‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Against ‘The Voice’ for Emmy for Outstanding Competition Program
CBS/NBC Reading Time: 3 minutes
The Television Academy announced the nominations for the 73rd Primetime Emmy Awards this week. RuPaul’s Drag Race and The Voice were both nominated for Outstanding Competition Program. Meanwhile, American Idol and America’s Got Talent were left out of the nomination pool.
It’s interesting that two shows that couldn’t be more different, could end up in the same category. When looking at the other nominees, you’ll see that these competition shows are all very different in nature:
- The Amazing Race (CBS)
- Nailed it! (Netflix)
- RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
- Top Chef (Bravo)
- The Voice (NBC)
With the emergence of new competition programs, and a broad spectrum of what a competition program can look like, it’s no surprise that two different shows can be nominated for the same award. Competition programming is really such a broad term when it comes to the television programming world of 2021.
RuPaul‘s Three Year Winning Streak
Our current nominees don’t differ much from the 72nd Emmy Awards. Last year, RuPaul’s Drag Race won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Competition Program. Other nominees were Nailed It!, The Masked Singer, The Voice, and Top Chef.
This was RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s third year in a row winning this Emmy Award. Before this, The Voice had a winning streak between the years of 2015 and 2017.
Will RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s three year winning streak continue? They’re actually nominees for 11 Emmy Awards this year, so they have a great chance of bringing home at least one award.
Which Shows Slipped Through the Cracks?
We’re happy to see RuPaul’s Drag Race and The Voice getting nominations again this year, but what about the shows that slipped through the cracks? We’re talking, American Idol, America’s Got Talent, and The Masked Singer.
American Idol won the Governor’s Award in 2016, and hasn’t had a nomination since. The Governor’s Award signifies outstanding achievement as a series (in this case). But that’s okay since American Idol has been around the longest.
This singing competition show began in 2002 and is still kicking after a network change. It has already had 67 nominations, and has won a total of eight Emmy Awards throughout its run.
America’s Got Talent is a nominee for an Emmy, but not for its series as a whole. Within the Emmy Awards, there are many categories that fans overlook. Most people don’t look past Outstanding Competition Program. But, when looking further, people will find that a few of their favorite shows are actually still nominees for Emmy Awards.
During the 73rd Emmy Awards, America’s Got Talent is nominated for both Outstanding Technical Direction, Camerawork, Video Control For A Series and Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Variety Series.
Similarly, during the 72nd Emmy Awards, The Masked Singer was a nominee alongside The Voice and RuPaul’s Drag Race for Outstanding Competition Program. But, this year, for whatever reason, The Masked Singer did not make the list.
This doesn’t mean The Masked Singer has lost its spot in the hearts of Americans, it just means this year the 16,000 voting members decided they liked another shows more. And that’s okay, especially since The Masked Singer is nominated for Outstanding Production Design For A Variety, Reality Or Competition Series and Outstanding Lighting Design/Lighting Direction For A Variety Series.
Tune into the 73rd Emmy Awards Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS to see the winners.
