Design Star." At least I'll learn something other than "people are nasty to each other and it pays."My wife and I have even stopped watching those, although we did watch an episode of Queer Eye and really enjoyed it. That's for the next installment of this series.
I'm saving RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked for when I cover the main show, so I'm moving on to the two series with just the program nomination, beginning with Indian Matchmaking: Season 2 | Official Trailer | Netflix.
Sima Taparia, everyone's favorite matchmaker, returns for another season of helping eligible, eccentric and eager clients find their future spouses.Ah, that's sweet. It's also a good palate cleanser after the cattiness and drama of Vanderpump Rules. It also adds some diversity to the mix of nominees.
Since Indian Matchmaking has no other nominations, I'm sharing a promotional Twitter image for the show.
I'm embedding Selling Sunset: Season 6 | Date Announcement | Netflix for the final trailer today.
The stakes and stilettos are as high as they’ve ever been at the brokerage, as longtime agents make big changes and two new team members bring the heat.I'm recycling my reaction from last year: "I think they're selling something in addition to real estate." Here's its promotional image from Twitter just to reinforce that impression.
By the way, three of the four nominees above feature people familiar to the Hollywood creatives and executives who belong to the Television Academy. Remember, electorates matter. At least that will be a wash when it comes to the contest between Vanderpump Rules and Welcome to Wrexham. Watching the trailers confirmed my preconceptions about all the shows, meaning I'm even more in favor of Welcome to Wrexham winning than before.
Follow over the jump for my takes on the other five categories in which unstructured reality shows are competing.
Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality ProgramLife Below Zero has won this award five years in a row and I expect it to win it a sixth consecutive time.
The Amazing Race – Joshua Gitersonke, Bryan T. Adams, Kathryn Barrows, Josh Bartel, Kurt Carpenter, David D'Angelo, Matthew Di Girolamo, Adam Haisinger, Robert Howsam, Kevin R. Johnson, Jay Kaufman, Ian Kerr, Daniel Long, Lucas Kenna Mertes, Ryan Shaw, and Alan Weeks (CBS)
Deadliest Catch: "Call of a New Generation" – David Reichert, Charlie Beck, Bryan Miller, Todd Stanley, Shane Moore, Nathan Garofalos, and David Arnold (Discovery Channel)
Life Below Zero: "The Pursuit" – Danny Day, Simeon Houtman, Jason Hubbell, Ben Mullin, and Zach Vincent (Nat Geo)
Survivor – Peter Wery, Scott Duncan, Russ Fill, George Andrews, Tim Barker, Marc Bennett, Paulo Castillo, Rodney Chauvin, Chris Ellison, Nixon George, Matthias Hoffmann, Toby Hogan, Derek Holt, Efrain "Mofi" Laguna, Ian Miller, Nico Nyoni, Paul Peddinghaus, Jeff Phillips, Nejc Poberaj, Daniel Powell, Louis Powell, Jovan Sales, Erick Sarmiento, Dirk Steyn, John Tattersall, Holly Thompson, Paulo Velozo, Cullum Andrews, Christopher Barker, Granger Scholtz, Nic Van Der Westhuizen, and Dwight Winston (CBS)
Welcome to Wrexham: "Do or Die" – Alastair McKevitt, Craig Hastings, Leighton Cox, and Jason Bulley (FX)
Outstanding Directing for a Reality ProgramThe most recent previous winner in this field is RuPaul's Drag Race but I don't think it's a lock to win this category. I wouldn't be surprised if Welcome to Wrexham pulls a Cheer by winning.
The Amazing Race: "Patience, Is the New Me" – Bertram van Munster (CBS)
Queer Eye: "Speedy for Life" – Ali Moghadas (Netflix)
RuPaul's Drag Race: "Wigloose: The Rusical!" – Nick Murray (MTV)
Top Chef: "London Calling" – Ariel Boles (Bravo)
Welcome to Wrexham: "Wide World of Wales" – Bryan Rowland (FX)
Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality ProgramLife Below Zero is a two-time previous winner, so it's definitely a contender. However, Cheer won this category three years ago and I think Welcome to Wrexham could follow in its footsteps this year.
