Emmys 2013: The Reality-Competition Series Race In Review, Including Our Dream Nominees

By Team TVLine June 15, 2013 2:07 pm EST

Emmy Best Reality Competition Series Nominees

The Amazing Race

THE AMAZING RACE The show has taken home the statuette nine out of 10 years, so there’s no question whatsoever about whether it will be nominated again. (If anything, the question is, where will producers put their 10th Emmy?) And although The Voice is generating ever more buzz, CBS’ globetrotting thrill ride still earned its fair share of attention in its 22nd cycle, thanks to a controversial trip to Vietnam. Maybe this will even be the year that four-time also-ran Phil Keoghan gets the (golden) girl.

THE AMAZING RACE

The show has taken home the statuette nine out of 10 years, so there's no question whatsoever about whether it will be nominated again. (If anything, the question is, where will producers put their 10th Emmy?) And although The Voice is generating ever more buzz, CBS' globetrotting thrill ride still earned its fair share of attention in its 22nd cycle, thanks to a controversial trip to Vietnam. Maybe this will even be the year that four-time also-ran Phil Keoghan gets the (golden) girl.

American Idol

AMERICAN IDOL Is it time to change the Fox sing-off’s title to Fallen Idol? After nine consecutive noms, the reality juggernaut got locked out of the category in 2012 by rival The Voice. And with a big ratings slide and the unappealing Mariah Carey-Nicki Minaj feud casting a shadow over the competition, this year Emmy voters might smell blood in the water and snub Idol once more. Then again, considering that Season 12's final two -- R&B diva Candice Glover and country crooner Kree Harrison -- were on par with some of the all-time Idol greats (plus the continued hitmaking power of Season 11 champ Phillip Phillips), a second straight snub would feel somewhat shocking.

AMERICAN IDOL

Is it time to change the Fox sing-off's title to Fallen Idol? After nine consecutive noms, the reality juggernaut got locked out of the category in 2012 by rival The Voice. And with a big ratings slide and the unappealing Mariah Carey-Nicki Minaj feud casting a shadow over the competition, this year Emmy voters might smell blood in the water and snub Idol once more. Then again, considering that Season 12's final two — R&B diva Candice Glover and country crooner Kree Harrison — were on par with some of the all-time Idol greats (plus the continued hitmaking power of Season 11 champ Phillip Phillips), a second straight snub would feel somewhat shocking.

Celebrity Apprentice

THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE Though NBC’s original Apprentice won nominations in 2004 and 2005, its parade-of-has-beens spinoff has never received a nom. Given the right-leaning politics of boss man Donald Trump -- not to mention the show’s continued exploitation of addled Gary Busey -- there’s not so much as a combed-over hair of a chance of that changing.

THE CELEBRITY APPRENTICE

Though NBC's original Apprentice won nominations in 2004 and 2005, its parade-of-has-beens spinoff has never received a nom. Given the right-leaning politics of boss man Donald Trump — not to mention the show's continued exploitation of addled Gary Busey — there's not so much as a combed-over hair of a chance of that changing.

Dancing With the Stars

DANCING WITH THE STARS

Nominated every year since 2006, ABC's ballroom smackdown has yet to quickstep away with the Emmy. And its last season was the uninspired 16th edition, meaning its cha-cha-chances of emerging victorious this time around are slim to none, though an eighth consecutive nomination is within reach. (A better bet: a second win for affable host Tom Bergeron, who last year became the first host to win over Survivor's Jeff Probst. Probst, who has four previous trophies, wasn't even nominated.)

The Glee Project

THE GLEE PROJECT Unlike so many reality-competition series that don’t really launch the next top anything, the sophomore season of Oxygen’s televised talent search produced a viable star for the Glee mothership in the form of winner Blake Jenner. The triple-threat teenage dream beat a diverse, talented crop of competitors -- the suspenseful finale found him taking on a Muslim beauty and a spunky gal in a wheelchair -- to eventually land the role of football star and glee-clubber Ryder Lynn. So who knows? If The Glee Project’s root-for-the-underdog spirit (and successful track record) catch voters’ attention, maybe a surprise Emmy nom could materialize.

THE GLEE PROJECT

Unlike so many reality-competition series that don't really launch the next top anything, the sophomore season of Oxygen's televised talent search produced a viable star for the Glee mothership in the form of winner Blake Jenner. The triple-threat teenage dream beat a diverse, talented crop of competitors — the suspenseful finale found him taking on a Muslim beauty and a spunky gal in a wheelchair — to eventually land the role of football star and glee-clubber Ryder Lynn. So who knows? If The Glee Project's root-for-the-underdog spirit (and successful track record) catch voters' attention, maybe a surprise Emmy nom could materialize.

