Alan Cumming would be the 4th person to repeat in Best Reality Host: See fresh Emmy odds
To date, Jeff Probst (Survivor), Jane Lynch (Hollywood Game Night), and RuPaul Charles (RuPaul's Drag Race) are the only people to win the Best Reality Host Emmy at least twice in a row. But a fourth contender could soon be joining their esteemed list.
Alan Cumming (The Traitors) is the clear frontrunner in Gold Derby's predictions to claim his second consecutive host trophy. He also won as a producer last year when The Traitors prevailed for Best Competition Program. Cumming plays a heightened version of himself on Peacock's reality TV show, someone who oozes camp and gets excited every time a murder takes place inside his luxurious Scottish castle. Could The Traitors exist in a world without Cumming? Yes. But it wouldn't be nearly as fun. In addition to his two Emmys, the performer is also a double Tony winner for Cabaret (Best Actor in a Musical, 1998) and A Strange Loop (Best Musical, 2022).
Next in line is RuPaul, who holds the record of eight consecutive Best Reality Host wins (2016-23). During the 17th season finale of the long-running competition series, RuPaul narrowed down the list of possible winners to four: Onya Nurve, Jewels Sparkles, Lexi Love, and Sam Star. After anointing Liza Minnelli with the "Giving Us Lifetime Achievement Award," Mama Ru announced that the winner of the $200K grand prize was Onya. As Onya recently told Gold Derby, the best piece of advice she received from RuPaul on the show was to "put the wall down" and "let it all hang out," because, "This is a safe space!"
In third place is Survivor's Probst, who won this host category the first four years of its existence, from 2008 to 2011. Emmy voters essentially snuffed Probst's torch after that, and didn't nominate him again until 2024, a whopping 13-year break. During the recent 48th season, the host broke down in tears for the first time ever, because he was so touched by a moment that happened between an autistic woman and her fellow tribe mate. Raw moments like this keep Survivor fans coming back decade after decade — and the upcoming 50th season will surely be the definition of "must see TV" when it airs in 2026.
The Shark Tank stars rank fourth. Barbara Corcoran, Mark Cuban, Robert Herjavec, Lori Greiner, Daymond John, and Kevin O'Leary were previously nominated as hosts in 2020-22 and 2024, but this year is different as it officially marks Cuban's last season on the show, plus Daniel Lubetzky has been promoted to a full-time host. Cuban signed off in the Season 16 finale after a decade and a half of investing in aspiring entrepreneurs. The sextet, minus Lubetzky, prevailed as producers in 2024 when Shark Tank triumphed in Best Structured Reality Program.
Queer Eye's Fab 5 round out our Top 5. The guys experienced a facelift in Season 9 when they swapped out Bobby Berk for Jeremiah Brent, but the show remained just as powerful as ever as it went on the road to Las Vegas. Karamo Brown, Antoni Porowski, Tan France, and Jonathan Van Ness have been nominated four times so far as hosts (2020-23), and they won as producers in 2023 when Queer Eye claimed the Emmy for Best Structured Reality Program. "I keep saying to people, it feels like I've come home in a lot of ways," Brent told Gold Derby about joining the program.
Gold Derby's Emmy odds are based on the combined forecasts of more than 2,800 people (and counting), including experts we’ve polled from major media outlets, editors who cover awards year-round for this website, and the mass of users who make up our biggest predictions bloc. Track the Emmy predictions by exploring all of our charts and graphs, and sound off in our TV forum.
BEST REALITY HOST
PREDICTED NOMINEES
1. Alan Cumming (The Traitors) — 13/8
2. RuPaul Charles (RuPaul's Drag Race) — 37/10
3. Jeff Probst (Survivor) — 6/1
4. Shark Tank Hosts — 10/1
5. Queer Eye Hosts — 21/2
POTENTIAL SPOILERS
6. Kristen Kish (Top Chef) — 18/1
7. Phil Keoghan (The Amazing Race) — 80/1
8. Mikey Day (Is It Cake?) — 100/1
9. Ryan Seacrest (American Idol) — 100/1
10. Jimmy Donaldson (Beast Games) — 100/1
11. Kimberly Williams-Paisley (Farmer Wants A Wife) — 100/1
LONGSHOTS
12. Gordon Ramsay (Next Level Chef) — 100/1
13. Alfonso Ribeiro and Julianne Hough (Dancing With the Stars) — 100/1
14. Boulet Brothers (The Boulet Brothers' Dragula) — 100/1
15. Joel McHale (House of Villains) — 100/1
16. Niecy Nash-Betts (Don't Forget The Lyrics) — 100/1
17. Terry Crews (America's Got Talent) — 100/1
18. Bobby Flay (Beat Bobby Flay) — 100/1
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