There is a changing of the guard in the reality competition Emmy arena. After winning the harbinger Outstanding Casting For A Reality Program category last year, Peacock’s pop culture phenom The Traitors tonight took one of the two top categories in the field, Outstanding Host For A Reality Or Reality Competition Program, for its emcee Alan Cumming.
In doing so, the Scottish actor, who had been nominated four times for his role on The Good Wife and hosting the Tonys, unseated the dominant winner in the Reality Host category for the past decade, RuPaul, who had taken the statuette the last eight years. In addition to RuPaul’s Drag Race‘s RuPaul, Cumming faced Survivor’s Jeff Probst, Top Chef‘s new host Kristen Kish and Shark Tank‘s Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Daymond John and Kevin O’Leary
Cumming was not on hand to receive his first Emmy during Night 1 of the Creative Arts Emmy Awards Saturday. He will have another chance at the main Emmy telecast on ABC on Sept. 15 as an executive producer of The Traitors, which is also nominate for Outstanding Reality Competition Program.
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Tonight’s win adds to The Traitors‘ momentum as it looks to upset a field of four previous Reality Competition Program winners, The Amazing Race (10 wins), RuPaul’s Drag Race (5 wins, including last year), The Voice (4) and Top Chef (1).
It also marks one of the highest profile Emmy victories yet for Peacock, joining last year’s Guest Actress In A Comedy Series win for Poker Face’s Judith Light.