FYC: RuPaul's Drag Race for Best Reality Competition
Monday, June 22, 2015 at 12:00PM 
We're almost at the end of our FYCs. Team Experience was asked to share their individual dream picks for Emmy nominations. Here's Manuel ...
I don’t even have to tell you how stale this relatively new Emmy category is (The Amazing Race has won 10 out of 12 times the statuette has been awarded with only 12 shows ever nominated) before I get to vocalize my frustration - if not surprise - at the fact that RuPaul’s Drag Race has even yet to be nominated.
I mean, is that okay?
Drag Race is that rare show that can sport an arched eyebrow that tells you we should take everything in good fun while offering a shoulder to cry on because the struggle is real, y’all. Its greatest strength as a television show is that its sentimentality isn't framed in opposition to its campy exterior or its ironic posturing, it's actually endemic to them. This, of course, wouldn't be possible without RuPaul, who can stage a heart to heart while sharing a tic tac for lunch. It's a show that can take a seeming contradiction ("I want to see the REAL you by having it come out through layers of make up and various wigs and affectations and gif-ready reaction shots") and improbably enough, make it werk.
Even after seven seasons, Drag Race remains a fascinating experiment in reality TV competition which doesn't just explicitly admit the strangeness of its own genre trappings but uses them to create the most cogent oral history of the trials of drag queen herstory since Paris is Burning. Think about it: this season alone dealt with the palliative powers of drag when it comes to dealing with addiction (Katya & Fame), trauma (Pearl, Kennedy), rejection (Jaidynn, Trixie), aging (Tempest, Mrs Kasha Davis), storylines that have become so familiar to the show only because they have become intrinsic to understanding the very nature of drag. That Logo and Ru can accomplish that while giving good gif, well, that's Emmyworthy.
Can I get an Amen up in here?
Drag Queens, Emmy, FYC, LGBT, RuPaul's Drag Race, TV
Reader Comments (16)
If this post was about Season SIX of RuPaul's Drag Race, I'd be right there with you.
Season Seven ... not so much.
WORD.
Even if this season was not up to the usual standard, Drag Race is still the most original, hilarious, compelling, genre-busting reality show on TV. And RuPaul far and away the best host. Give it ALL the Emmys, I say!
I'm with Jakey. I'd love a nom but I would hate it for this season. This is the first season ever where I honestly didn't care who won at the finale.
Even a sub-par season of Drag Race is still way more interesting and creative than the generic dreck that gets nominated every year.
I wonder if Logo is even bothering submitting the show for consideration (and RuPual for host) or if they figure there's no point and don't bother?
I agree that Violet is the second worst winner ever (Tyra is BY FAR the worst) BUT I am still obsess with the show. Go Mama Ru!!
How's the Television Academy gonna love Drag Race when it can't love itself?
^^^ Sam's comment FTW. It's one of the most glaring omissions in this category. If it doesn't get nominated again, it is only fitting that Drag Race alums then READ this years nominees for filth on stage
C'mon Emmy!
Sam -- ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
Sissy That Category.
Amen, Amen, a thousand times Amen.
Sure, some seasons are far better than others but no matter. "RuPaul's Drag Race"' needs to be RECOGNIZED! Emmy wake up and get with it!
"May I call you Jiggly?"
Amen.
Drag Race has officially entered the Project Runway zone where it's virtually impossible to do anything new and yet still remains more or less entertaining on a week-by-week basis because its got talented (with a smattering of very not-so-talented) individuals struggling away at an artform that so many people don't even consider art let alone hard work. It relies now more on personality and catchphrases than originality and concept, which is fine. It's been going for seven seasons now, it'd be hard to be that fresh year in year out. Of course, season 7 was weaker because of the contestants with only maybe four or five of them really being at all competitive for the prize, but there was a series of about four episodes in the middle there that were all incredible (the John Waters challenge, the saimese twins challenge) that were as packed with entertainment as past seasons. I don't watch Survivor or The Amazing Race anymore, but I can't imagine it's any less stale than those. And if, as voters usually would be with a show like this, are watching episodes in a vacuum they could have picked those episodes to highlight it.
Am I the only one who thinks Logo should make Snatch Game a weekly 30-minute show? Bring back my gurlz (I mean's Ru's gurlz) to do impressions every week. It would be a win-win for Logo ... for the gurlz ... for Ru ... and for us!
That's a good point, Glenn. I also *loved* the Hello Kitty challenge (even if it sent the best queen of the show home) and thought it was the most entertaining hour of the season.
When Ru clapped her hands and said "SILENCE!" and Hello Kitty put her paws to her face, I just about died. It was such a stupid kind of humor, but the show absolutely committed to it and nailed it.
Glenn, season 7 wasn't weak because of the contestants, it was weak because of all the GROUP challenges.