'Welcome to Wrexham' vs. 'Love on the Spectrum' for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program at the Emmy Awards

I'm resuming my coverage of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards with the nominees for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program.

• America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders (Netflix)
• Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked (MTV)
• The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives (Hulu)
• Welcome to Wrexham (FX)

2022 winner Love on the Spectrum leads with five nominations, followed by defending winner Welcome to Wrexham with three, 2021 winner RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked with two, and newcomers America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives with just this one. That's pretty much the order that Gold Derby predicts for the nominees. Half of the experts, 85.7% of the editors, and 77.4% of the users have chosen Love on the Spectrum to walk off the stage with the statuette. The other half of the experts, including Joyce Eng, 14.3% of the editors, and 12.8% of the users expect two-time winner Welcome to Wrexham will repeat. RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked has the support of 6.8% of users, while long shots The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives and America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders currently have the votes of 2.2% and 0.8% of users, respectively.

I'm watching the trailers to see which would be my pick, beginning with Love on the Spectrum U.S. | Season 3 Official Trailer | Netflix.

The search for true love continues as newcomers and returning favorites navigate the ups and downs of dating on the autism spectrum.

This is sweet. It is also shot, edited, and scored more like a documentary than a reality show, which shows the fine line between nonfiction and unstructured reality, a line crossed by United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell in 2023, where Bell found the competition stiffer.

Next, Welcome to Wrexham | Season 4 Official Trailer, which is also shot like a documentary.

I wish the whole world could visit Wrexham.

Watch the official Welcome to Wrexham trailer now.

That looks like fun, especially with the added star power of Tom Brady and Channing Tatum. Will it be enough to win? Maybe.

I'm not sure RuPaul’s Drag Race Live Untucked | Season 2 Trailer | WOW Presents Plus is the trailer for the nominated series, but it looks close enough.

RuPaul’s Drag Race Live Untucked captures what really happens behind the curtain of the hottest show on the Las Vegas Strip. Premieres April 16 on WOW Presents Plus: https://hubs.la/Q03dBxBM0

Welcome to Vegas, baby! Set at the iconic Flamingo Las Vegas, Season 2 of the outrageous, 6-part docu-series stars Drag Race legends: Bosco, Derrick Barry, Kennedy Davenport, Latrice Royale, Lawrence Chaney, Mirage, and Nymphia Wind[.]

I used to be a moderator of a web forum about Survivor and other reality TV shows, and this looks like the kind of reality TV I remember from those days. So does The Secret Lives of Mormon Wives | Official Trailer | Hulu.

Starring Taylor Frankie Paul, Demi Engemann, Jennifer Affleck, Jessi Ngatikaura, Layla Taylor, Mayci Neeley, Mikayla Mathews and Whitney Leavitt.

The scandalous world of a group of Mormon mom influencers implodes when they get caught in the midst of a swinging sex scandal that makes international headlines. Now, their sisterhood is shaken to its core. Faith, friendships, and reputations are all on the line. Will #MomTok be able to survive and continue to give the rulebook a run for its money, or will this group fall from grace?

I have opinions, both about the culture and about the technology that catalyzed the situation. I'm recycling what I wrote in PBS NewsHour on Great Salt Lake shrinking during the current drought for context on the former.

I have family connections to Utah and particularly the Salt Lake City area as My father went to Judge Memorial High School in Salt Lake City, which was the only Catholic High School in Utah at the time. That led my parents and middle sister to buy houses in and around Park City for investments and retirement. My middle sister and my nephew moved to Park City permanently and my mother summers there.

I'll sum up our reaction by quoting what I wrote in 2016, "My family roots for the U, not the Y!" My nephew even attends the University of Utah. Also, this show gives me another reason to be suspicious of TikTok.

The final trailer today is AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders | Official Trailer | Netflix.

Perfection isn't always perfect. With unfiltered access to the auditions, training camp and full NFL season, this is the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders like you've never seen them before. AMERICA'S SWEETHEARTS: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders premieres June 20th only on Netflix.

