The 2026 Emmy Awards are full of surprises — including the winner of Outstanding Reality Competition Program.
During the live telecast, which took place at the Peacock Theater in Los Angeles on Monday, September 14, the cast of Baywatch announced that The Traitors was deserving of an Emmy for its contribution to the always-growing reality TV genre.
“I speak on behalf of all our producers who are running to the stage as if they’re on the mission for The Traitors — now they know what it feels like — thank you to the Academy so much,” host Alan Cumming said in his acceptance speech. “It’s inspiring us to do better and go bigger.”
Dancing With the Stars, RuPaul’s Drag Race, Survivor and Top Chef were also nominated in the competitive category.
After Cumming, 61, thanked his dog, Lila, for being “the perfect cohost,” the Emmy winner turned the focus to the fans.
“It is so diverse, and it’s just incredible the way you all get together and watch the show together,” he said. “That is so beautiful that a show about treachery and betrayal brings people together. Tomorrow is Voter Registration Day in this country, so please make sure you’re registered to vote because the time for talk is over. It is now time to vote, America. Thank you so much.”
The Traitors appears to be a favorite with Emmy voters after winning in 2024 and 2025. The Peacock reality show features nearly 20 contestants playing the ultimate murder mystery game.
Filmed at an ancient castle in Scotland, a group of “faithful” contestants must try to detect and eliminate the “traitors” before getting murdered or eliminated from the game.
“I think the basic premise of the game — that the audience knows who the baddies are straightaway — means that you dispense with the usual guessing game of whodunnit and you focus more on observing people under stress and seeing how they cope with sometimes having to do things they don’t like or aren’t that good at,” Cumming told Variety in January of the show’s success. “We all lie, but we don’t always get to witness people doing it.”
He’s also grateful that the show embraces production value and the campiness of the series.
“We are living in a very scary and oppressive time and so I think [the fact] that people have embraced a show that so completely embraces a queer aesthetic is very gratifying,” Cumming added.
Win or lose, all the nominees continue to produce new seasons of their shows. Survivor will kick off season 51, titled “The Open Era,” on CBS Wednesday, September 23. Meanwhile, Dancing With the Stars will have a two-night premiere for season 35 starting on ABC Tuesday, September 15.
The 2026 Emmy Awards are available to stream on Peacock.
