'The Traitors' won two Emmy Awards for National Coming Out Day

Happy National Coming Out Day! I usually examine Emmy Awards won by reality programs, but skipped that tradition last year because of the writers' and actors' strikes. I'm returning to it today by re-examining Gold Derby's predictions for reality programs at the Emmy Awards.

Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program

• RuPaul Charles - RuPaul's Drag Race (MTV)
• Alan Cumming - The Traitors (Peacock)
• Daymond John, Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Lori Greiner, Kevin O'Leary and Robert Herjavec - Shark Tank (ABC)
• Kristen Kish - Top Chef (Bravo)
• Jeff Probst - Survivor (CBS)

Nine editors voted for RuPaul to return to the stage, while two agree with the Gold Derby TV Awards voters that Alan Cumming will win. The experts are less sure with five picking RuPaul and four choosing Cumming. In contrast, the top 24 users agree with the editors that RuPaul will reign supreme for one more year, while four chose Cumming.

There has been no change since Sunday. I would pick RuPaul to RePeat.

I never did register at Gold Derby, but I would have been wrong anyway, as Cumming won. His win keeps the LGBTQ+ theme of today going, as Cumming is bisexual and an LGBT activist. That partially makes up for RuPaul's Drag Race, Queer Eye, RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked, and We're Here all being shut out, despite two of them being favored to win their categories.

To celebrate Cumming's first Emmy, I'm sharing Entertainment Tonight's Alan Cumming Reacts to Beating RuPaul for Emmy for Best Host.

Alan Cumming chats with ET's Nischelle Turner after winning Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality Competition Program for season 2 of 'The Traitors.'

Cumming should be impressed by beating RuPaul; that's not an insignificant achievement.

Now to revisit the predictions for Cumming's second Emmy.

Outstanding Reality Competition Program

• The Amazing Race (CBS)
• RuPaul's Drag Race (MTV)
• Top Chef (Bravo)
• The Traitors (Peacock)
• The Voice (NBC)

RuPaul's Drag Race has won this category five of the past six years, including earlier this year for 2023 and the forecasters at Gold Derby agree, as ten of eleven editors, eleven of sixteen experts, and fifteen users have chosen it as the winner. One editor, five experts, and six users think The Traitors could walk away with the statuette in an upset (three users haven't made up their minds yet). I would pick RuPaul's Drag Race given the opportunity.

Like me, the remaining top 24 users jumped on the RuPaul's Drag Race bandwagon with one user switching from The Traitors to RuPaul's Drag Race. I bet they regret that decision, as The Traitors won. Watch Reality Competition Program: 76th Emmy Awards from the Television Academy.

The Team from The Traitors accepts the Emmy for Outstanding Reality Competition Program at the 76th Emmy Awards.

Congratulations to Cumming and the rest of The Traitors team!

Follow over the jump for the rest of the reality TV Emmy winners.

James Earl Jones passes at 93

Change of plans. Instead of diversity among Creative Arts Emmy Awards winners on TV Dinner Day, which I promised in yesterday's 'Jim Henson Idea Man' and 'Girls State' win multiple Emmy Awards, I'm going to honor diversity in entertainment in a different way today by remembering the life of James Earl Jones.* Watch CNN report Actor James Earl Jones dies at 93.

James Earl Jones, an award-winning actor whose career spanned seven decades, died at the age of 93, according to his agent, Barry McPherson. CNN’s Richard Roth and Elizabeth Wagmeister report.

As my readers can see and hear, Jones's passing is personal for CNN. He was a member of their family, having been the voice of the cable channel's slogan. I can relate. I'm a Star Wars fan and I feel the loss of the voice of Darth Vader, too.

As CNN predicted, tributes poured in. I'm sharing three of them, beginning with Entertainment Tonight reporting James Earl Jones Dead at 93, which gave a more complete picture of Jones's life and career.

James Earl Jones has died. The EGOT-winner was best known for his iconic deep voice in films, provided the voice for Darth Vader in the ‘Star Wars’ franchise. Jones was also known for roles in 'The Lion King,' ‘Dr. Strangelove,’ ‘Claudine’ and ‘Field of Dreams.’ He was 93.

While it's a sad day, it's also a good day for me, as I learned new things about Jones's roles, especially his comedic ones. Any day I learn something new is a good day, even today.

Next, E! News shared James Earl Jones Dead at 93: 'Star Wars' Actor Mark Hamill and More Pay Tribute.