I was wondering if this is connected to Cheer and it is. That's a good sign, although it won't be enough for the show to win this year.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the nominations these shows earned.

Outstanding Casting for a Reality Program

• The Amazing Race – Jesse Tannenbaum, Alex Stiner, Kayla Kellerbauer, and Pollyanna Jacobs (CBS)
• Love on the Spectrum – Cian O'Clery, Sean Bowman, and Emma Choate (Netflix)
• Queer Eye – Danielle Gervais, Jessica Jorgenson, Natalie Pino, and Brian Puentes (Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race – Goloka Bolte, Adam Cook, and Michelle Redwine (MTV)
• Survivor – Jesse Tannenbaum, Caitlin Moore, Penni Lane Clifton, and Daniel Gradias (CBS)

Love on the Spectrum is the defending winner, so it's my pick to repeat.

Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program

• The Amazing Race – Joshua Gitersonke, Bryan T. Adams, Kathryn Barrows, Kurt Carpenter, Petr Cikhart, Stephen A. Coleman, David D'Angelo, Matthew Di Girolamo, Adam Haisinger, Jamie Holland, Kevin R. Johnson, Jay Kaufman, Ian Kerr, Tim Laks, Regan Letourneau, Danny Long, Lucas Kenna Mertes, Ryan Shaw, Will Shipp, Holly Thompson, and Alan Weeks (CBS)
• Life Below Zero – Michael Cheeseman, Danny Day, Jason Hubbell, Ben Mullin, Charlie Beck, Dwayne Fowler, Jensen Walker, Brian Bitterfeld, Jeffrey Alexander, Tyler Colgan, Ashton Hurlburt, Jayce Kolinski and Wayne Shockey (National Geographic)
• Love on the Spectrum: "Episode 7" – Dave May and Cian O'Clery (Netflix)
• Survivor – Peter Wery, Scott Duncan, Russ Fill, Cullum Andrews, Tim Barker, Marc Bennett, James Boon, Paulo Castillo, Rodney Chauvin, Chris Ellison, Ben Gamble, Nixon George, Marcus Hebbelmann, Derek Hoffmann, Matthias Hoffmann, Toby Hogan, Derek Holt, Efrain "Mofi" Laguna, Kyle McAuley, Ian Miller, Nico Nyoni, Paul Peddinghaus, Louis Powell, Thomas Pretorius, Erick Sarmiento, Dirk Steyn, John Tattersall, Holly Thompson, Paulo Velozo, Christopher Barker, Granger Scholtz, Nic Van Der Westhuizen, Dwight Winston, and Kenny Hoffmann (CBS)
• The Traitors – Siggi Rosen-Rawlings, Matt Wright, Jack Booth, Alex Bruno, Ned Ellis-Jones, Ollie Green, Quin Jessop, Guy Linton, Joshua Montague, Paul Rudge, James Spencer, Matt Thomson, Alex Took, and Melvin Wright (Peacock)

Love on the Spectrum may have more nominations that Life Below Zero, which has two, but the latter is the defending multi-year winner, losing only to Welcome to Wrexham, which is not nominated in this category this year. Because of that, it's my pick to return to the podium in September.

Outstanding Directing for a Reality Program

• The Amazing Race: "It Smells Like the Desert" – Bertram van Munster (CBS)
• Love on the Spectrum: "Episode 7" – Cian O'Clery (Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race: "Squirrel Games" – Nick Murray (MTV)
• Top Chef: "Foraged in Fire" – Ariel Boles (Bravo)
• The Traitors – Ben Archard (Peacock)

Love on the Spectrum is the defending winner, so it's my pick to return to the podium. Only RuPaul's Drag Race among the nominees has won this award recently, so it's my second choice.

Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program

• Deadliest Catch – Rob Butler, Isaiah Camp, Josh Stockero, Alexander Rubinow, Hugh Elliott, Nico Natale, Brock Carter, Christopher James Forrest, and Chris Courtner (Discovery Channel)
• Life Below Zero: "The Last Snow" – Matt Edwards, Matt Mercer, Jennifer Nelson, Michael Swingler, and Tanner Roth (National Geographic)
• Love on the Spectrum: "Episode 7" – Leanne Cole, Rachel Grierson-Johns, Gretchen Peterson, and John Rosser (Netflix)
• RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked: "Drag Baby Mamas" – Miguel Siqueiros, Jimmy Bazan, and Johanna Gavard (MTV)
• Welcome to Wrexham: "Down to the Wire" – Sam Fricke, Jenny Krochmal, Mohamed el Manasterly, Michael Oliver, Tim Roche, Matt Wafaie, Steve Welch, and Tim Wilsbach (FX

This is the other category where the top three nominees for Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program are competing with each other. Since Welcome to Wrexham is the two-time defending winner, I'm predicting it will three-peat. My second choice is 2022's winner, Love on the Spectrum. My third choice is 2021's winner, Life Below Zero. Sorry, RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked, I think Deadliest Catch has a better chance. Speaking of which...

Outstanding Sound Mixing for a Reality Program

• The Amazing Race – Jim Ursulak, Allie Boettger, Paul Bruno, John Buchanan, Dean Gaveau, Ryan P. Kelly, Marcus Lominy, Richard Chardy Lopez, Mickey McMullen, Sean Milburn, Paul Orozco, Simon Paine, John Pitron, Jeff Zipp, Troy Smith, and Ryan Gerle (CBS)
• American Idol: "Grand Finale" – Patrick Smith, Randy Faustino, Michael Parker, Manny Barrajas, Christian Schrader, Jesse Dunham, Barry Weir Jr., and Adrian Ordonez (ABC)
• Deadliest Catch: "My Brother's Keeper" – Jared Robbins (Discovery Channel)
• The Voice: "Live Finale, Part 2" – Michael Abbott, Randy Faustino, Tim Hatayama, Christian Schrader, Carlos Torres, Andrew Fletcher, Shaun Sebastian, Kenyata Westbrook, Colin Bonney, Servio Escobedo, John Koster, Robert P. Matthews Jr., Marlon Moore, and Ryan Young (NBC)
• Welcome to Wrexham: "Down to the Wire" – Mark Jensen (FX)

I may be featuring the Twitter/X promotional image for Deadliest Catch, but Welcome to Wrexham is the two-time defending winner here, too. The only nominees that might prevent it from three-peating this category are American Idol and The Voice, and only if the voters settle on which is the better singing competition show. That's a topic for the installment after next, when I plan on covering competition shows. In the meantime, stay tuned for something scientific, environmental, or historical tomorrow and the nominees for Outstanding Structured Reality Program on Thursday. Queer Eye vs. Shark Tank!

Previous posts about the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards

• No PSAs among nominees for Outstanding Commercial plus winners for Outstanding Promotional Announcement at the Emmy Awards
• 'I Am: Celine Dion,' 'Patrice: The Movie,' and 'The Remarkable Life of Ibelin,' Emmy nominees for Exceptional Merit in Documentary Filmmaking
• 'Asia' and 'The Americas' lead nature documentaries at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards
• 'Pee-wee as Himself' vs. 'Will & Harper' for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Special on Tequila Day
• '100 Foot Wave' leads Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series in nominations, but could lose to 'SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night'
• 'The Daily Show Presents: Jordan Klepper Fingers the Pulse: MAGA: The Next Generation' plus the Emmy nominees for Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction Series or Special
• Emmy nominee 'Desi Lydic Foxsplains the Epstein Files' plus the rest of the short form nominees at the Emmy Awards
• John Oliver examines 'Gang Databases' plus 'Last Week Tonight's six Emmy nominations
• Colbert, Lydic, and Meyers take closer looks at the EPA and Epstein and Kimmel goes down the rabbit hole on 'windmills'
• 'Jeopardy!' favored to win Game Show categories at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards