At last Sunday’s Emmy Award ceremony, Survivor host (and two-time Emmy winner! ) Jeff Probst told reporters that The Amazing Race should pull itself out of the kudos competition so other reality shows like, well, Survivor, could win for a change. Later, Probst told EW that he was joking (“Everybody always asks me what I think about how Amazing Race dominates. I have no answer. They do dominate.”) But he makes an interesting point: After seven consecutive wins, has Race won too darn much? Few would argue it’s the gold standard of reality TV; the show pulls off an amazing feat each season with its picture-perfect coverage of a heart-stopping, round-the-world race. Further evidence of the show’s greatness? It’s about to start its 15th season – 15th! – this Sunday on CBS.
Asking Race to withdraw from the Emmy competition wouldn’t be entirely unprecedented: Candice Bergen did it after winning a boatload of times for Murphy Brown, as did Oprah Winfrey for her daytime chatfest. And it would even spare Race executive producer Bertram Van Munster from having to think up something clever to say when he accepts his award! Last Sunday, Van Munster used his time at the mic to actually utter how “speechless” he was (though to his defense, he really was. Van Munster told EW afterwards that he thought Dancing with the Stars would prevail. Go figure).
For his part, Van Munster has no intention of pulling a Winfrey in the future and dropping out of the Emmy competition. “It’s not likely,” he told EW. “I’m a hardworking producer. As long as I have an opportunity to work and have my team happy, we should go for it. We set a very high standard, and I’ve spent my entire life working really hard on the genre. If I was as rich as Oprah, then maybe then I would do it.”
What do you think? Do you think Race deserves to win year after year? Is it time to give Project Runway a shot at the gold?
More Amazing Race and reality-TV from EW:
Amazing Race 15: Exclusive reveal of this season’s map, plus teases from series boss
Realite, EW’s new weekly roundup of reality-TV, debuts with special guest Kris Allen
Comments (1-30) of 41 Add your comment
No way. I don’t always agree with the winners of the Amazing Race. Maybe one or two over the course of the 14 prior editions. But it is still a fantastic reality show. Because it provides so much entertainment. It provides exciting challenges. And the locals are always interesting. And the human drama. While I love Dancing with the Stars. I am not sure it’s award worthy. So it might be tedious to see AR win every September. But it is still exciting and worthy… So I say go for it. I am sure it will lose eventually.
Why on earth shouldn’t they be rewarded for having production values that eclipse every other reality show on the air today?
Jeff Probst shouldn’t have won the award that he won–why should everybody have to get out of his way so his show can win too? He is egotistical and untalented–I hate to think how much money he has made over the years.
What the heck are you talking about? He was making a joke!! Lighten up man.
You want to win? Make your show better. Simple as that.
Personally I think it is unfair when a show like Project Runway or Top Chef has to constantly compare to Amazing Race. It’s based a on a single episode and it’s too easy to get sucked in by it’s expensiveness and exotic locales. Yes AR has big production values, it requires it for the show to succeed. But that doesn’t mean the others has less quality. How many member of the academy have actually watched these smaller shows. Part of PR’s success is because they force to work with a small budget
AGREED!!!!!!
I don’t understand why this keeps getting suggested (for TAR but also even when people win even just twice). Why shouldn’t the best be rewarded? If they keep being the best year after year, then good for them! This isn’t kindergarden, everyone doesn’t get a “turn”.
The problem has been a lot of academy members vote based on habit as opposed to quality. They see a past winner’s name on the ballot and go with it instead of basing it on the work. Which of course is just as bad as voting for someone just because you like them or not personally. That’s part of the motive for someone like Bergan withdrawing. Same with John Larrooquette. he won 4 yrs straight.
Agreed! If it is the best, which TAR is, then it should get the award, period! Grow up people… if you aren’t winning, try making a better show!
If the other shows were better, then they would win sometime. There is no comparison between Project Runway, Top Chef, Survivor or The Amazing Race. I watch and love all of these shows but would never compare PR or TC with TAR. Survivor is closest but if it wants to win, maybe it should win on merit, not by the best show dropping out of the competition. Would someone tell Tiger Woods or Roger Federer to quit playing their sports in order to let someone else have a turn. No. So why should TAR?
Amazing Race and Survivor are both quality shows – definitely high standard for reality programming. I think Jeff Probst was saying what everyone is thinking which is after 7 consecutive wins, maybe it is time to shake things up a bit and give someone else a chance. To that note, Survivor wasn’t even nominated this year which is absurd because it is the golden standard for reality programming.
i totally aggree with this statement.
people seem to think that survivor isn’t quality television because of it being on the air for so long and it getting tiresome. however, most of these people dont even watch the show. the show shakes it up with new twists, interesting people and quality production values each year and I definitely think its just as good as the Amazing Race and deserves a nomination sometime soon, hopefully next year for its tenth-anniversary edition. I also think other people on this board took his comments out of context as he was just making a joke (:
Does anybody know if the entire episode is replayed on cbs.com? I’ll be traveling and hate to miss it. No tivo
Yes it is , but you may have to temporarily shut off your pop up blocker. CBS.com
Jeff “I think I’m God’s gift to the world” Probst should take his opinions and ram them up his…well, you know where he should ram them. Survivor is so over…does anyone even watch it anymore? Amazing Race wins because its MILES AHEAD of Survivor in everyway. Survivor was good for two seasons them became a cliche of itself. And it made a “celebrity” out of Probst, who will be a nobody once they hand him a pink slip one day.