After James Earl Jones passed away at 93, many in Hollywood pay homage to the legendary actor including Mark Hamill, LeVar Burton, Octavia Spencer and more. Days prior to James Earl Jones' passing, 'Fight Night' star Terrence Howard recalled meeting the iconic star in an interview with E! News.

Access Hollywood shared many of these social media tributes and more in James Earl Jones Dead: Mark Hamill & Kevin Costner PAY TRIBUTE.

Stars across Hollywood are mourning the death of film and theater icon James Earl Jones, who has died at the age of 93. The legendary actor passed away on the morning of Sept. 9 at his home surrounded by family, his rep confirmed to Access Hollywood. James was known for his resonant voice and many iconic movie roles, famously voicing Mufasa in “The Lion King” and Darth Vader in the original “Star Wars” trilogy. He also memorably appeared in “Field of Dreams,” “The Hunt for Red October,” “The Sandlot,” “Coming to America,” and “Dr. Strangelove,” among other films. Access takes a look at some of the many tributes that poured in following the sad news of Jones’ death.

His fellow actors and other Hollywood creators loved Jones. He will be missed. May he rest in peace.

*The Emmy winners can wait until next week, after the main ceremony. Shogun alone will make for a diverse group of awardees.

Colbert and Corden express their grief and outrage over school shooting in Texas

I concluded Seth Meyers takes closer looks at guns by suggesting I do the same for other shows.

Meyers isn't the only late-night talk show host with blistering monologues on guns and guests favoring gun control. Both Stephen Colbert and Jimmy Kimmel did as well. Maybe I will post them, too. Stay tuned.

I begin today's follow-up with Entertainment Tonight's Texas School Shooting: Stephen Colbert and James Corden Near Tears.

Stephen Colbert and James Corden address the tragic Texas school shooting, which resulted in the deaths of 19 students and two adults.

While that's pretty much all parts of Stephen Colbert's monologue about the shooting, it's only part of James Corden's Message After the Texas School Shooting, so I'm sharing it in its entirety.

After at least 20 people were shot and killed in a mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, James shares his sense of heartbreak about the day's events and frustration about the way nothing ever seems to change when it comes to America's rampant gun violence.

I found that just as moving as James's speech in James Corden, Global News, and Kamala Harris on CNN update gun control for the eighth year of Crazy Eddie's Motie News three years ago.

I'm returning to Stephen for the rest of the post, beginning with his first guest the day of the show, who said "We Will Buy Them Back And We Will Destroy Them" - PM Jacinda Ardern On Gun Control In New Zealand.

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern outlines what her country's government did to enact sensible gun control after a terrible mass shooting in Christchurch.

Prime Minister Ardern also talked about what her country did to reduce the effects of the pandemic, something I haven't written about before. In fact, I've never mentioned New Zealand's Prime Minister before. Welcome to the blog, Prime Minister!*

Follow over the jump for two of Stephen's monologues about guns and another guest who discussed the topic.

Anthony Mackie interviewed about playing Captain America by Colbert, Noah, and Entertainment Tonight

I closed Disneyland reopens as more than 100 million Americans are fully vaccinated, a pandemic update with a footnote about today's post.

My other choice for today's topic was Anthony Mackie as the new Captain America. My wife liked that idea better than this one, so stay tuned to see if I write about tomorrow.

As I promised my wife, I'm blogging about it today. Watch "Humbling And Exciting" - Anthony Mackie On Becoming Captain America from "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

Anthony Mackie, star of "Falcon and The Winter Soldier," talks about the significance of becoming the first Black Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Get used to seeing the clip of Mackie making his first appearance as the new Captain America and to hearing Mackie talk about his sons and praising the show's writers and director.

While Trevor Noah also mentioned Mackie being the last guest on his show before the pandemic lockdown and Mackie's workout regimen to achieve and maintain his physique, Trevor went into far more depth about the shows' social commentary in Anthony Mackie - Becoming the First Black Captain America.

Anthony Mackie talks about his experience becoming Captain America, explains how “The Falcon and The Winter Soldier” tackled the turbulent relationship between Black men and America, and shares his love for New Orleans.

This segment shows the importance of the interviewer, as Trevor was willing to ask questions about the social issues in the show and eliciting answers about how the writers and actors handled them. In particular, Mackie saying "As a Black man, you're in an abusive relationship with America" was a hard truth. The good news is that Mackie is getting more positive feedback from fans about becoming Captain America than he expected and that bodes well for the country. I hope he's right.

Follow over the jump for two interviews of the creators of "Falcon and the Winter Soldier" from Entertainment Tonight.

