The sun rises in the east and sets in the west – and RuPaulCharles always wins the Emmy for Best Reality Host. A win for RuPaul with his cult hit “RuPaul’s Drag Race” has literally become as reliable as the behavior of that big ball in the sky. In fact, he hasn’t lost since 2016, winning the trophy for this category eight times in a row and going for his ninth consecutive win this year. In fact, he has never lost in this category. Will he maintain his perfect record?

Unfortunately, there are signs that this could be the year he finally meets his match. The predictions in Gold Derby still favor RuPaul by a wide margin – but they have been wrong before. To get a better estimate, the senior editors of Gold Derby Denton Davidson, Daniel Montgomery And Marcus James Dixon and editor for news and features Ray Richmond came together to share their opinions on how the race will play out for host status as well as several other reality, variety and special programming categories that will be decided at both the Creative Arts Emmys on September 7 and 8 and the Primetime Emmy ceremony on September 15. Watch the foursome’s colorful debate above.

The other four nominees for reality host who are chasing RuPaul this time are Alan Cumming for “The Traitors”, Jeff Probst for “Survivor” (four-time winner in this category, nominated for the first time since 2011), Kristen Kish for “Top Chef” and the Shark Tank hosts for “Shark Tank.” Will Cumming or Probst beat RuPaul? Richmond jokes that he’d like to see RuPaul and Cumming “wrestle in the mud,” and admits he’s gone back and forth on his choice but is sticking with RuPaul for now. Davidson is also “playing it safe” and sticking with RuPaul, asking, “How can you vote against someone who’s undefeated? It’s hard to predict when he’s finally going to lose.” Well, Montgomery predicts it and chooses Cumming. “It’s his first nomination as a host, but as an actor he’s been nominated for the Emmys several times. It could just be that the nomination is the hardest part, and now that he’s in, Alan will win.”

Dixon stresses that “this is not a two-way battle, it’s a three-way battle” and that Probst has never lost when he’s been nominated. “Jeff Probst is a very strong third,” he believes. “My heart is with a newcomer – Alan Cumming – but knowing the Emmy voters and how much they love repeats, I could easily see RuPaul winning again… I don’t know what to make of that. I’ll probably vote for Alan Cumming and probably be wrong.”

In the corresponding lineup for best competitive program, where “RuPaul’s Drag Race” competes against “The Traitors,” “Top Chef,” “The Voice” and “The Amazing Race,” “Drag Race” is way ahead in terms of Gold Derby chances here too. It has won in this category five times already, including in 2023 (awarded last January). Dixon points out that “Drag Race” was recently surprised once before — in 2022, when “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls” took the crown. “Lizzo’s show was a very empowering show (like ‘Drag Race’),” he emphasizes. “It made you feel good when you watched it. As much as I love ‘The Traitors,’ it’s not an inspirational, feel-good show. It’s more trashy, and I mean that with all the love in my heart. I think ‘Drag Race’ has that.” Montgomery agrees, believing that “the show will win here for at least another year,” while Richmond agrees that “The Traitors” is “getting closer to dethroning ‘Drag Race,’ but that may take a year or more.” Davidson emphasizes that “‘Drag Race’ is still the most engaging show of all and is clearly the clear favorite here.”

Now we come to best talk show for various entertainment programs — for which “The Daily Show” (the clear frontrunner in that category at Gold Derby), “Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live” and “Late Night with Seth Meyers” are nominated — and all four agree that “The Daily Show” has no choice but to lose. For Davidson, it’s the only one of the shows to have won multiple Emmys. “Historically, it’s so strong,” he claims. Montgomery points out that there’s rarely been a winner in that category that hasn’t had a single host throughout. “This one has rotating hosts,” he says, “but they’re the only nominees for a talk show that can still be written. So I’ll take it.” Richmond notes that the show “got an extra boost of attention and popularity from Jon Stewart comes back every week for one evening, sometimes more often. The Daily Show still offers the best value for money.”

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