The Only Emmy Nomination That Matters Is ‘Vanderpump Rules’

There were plenty of notable firsts among this year’s Emmy nominees. Two of TV’s biggest breakout stars, Bella Ramsey and Jenna Ortega, picked up their first acting nominations. And there was also Jury Duty, the little Freevee show that could, sneaking in with an Outstanding Comedy Series look, and Jason Segel, after years of being reliably hilarious on How I Met Your Mother, finally earning an Emmy nod for Shrinking.

But let’s be real here — all of that pales in comparison to what is undeniably the most momentous Emmy first of 2023: Vanderpump Rules did it, baby!

Yes, the Bravo series — which was on the brink of boring, irrelevant oblivion after 10 seasons before a little something called #Scandoval resuscitated it like a cultural defibrillator shock — earned not one, but two Emmy nominations this year: Outstanding Unstructured Reality Program and Outstanding Picture Editing for an Unstructured Reality Program. 

In the Unstructured Reality Program category, Vanderpump is probably among the favorites, alongside previous winner RuPaul’s Drag Race and Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s Welcome to Wrexham (no offense to the other two nominees, Selling Sunset and Indian Matchmaking). And in the Editing category — which, as any reality TV head will tell you, is where all the magic and storytelling really happen — it’s up against Drag Race, Welcome to Wrexham, Deadliest Catch, and Life Below Zero.

Despite the heavy competition, Vanderpump has enjoyed such cultural dominance in the #Scandoval era that it’s not difficult to see it winning one of, if not both, categories. The Editing prize may be especially within its grasp as the show was specifically nominated for its legendarily messy episode, “Lady and the Glamp.” That’s the one in which the show’s editors deftly began to weave, hint at, and unravel the explosive cheating scandal between Tom Sandoval and Raquel Leviss. 

Even if Vanderpump doesn’t prevail, as the saying goes, it truly is just an honor to be nominated. On Instagram, Lisa Vanderump herself celebrated the occasion, writing, “Congratulations to everyone who has poured their heart and soul into this show for the past decade!”