'SNL' lampoons the debate, Trump's COVID diagnosis, and Supreme Court nomination in season premiere after winning six Emmy Awards

I concluded Seth Meyers and Samantha Bee weigh in with their closer looks at the first presidential debate "while this is my second bite at the apple of the debate, it might not be my last. I haven't checked the TV schedule yet, but if Saturday Night Live and/or John Oliver revisit the debate, I'll probably post their takes on it as well. Stay tuned to find out." I also told my readers yesterday to "Stay tuned for a post celebrating Wester followed by the Sunday entertainment feature. I'll probably write about another Emmy winning show." As I expected, I get to do both for this week's Sunday entertainment feature, as SNL couldn't resist the debate, converting it into First Debate Cold Open to begin the new season.

Chris Wallace (Beck Bennett) moderates the first presidential debate between Donald Trump (Alec Baldwin) and Joe Biden (Jim Carrey).

That's about the level of absurdity that debate deserved, as portrayed by two great comic actors, Baldwin and Carrey, in the roles of Trump and Biden. We know we'll get Baldwin as Trump and Maya Rudolph as Kamala Harris back as Trump if there is another debate. I hope we get Carrey, again, too.

While President Trump testing positive for COVID-19 was only hinted at in the cold open, it was an explicit topic of the next segment, Chris Rock Stand-Up Monologue.

Host Chris Rock does stand-up about Donald Trump contracting COVID-19, the pandemic and the U.S. government.

Rock raised a number of serious points in his monologue, including rethinking government. I'll have to ponder them beyond "if I want a bunch of dukes and duchesses running the country, I'd advocate for a new constitution that replaces the republic with a constitutional monarchy and invite Meghan Mountbatten-Windsor to be Queen." That's my unpopular poltical opinion and I'm sticking to it.

Weekend Update: Trump Tests Positive for Covid went right after the big story.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like a poll showing overwhelming support for Joe Biden from the LGBTQ community.

The segment continued with Weekend Update: SCOTUS Nomination Fight & Vin Diesel Releases Song.

Weekend Update anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che tackle the week's biggest news, like the Senate moving forward with a vote on Trump’s supreme court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett.

It concluded with something lighter, but still important, Weekend Update: Chen Biao on TikTok.

Chinese trade representative Chen Biao (Bowen Yang) stops by Weekend Update to talk about the US’ ban on TikTok.

Hah, hah, that's a good spot to end the coverage of last night's episode, but a good place to start covering SNL's six Emmy wins. Follow over the jump.

'RuPaul's Drag Race' wins Outstanding Competition Program while RuPaul tells viewers to register to vote

Now that I've posted Nike's 'Dream Crazy' wins Emmy for Outstanding Commercial and shows the power of diversity, it's time to start reviewing the wins by the competition shows whose nominations I listed alongside "RuPaul's Drag Race," which led competition shows in Emmy nominations.  I begin with the headline award which was presented along with all the other major categories.

Outstanding Competition Program

The Amazing Race (CBS)
American Ninja Warrior (NBC)
Nailed It! (Netflix)
RuPaul's Drag Race (VH1)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Voice (NBC)

I think "RuPaul's Drag Race" displays the most acceptance of diversity, althugh the other competition shows have diverse sets of contestants.  It's also the returning winner and has the most nominations of the shows in this category with nine, thirteen if one adds the four from its unstructured companion shows "RuPaul's Drag Race: Untucked," "RuPaul's Drag Race's: Out Of The Closet," and "RuPaul's Drag Race's: Portrait Of A Queen," so I consider it the odds-on favorite.  Its biggest competition is probably "The Voice" with seven nominations.

As I expected, "RuPaul's Drag Race" won.  Watch 71st Emmy Awards: RuPaul's Drag Race Wins For Outstanding Reality-Competition Program - | 2019 in which RuPaul told the audience to register to vote.

Rupaul Wins “Best Reality Competition” | EMMY 2019
RUPAUL’S Drag race

If and when the Television Academy posts an official clip of this award, I'll replace this one with it.

RuPaul repeated his request of the viewers to register to vote in Entertainment Tonight's RuPaul - RuPaul's Drag Race | Emmys 2019 Full Backstage Interview.


I'm glad to see RuPaul using his platform for a greater civic purpose in addition to his show being a showcase for diversity and acceptance.

Follow over the jump for the rest of the awards for "RuPaul's Drag Race" and the other competition shows at this year's Creative Arts Emmy Awards.

'Saturday Night Live' wins big on political satire with nine Emmy Awards

I have one more Emmy winner to examine, "Saturday Night Live," which tied for most Emmy nominations with 22, 24 counting its web series and interactive program.  Stay tuned.

