Talk about a reality check.
It's a generally accepted Emmy truth that The Amazing Race is an unstoppable awards-show juggernaut, destined to crush any and all nominees on its way up to the podium. Amazing Race host Phil Keoghan, on the other hand, apparently not so much.
The globe-trotting emcee, and presumptive shoo-in, was majorly snubbed in the inaugural race for Outstanding Reality-Competition Host when nominations were announced this morning. Instead, American Idol's Ryan Seacrest, Dancing With the Stars' Tom Bergeron, Deal or No Deal's Howie Mandel, Survivor's Jeff Probst and Project Runway's Heidi Klum, the lone female contender, will battle it out in his stead.
Though Mandel may seem a better suited contender for a game show host rather than a reality competition, no such category exists at the Primetime Emmys, thus paving his way for inclusion in the roundup.
Aside from Keoghan, other high-profile reality-host snubs include Top Chef's Padma Lakshmi and Next Top Model's Tyra Banks.
Seacrest, meanwhile, is relishing the fact that he will not only get to work the red carpet this year but walk it as well.
"The nomination's fantastic, and it's unbelievable," Seacrest said on his KIIS-FM radio show this morning. "I'm stoked about it."
Still, the ever-modest E! News anchor added that while "the nomination is fantastic, I just wanna tell you and prepare you, there is that expectation that I could lose twice now."
Emmy night may not be a total wash for Keoghan, as he still has a chance to bank some academy hardware in the Outstanding Reality-Competition Program category, where he's listed as one of the producers for The Amazing Race.
The nod is just one of six the CBS show racked up, getting slightly edged out as the most-nominated of all reality comers. That honor goes to eight-time nominee Dancing With the Stars, which also earned a nod for Outstanding Choreography for Julianne Hough for her Adam Carolla-assisted mambo, the only piece of fancy footwork nominated from the show.
Meanwhile, joining the already plenty-gilded Amazing Race in the Reality-Competition category—a prize it has never lost, going five-for-five in the award's history—are worthy adversaries American Idol, Dancing With the Stars, Project Runway and Top Chef.
And what Keoghan was to the host competition, so Survivor is to the show category, with the grandaddy of reality competitions getting surprisingly left off the list of contenders.
On the straight reality side of things, Kathy Griffin will once again vie for the opportunity to tell Jesus to "suck it," scoring another nomination for Outstanding Reality Program, an accolade she took home, to much controversy, last year.
Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List will go head-to-head with Antiques Roadshow, Dirty Jobs, Intervention, and Griffin's televised mortal enemy, Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.
The funnylady also has the chance to double her pleasure come Sept. 21, as her Bravo comedy special, Kathy Griffin: Straight to Hell, was also nominated for Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special.