2023 Emmy Predictions: Best Unstructured Reality Program

Although the Best Structured Reality Program Emmy has only gone to two series (“Shark Tank” and “Queer Eye”) since being introduced in 2014, the corresponding unstructured award has been won by six different shows in the same stretch of time. “Love on the Spectrum” took the 2022 prize but is out of the running this time, leaving 2021 winner “RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked” as the only show with a shot at pulling off the category’s first repeat victory in four years.

“Untucked” is one of three returning contenders in the current Best Unstructured Reality Program lineup, along with “Indian Matchmaking” and “Selling Sunset.” Both were bested by RuPaul’s series in 2021, while the latter also lost alongside it in 2022. Rounding out this bunch are “Vanderpump Rules,” which has finally broken through with Emmy voters after 10 seasons, and new show “Welcome to Wrexham,” which, according to Gold Derby’s odds, is heavily favored to win.

In order to determine the likeliest outcome of this contest, let’s take a closer look at each nominee. Be sure to visit our predictions center to make your own picks in this and 29 other Creative Arts Emmy categories.

“Indian Matchmaking” (Netflix)
As its title suggests, this series has so far spent three seasons following a marriage consultant as she guides Indian and Indian American clients through the customary arranged union process. Its star, 59-year-old Sima Taparia, made her first screen appearance in series creator Smriti Mundhra’s documentary feature “A Suitable Girl,” which premiered at the 2017 Tribeca Film Festival.

“RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked” (MTV)
This behind-the-scenes program, which initially derived from the sparsely produced web series “Under the Hood,” has served as a companion piece to “RuPaul’s Drag Race” ever since the competition show’s second season aired in 2010. Its first of seven consecutive nominations for this award came for its eighth season, which marked the end of its three-year tenure as a YouTube series. After subsequently joining “Drag Race” on VH1 for five years, both shows made the move to MTV in 2022.

“Selling Sunset” (Netflix)
Over the course of six seasons, this series has followed the lives of real estate brokers who work for the Los Angeles-based Oppenheim Group, which was originally founded in 1889 as the Stern Realty Company. In the latest batch of episodes, original cast members Mary, Chrishell, Jason, and Brett adjust to the departure of their newlywed colleague, Heather, as they attempt to avoid engaging in drama with their newer coworkers.

“Vanderpump Rules” (Bravo)
London-born businesswoman Lisa Vanderpump’s eponymous series began airing in January 2013 while she was still part of the main “Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” cast. After concurrently appearing on both shows for six years, she stepped down from her housewife role, leaving Kyle Richards as the sole remaining member of the series’ original core group. In recent years, her own show has documented the development of her various business ventures and followed her day-to-day life as a wife, mother, and dog charity founder.

“Welcome to Wrexham” (FX)
This new series spends 18 episodes following actors Rob McElhenney and Ryan Reynolds’s unexpected 2020 purchase of the Wrexham Association Football Club, which was established in Wales over 150 years earlier. Most of the show’s events take place during the team’s 2021-2022 playing season, after which they finished second in the National League but missed out on a League Two promotion.

So, what will win the 2023 Emmy for Best Unstructured Reality Program? Since every show that has prevailed here multiple times has done so consecutively, it’s difficult to imagine “Untucked” overcoming that hurdle, especially given its parent series’ shaky standing in the Best Competition Program race after its shocking 2022 loss to “Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls.” However, taking Best Reality Program winners into consideration shows that “Deadliest Catch” did bounce back in 2014 in spite of its 2011 triumph being directly followed by a total snub and then an unsuccessful nomination.

The “Indian Matchmaking” and “Selling Sunset” teams can take comfort in knowing that it is possible to win this award in spite of nothing but previous losses, as demonstrated by “Untucked” as well as “United Shades of America” (2017). Even so, there is a much greater likelihood of a freshman series victory, which bodes well for “Welcome to Wrexham.” If the TV academy’s love for “Ted Lasso” is any indication, the fact-based sports series should be headed for an easy win.

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