Emmys offer a bigger dose of reality

By Rebecca Ascher-Walsh

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - The art of the samba, the perils of the sea, the secrets of souffles and the oeuvre of actors. All are on display next to equally exotic occupations and subjects in the reality program, reality-competition program and nonfiction series categories for the 60th annual Emmy Awards.

The latter two categories will be announced out on Saturday during the E!-televised Creative Arts portion; the winner of the reality program will be unveiled on September 21 during the main Primetime Emmys ceremony.

For the first time, Emmy will also honor the best reality host. Each nominee will get a chance to strut on the stage during the ABC telecast -- because they'll be hosting the 60th annual Primetime Emmy Awards.

A more diverse set of competitors would be hard to find, but what they all have in common is a need to amp up the drama of their subjects, while still keeping it "real" enough for reality TV.

ON THE LIST

The reality program category may feel familiar; if so, that's because three of the honorees from 2007 are back -- ABC's "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," Bravo's "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List," and PBS' "Antiques Roadshow." "Makeover" deserves props for doing good work in the midst of a declining housing market (though even its homes have not been free of foreclosure) and is the strongest of the vets, with four prior nominations and two wins in the category. "D-List" broke "Makeover's" two-year winning streak in 2007, but Griffin didn't exactly endear herself in her acceptance speech, when she said, "Suck it, Jesus." "Roadshow" has had five additional nominations in three categories over the years -- it was once considered in the nonfiction program (alternative) and then the nonfiction series (informational) categories -- but zero wins.

That makes the newcomers -- A&E's "Intervention" and Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" -- wild cards. If the television academy is looking to shake up the category a bit, these gritty shows may be the ones to do it.

Perhaps surprisingly, "Makeover" co-executive producer Denise Cramsey is a fan of "Dirty Jobs." "I love that show, and I know how hard a traveling show like that is to pull off," she says, but sides with conventional wisdom that Griffin is the toughest competition.

While hardly unbiased, Bravo general manager Frances Berwick agrees. "With a nomination for Kathy's special (Bravo's 'Kathy Griffin: Straight to Hell' also has a nomination for outstanding variety, music or comedy special) and her series, this is all just good news. I think she has a good shot this year."

THE FINISH LINE

The more the reality-competition genre changes, the more the television academy stays the same. For the second year in a row, CBS' "Survivor" has been overlooked in the category. Less stunning: the by-now-given inclusion of the same network's "Amazing Race," which has won every statuette since the category debuted in 2003.

Jane Lipsitz, executive producer of two nominees (Bravo's three-time nominee "Project Runway" and last year's nominee "Top Chef"), says she's delighted to go back to the Emmys. "We've been down this road so many times we'd be naive to be surprised when we hear 'Amazing Race' called again," she says. "We'll just enjoy the nomination and hope against hope."

Her partner, executive producer Dan Cutforth, is a little less sanguine about what's considered in the industry an obvious outcome for "Race." "When we were nominated for both shows last year, I thought, 'Well, that's enough,'" he says. "But I have to admit that on the actual night, I still want to win."

Odds have it that "Race" will take the victory lap, but that doesn't mean the presumptive winner can't be upset -- particularly by Fox's "American Idol," which routinely draws more viewers and more hype but has never won the category prize.

"Race" creator Bertram van Munster hopes one more statuette on his shelf might also count as a win for the team. "I think it's good for the reality business in general every time we win, because it sends a message that there's longevity in reality TV as long as it's done well," he says. "I know all of our fellow nominees are working just as hard as we are. Well, maybe not just as hard, but close to it. We do give it the extra 35,000 miles."