“Dancing with the Stars” has won more Emmys than any other reality competition program in history (17), but it has recently fallen out of favor in top categories. It fell out of Best Competition Program in 2017, and so did perennial Best Reality Host nominee Tom Bergeron. Could the franchise make a comeback this year? It could be child’s play with the show’s “Juniors” spinoff.
“DWTS” earned 11 straight nominations for Best Competition Program from 2006-2016, which covered its first 22 seasons on the air. It never won that prize, but it has continually racked up victories in Creative Arts categories for its technical direction, makeup, hairstyling and more. That’s how it has accumulated the most competition series wins over the years. Its most recent awards were for its lighting design and for Mandy Moore‘s choreography in 2017. And it had six nominations in 2018, though it didn’t win any of those, so it’s still admired by voters in many categories, if not the top one.
The most recent season of “DWTS” was controversial with low-scoring celeb Bobby Bones ultimately winning the Mirror Ball Trophy against more accomplished contestants. And then for the first time in the show’s history it didn’t air a new season in the spring at all. It’s hard to know if that will affect how the show is received by the television academy, but last fall the show also expanded to “Dancing with the Stars Juniors,” which put kids on the dance floor with training from adult mentors. When we asked fans of the show last fall which show was better, a whopping 89% of respondents said “Juniors” had the stronger season. So perhaps it can pick up some of the Emmy slack from the grownups.
“Juniors” was co-hosted by former “DWTS” Mirror Ball champion Jordan Fisher, who’s on the Emmy ballot for his hosting and also for his starring role in the live FOX production of the musical “Rent.” His co-host Frankie Muniz, also a former “DWTS” contestant, rose to fame on the sitcom “Malcolm in the Middle,” for which he earned an Emmy nom for Best Comedy Actor in 2001 when he was just a teenager. Fisher and Muniz are on the ballot for Best Reality Host separately, so perhaps they’re at risk of splitting the vote. Maybe that’s also the case for “DWTS” and “DWTS Juniors” in the race for Best Competition Program. But if 89% of our readers thought “Juniors” had the stronger season, perhaps Emmy voters will too.
Be sure to make your Emmy predictions today so that Hollywood insiders can see how their TV shows and performers are faring in our odds. You can keep changing your predictions as often as you like until just before nominations are announced on July 16. And join in the fun debate over the 2019 Emmy taking place right now with Hollywood insiders in our television forums. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.