AR is the best reality show on TV, bar none. Period. It’s smart, agile, different, and it shows the world to people who don’t know that a whole world exists outside. It’s the best show and should be out of contest.
No. TAR deserves each and every one of its Emmy Awards. The only thing wrong is that Phil didn’t also win for hosting this year. Joking or not this Jeff Probst person should pack up his sour grapes and go away.
I don’t know why Jeff Probst is complaining – Survivor wasn’t even nominated this year!
They should pull out. Give Survivor a chance — it’s basically the show that started it all.
What has this country gotten to, where we would encourage successful people to be less so just to be sure that “everyone feels special”. Screw that noise. Like the other commenter said, “You wanna win? Be better!”. (and yes, I know Probst was kidding)
Hell no to Project Runway. The judging sucks. They cut Ra’Mon — I’m through with the season.
I really don’t think AR deserved all its wins. Sure, it has great production values, but seasons have been uneven. Remember the Family Editon? And there have been some boring seasons. Survivor has never been nominated I think. Project Runway and American Idol deserves to win too. And Survivor should have been nominated from the start.
Correct me if I am wrong, but I thought Survivor won the first Emmy award for best competitive reality show.
No. The Amazing Race has won all 7 awards since the category began. Survivor won a reality programming Emmy before the category was created. As to why TAR always wins, the award is based on one submitted episode. TAR always produces at least one even during their seasons that weren’t overly exciting as a whole. Meanwhile the competition (AI, DWTS) often have two-part shows meaning they submit either a performance show with no conclusion or a filler-filled results show. It’s pretty easy to see why TAR (quick-paced, suspensful conclusion) wins out when the voters watch the 1 episode of the show voters do.
Why bother nominating other shows? Just give the same show an award every year. It’s the same as when Rosie kept winning every year she was on.
Give them a lifetime reality achievement award and get them out! I am sick of them winning afterall the category is fairly new and took a lot get into the Emmys in the first place and I would like to see someone else win like Top Chef or Project Runway! Please take your show out of the running!
You could base it on the 15 years and the locales, camera work and gushy scenes.
I do think Survivor deserves to win the Emmy eventually because it really started this new genre of “reality” game-shows. And I don’t think shows like Project Runway or American Idol are even in the same league as TAR & Survivor because their production values are so much lower and those shows are much easier to produce.
Yes it does get old seeing TAR win every year but you can’t complain when the show it that good. They deserve it and that’s just the bottom line.
Why take themselves out of the race? They deserve it. They set the bar up high so its up to the others to try to reach that standard
I think what I like best about this show beyond all the other reality shows is that the success, and failure, of each team is in their own hands. Yes, that’s true on Top Chef or Runway, but all these other reality shows have judges or peers or phone in votes that choose whether contestants stay or go. On TAR it’s all on the competitors – if you’re sent packing, it’s generally your own doing.
I was always a big fan of TAR, and was happy that it got accolades from the Emmy voters even when the ratings weren’t very good.
But I have to say the last season was not up to par, and this was the first time I expected the show not to win.
It’s high time Project Runway got its due and took home the win.
people may like the amazing race better but in my opinion
survivor>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>the amazing race
and most of the survivor haters dont even watch the show so i really dont get how they can form their opinions based off of that. I however watch both shows currently and have watched both from the beginning and in my opinion Survivor wins for sure.
However if I were to base who would win off of this years nominees, Amazing race would take the cake with Project Runway for a close second. The rest of the nominees except for Top Chef maybe, dont deserve their places. American Idol is only their because of the ratings it gets but other than that it is far from quality and yes i do watch it.
Survivor SHOULD be there versus shows like DWTS and AI.
From an overview of reality TV, you have several different types of formats.
1. Individuals solely relying on skills – such as Amazing Race, Top Chef, Project Runway, Top Model – where personality, scheming, lying, etc does not really play a part in a contestant’s success.
2. Individuals with skills/talents and with judges/voters such as DWTS and American Idol. You must have not only skills/talent but personality to achieve but you don’t have to lye, cheat or steal to advance.
3. Groups with limited skills and ability to remove members – such as Survivor, Big Brother, etc. where personality, scheming, lying, etc. are a big part of whether you can be successful.
4. And then you have the really bad reality shows such as “There goes the Neighborhood, More to Love, Meagan loves a Millionaire, Bachelor or Bachelorette, (and how could we forget “I’m A Celebrity with Janice Dickinson) which showcases contestants who have NEITHER skill, talent or even personality so all you end up is with a big mess.
Of all these shows, Amazing Race is the most entertaining with Top Chef a close 2nd. Since more people are interested in traveling rather than cooking, it is easy to see why Amazing Race comes in first every time.
On reflection, I have one correction to my post. I would move Top Model down to the 2nd category because a model without a personality is not a successful model. Now, Tyra Banks doesn’t have to write to correct me.
I read that the Daily Show has won the Emmy for best variety/music/comedy show just as long as TAR, but I haven’t seen anyone so far even joking that TDS should retire from the category. They’re both excellent shows and deserving winners (although…I do hope Colbert will win someday.)
Go Amazing Race! Survivor is boring. Big deal: sitting on an island backstabbing others… yawn!
As long as Dancing with the Stars doesn’t win anything, ever…I’m fine with the Race continuing its streak. Can someone please explain to me the appeal of “Dancing”? It’s just a bunch of mediocre dance peppered with stupid commentary. I really just don’t get it.