Alan Cumming Wins Best Host Emmy for The Traitors , Ending RuPaul’s Eight-Year Streak
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Unless you’ve been holed up in a Scottish castle dodging murderous schemes, you know that Alan Cumming is an absolute delight as the host of Peacock’s reality show The Traitors. And now, the Emmys officially agree.
On Sunday night, during the ceremony for the Creative Arts Emmy Awards, Cumming took home the golden statue in the Outstanding Host for a Reality or Competition Program category. His win ended a historic eight-year streak enjoyed by the eponymous host of RuPaul’s Drag Race, RuPaul. All six hosts of Shark Tank, Top Chef’s Kristen Kish and Survivor’s Jeff Probst were also nominated.
Cumming had “filming commitments” in Scotland, where Traitors shoots, and couldn’t be in Los Angeles to accept the award in person. He instead celebrated the win with a carousel of selfies posted to his Instagram in the wee hours of Monday morning.
“I hope writing my thanks down here — and not spouting them in a frenzy of fear at having the dreaded music cut me off on live TV — will make them feel more sincere and heartfelt to those I am truly indebted to,” he wrote, before going on to thank the production studio behind Traitors, NBC and Peacock, his stylist, his publicists, his manager, and more.
Cumming also thanked his husband of 12 years. “Finally thank you forever to Grant Shaffer who supports and loves me in everything I do and will always receive the most votes in my castle.”
Anyone who watches the U.S. version of The Traitors, which premiered on NBC-owned streaming service Peacock in 2023, knows that no one is having more fun on the show than Cumming, who thickens his Scottish brogue, wears jaw-dropping Tartan-print outfits, and hams it up every time the camera lands on him.
Season three of the reality competition show features Chrishell Stause, Bob the Drag Queen, and more.
Though RuPaul did not take home the gold this time around, the drag superstar is still the most decorated Black performer in Emmy history, having won eight trophies as host of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and several more as executive producer.
On September 15, viewers can tune into the Emmys to see whether this love for The Traitors will net it a win in the Outstanding Reality Competition Program category; Drag Race has triumphed in the category five times out of its last seven nominations. The drag competition show lost the very first time it was nominated in 2017 to The Voice and once again in 2022 to Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.
Cumming won his trophy for the second season of The Traitors, which included queer castmembers such as Drag Race runner-up Peppermint and Survivor’s Parvati Shallow. The show recently revealed its very queer season 3 cast, which will include Bob the Drag Queen, Selling Sunset’s Chrishell Stause and Survivor’s Carolyn Wiger. Not to be outdone, the Canadian version of the Traitors, which premieres later this month, also recently revealed its cast, which includes several out LGBTQ+ stars, as well, including Canada’s Drag Race breakout Melinda Verga.
This is Cumming’s first Primetime Emmy Award; he was previously nominated several times for his role as crisis manager Eli Gold on The Good Wife and for hosting the 2015 Tony Awards. Together with his two Tony Awards, Cumming is now officially halfway to EGOT status.
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