Deadliest Catch: "Call of a New Generation" – Rob Butler, Isaiah Camp, Alexandra Moore, Alexander Rubinow, Ian Olsen, Hugh Elliott, and Joe Mikan (Discovery Channel)
Life Below Zero: "A Storm to Remember" – Michael Swingler, Tony Diaz, Matt Edwards, Jennifer Nelson, and Tanner Roth (Nat Geo)
RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked: "The Daytona Wind 2" – Matthew D. Miller and Kellen Cruden (MTV)
Vanderpump Rules: "Lady and the Glamp" – Jesse Friedman, Tom McCudden, Ramin Mortazavi, Christian Le Guilloux, Paul Peltekian, Sax Eno, and Robert Garry (Bravo)
Welcome to Wrexham: "Do or Die" – Mohamed El Manasterly, Curtis McConnell, Michael Brown, Charles Little, and Bryan Rowland (FX)
This is also the category in which RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked and Vanderpump Rules earned their second nominations. I learned the importance of editing when I was a moderator of a reality TV forum, even formulating an outlandish speculation hypothesis for forecasting losers in Survivor based on it. I'm sure Vanderpump Rules wouldn't be nearly as trashily entertaining as it is without great editing.
Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera) (Area)This is a new category in this incarnation, so I can't rely on its track record. That written, I still think that music nominees have the edge in sound categories, all other things being equal, so that would favor The Voice and RuPaul's Drag Race for "Wigloose: The Rusical!" However, Welcome to Wrexham is the only reality series nominated for Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera), so I would not count it out for this award.
The Amazing Race: "The Only Leg That Matters" – Jim Ursulak, Troy Smith, and the Production Mixing Team (CBS)
Deadliest Catch: "Call of a New Generation" – Jared Robbins (Discovery Channel)
RuPaul's Drag Race: "Wigloose: The Rusical!" – Erik Valenzuela, Sal Ojeda, David Nolte, and Gabe Lopez (MTV)
The Voice: "Live Top 10" – Michael Abbott, Randy Faustino, and Tim Hatayama (NBC)
Welcome to Wrexham: "Do or Die" – Mark Jensen (FX)
I would be remiss if I didn't remark on this being the third nominated category for Deadliest Catch, making it the second most nominated unstructured reality series, even without a program nomination. Deadliest Catch and Life Below Zero provide a lot of justification for my covering these categories, as the two shows feature people contending with nature to survive. That's definitely an environmental angle to entertainment.
Speaking of sound, I'm recycling today's final category from '100 Foot Wave' has the most nominations but experts think 'The U.S. and the Holocaust' and 'The 1619 Project' have best chances to win Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series at the Emmy Awards.
As I wrote above, Welcome to Wrexham is the only reality series nominated in this category. That doesn't help it here, where it might suffer in comparison to the other true-life sports series 100 Foot Wave, but it might help it in the other sound category against a field of reality shows.Outstanding Sound Editing for a Nonfiction or Reality Program (Single or Multi-Camera)I think that music nominees have the edge in sound categories, all other things being equal, so I think Moonage Daydream is favored, followed by Love, Lizzo.
Love, Lizzo – Vanessa Flores and Jessie Brewer (HBO Max)
Moonage Daydream – John Warhurst, Nina Hartstone, Jens Rosenlund Petersen, Samir Foco, James Shirley, Elliott Koretz, Amy Felton, Louise Burton, and Brett Morgen (HBO)
100 Foot Wave: "Chapter V – Lost at Sea" – Max Holland, Eric Di Stefano, and Kevin Senzaki (HBO)
Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie – Michael Feuser, Rich Bologna, Wyatt Sprague, Heather Gross, and Bill Bernstein (Apple TV+)
Welcome to Wrexham: "Do or Die" – Will Harp, Jon Schell, and Shaun Cromwell (FX)
This concludes today's awards show coverage. I plan on writing about Queer Eye's Emmy nominations tomorrow for the Sunday entertainment feature. Stay tuned.
Previous posts about the 2023 Primetime and Creative Arts Emmy Awards
- Dove's 'Cost of Beauty' the sole PSA among the 2023 Emmy nominees for Outstanding Commercial
- 'The Territory' leads nominees for Exceptional Merit In Documentary Filmmaking at the 2023 Emmy Awards
- Barack Obama defends his Emmy against Hollywood all-stars narrating nature and science documentaries
- The music of 'Prehistoric Planet 2' earned the series its first Emmy nomination
- 'Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy' defends its Emmy for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
- '100 Foot Wave' has the most nominations but experts think 'The U.S. and the Holocaust' and 'The 1619 Project' have best chances to win Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series at the Emmy Awards
- 'Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie' leads nominees for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special at the Emmy Awards
- 'Good Night Oppy' has six nominations at the News & Documentary Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Science and Technology Documentary and Best Documentary
- HBO dramas and 'SNL' split the nominees for Outstanding Short Form Nonfiction or Reality Series at the 2023 Emmy Awards
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