Project Runway

PROJECT RUNWAY Lifetime’s haute couture face-off has been racking up noms since its days on Bravo. And yet its 11th cycle felt so last season, thanks to a twist in which individual challenges were replaced by team competitions. The twist was a misfire, so now the question is whether the show’s streak of eight straight nominations might finally come unstitched.

PROJECT RUNWAY

Lifetime's haute couture face-off has been racking up noms since its days on Bravo. And yet its 11th cycle felt so last season, thanks to a twist in which individual challenges were replaced by team competitions. The twist was a misfire, so now the question is whether the show's streak of eight straight nominations might finally come unstitched.

RuPaul's Drag Race

RuPAUL’S DRAG RACE How fun would it be to see Logo’s campfest in the running? No T, no shade, but its best chance of being recognized is a nod for its wiggy host(ess). Unfortunately, that chance is as slim as RuPaul is.

RuPAUL'S DRAG RACE

How fun would it be to see Logo's campfest in the running? No T, no shade, but its best chance of being recognized is a nod for its wiggy host(ess). Unfortunately, that chance is as slim as RuPaul is.

So You Think You Can Dance

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE While it’s a far more legitimate talent contest than Dancing With the Stars, Fox’s sublime dance-off gets a fraction of its ABC counterpart’s viewership (and even less of its buzz). So it’ll be lucky if enough voters board Mary Murphy’s hot tamale train to win it a third nomination.

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE

While it's a far more legitimate talent contest than Dancing With the Stars, Fox's sublime dance-off gets a fraction of its ABC counterpart's viewership (and even less of its buzz). So it'll be lucky if enough voters board Mary Murphy's hot tamale train to win it a third nomination.

Survivor

SURVIVOR Once considered a real contender to bring The Amazing Race’s winning streak to an end, CBS’ long-running adventure series hasn’t been nominated since – yikes -- 2006. In 2012, even Jeff Probst -- the victorious host the four previous years -- failed to score a nom. After an unremarkable fans-vs.-favorites season, a nomination for the show seems highly unlikely.

SURVIVOR

Once considered a real contender to bring The Amazing Race's winning streak to an end, CBS' long-running adventure series hasn't been nominated since – yikes — 2006. In 2012, even Jeff Probst — the victorious host the four previous years — failed to score a nom. After an unremarkable fans-vs.-favorites season, a nomination for the show seems highly unlikely.

Top Chef

TOP CHEF Aside from The Amazing Race, only Bravo’s cook-off has ever tasted victory in this category -- and that was three years ago. Unfortunately, there was more excitement in its 10th season in its web offshoot, Last Chance Kitchen, than on air, so a seventh nomination is probably all that it’s going to be served by Emmy.

TOP CHEF

Aside from The Amazing Race, only Bravo's cook-off has ever tasted victory in this category — and that was three years ago. Unfortunately, there was more excitement in its 10th season in its web offshoot, Last Chance Kitchen, than on air, so a seventh nomination is probably all that it's going to be served by Emmy.

The Voice

THE VOICE Arguably the contender with the best chance of stealing away the reality-competition Emmy from The Amazing Race, NBC’s singing contest has going for it strong numbers, enough buzz to drown out a hive, a nomination last year, and do we really need to mention the swivel chairs? Also to its credit, the show once derided as an American Idol knockoff managed to swap out judges Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green for Shakira and Usher without missing a beat.

THE VOICE

Arguably the contender with the best chance of stealing away the reality-competition Emmy from The Amazing Race, NBC's singing contest has going for it strong numbers, enough buzz to drown out a hive, a nomination last year, and do we really need to mention the swivel chairs? Also to its credit, the show once derided as an American Idol knockoff managed to swap out judges Christina Aguilera and CeeLo Green for Shakira and Usher without missing a beat.

The X Factor

THE X FACTOR Considering the Great Britney Spears Experiment was a total failure, Simon Cowell’s post-American Idol endeavor doesn’t stand a chance of breaking into the top category. Maybe the third season will be the charm.

THE X FACTOR

Considering the Great Britney Spears Experiment was a total failure, Simon Cowell's post-American Idol endeavor doesn't stand a chance of breaking into the top category. Maybe the third season will be the charm.