Thus I concluded 'Last Week Tonight With John Oliver' examines corporate consolidation after winning four Emmy Awards, so it's time to report on the final Emmy-winning program about politics.  I begin with an overview of the theme of the night, Emmy awards 2017: Political satire wins the night from Al Jazeera English, which features Saturday Night Live.

The EMMY Awards are all about television entertainment.

This year the spotlight was on political satire.

From dramas to comedies, US politics played a major role.

Al Jazeera's Katia Lopez-Hodoyan reports.

While the video mentions "The Handmaid's Tale" and "Veep," its main emphasis was on the comedy acting awards that SNL won.  I expected three of them, beginning with Melissa McCarthy winning Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.  Earlier this month, I wrote "I'd say either McCarthy or Wiig will win, probably McCarthy.  She made an outstanding Sean Spicer."  She did and she won.  Next was Kate McKinnon earning a second statuette for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.  My prediction was "I expect that Kate McKinnon, who won last year, will repeat."  She did.  My final prediction was "I suspect Alec Baldwin might win [Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series] based on his Trump impersonations," which I foreshadowed last month by writing "He can earn his Emmy for portraying Donald Trump on Saturday Night Live" instead for "Match Game"; I'm glad that Emmy for host of a reality competition show went to RuPaul Charles.

The comedy acting award that took me by surprise was Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, which went to Dave Chappelle.  Wochit Entertainment has the story in Dave Chappelle Wins Emmy For Hosting SNL.

Dave Chappelle has officially won an Emmy Award for his hosting of Saturday Night Live in the fall of 2016. The episode aired on November 12, 2016. During Chappelle's Saturday Night Live episode, the comedian and former star of Chappelle's Show took aim at the Presidential election which had taken place in the weeks leading up to the episode. He did, however, manage to squeeze in a hilarious and unforgettable sketch which parodied The Walking Dead's iconic Season 6 finale and Season 7 premiere, which introduced the villainous Negan character portrayed by Jeffrey Dean Morgan on the AMC series.

I thought the statuette might go to a host of SNL, just not him.

Hugh Laurie is my choice for the best actor of the bunch, but I wouldn't put it past the Emmy voters to pick either Lin-Manuel Miranda or Tom Hanks.  I might have more to say about them and SNL next week.

Between the two, I would say that Hanks has better name recognition and a more memorable performance on SNL, but the voters might think Miranda might send a stronger message to the country.  Yes, it's that kind of year.

I was right that it has been that kind of year, as selecting Dave Chappelle sent an even stronger message.  While it came as a surprise to me, it was also well deserved, as well as being another victory for diversity.

The final award the show won on the final night of the Emmy Awards was Outstanding Variety Sketch Series, which opens ET Canada's 2017 Emmy Awards 'SNL' Highlights: Alec Baldwin, Melissa McCarthy, Ben Affleck's Appearance.

Highlights from the 2017 Emmy Awards including Ben Affleck making an appearance to support girlfriend Lindsay Shookus, a surprise appearance by Sean Spicer and more wins for “SNL”.

I expected SNL winning this category.

I'd say "Saturday Night Live" is favored because of its number of nominations (22, tied with "Westworld"), number of previous nominations (2), and the general zeitgeist.  The two shows with the best but still slim chance of upsetting SNL are "Drunk History" and "Portlandia," the only other shows also nominated all three times the category has been offered.  Of the two, "Drunk History" has four nominations and "Portlandia" has three.  As for the rest, the next best bet is "Tracy Ullman's Show."  Other than that, this should be the beginning of the second part of an SNL near-sweep.

It was a near-sweep on the final night of the Emmys, as SNL won four of the five categories in which it was nominated, winning Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series, which I predicted, while losing only to "Last Week Tonight With John Oliver" in Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series.  Congratulations!

SNL won three more awards at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards the week before, Outstanding Make-up for a Multi-Camera Series or Special (Non-Prosthetic), Outstanding Production Design for a Variety, Nonfiction, Reality, or Reality-Competition Series, and Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control for a Series.  I predicted the first two (turning Alec Baldwin into Trump alone deserved the first) and thought the third could happen because of a sweep.  Nine out of twenty-two or twenty-four, depending on the web series counting, isn't really a sweep, but it was enough to make SNL the most awarded program at the Emmys.  One last time, congratulations!

Now my series on the 2017 Primetime Emmy Awards is complete.  It's time to move on to the News and Documentary Emmys, which will be awarded October 5th.  Stay tuned!