Two Technical Emmy Nominations For Survivor

Survivor receives two nominations in technical categories for the 2016 Emmy Awards.

Survivor has had somewhat of a rebirth in recent years. The show has felt reinvigorated, producing some of its all-time best seasons while continuing to top its Wednesday night timeslot in ratings. Despite the show’s continued success, Survivor is still underrepresented when it comes to industry awards and accolades. However, it has picked up two nominations for technical achievements in the list of 2016 Emmy nominees.

Last fall’s Survivor: Cambodia – Second Chance has received a nomination for Outstanding Cinematography for a Reality Program. The season, which featured a cast of returning players voted on by fans, was filmed on Koh Rong island in Cambodia. As well as the beautiful beach locations, the crew also filmed at Siem Reap and the Angkor Wat temple, following the cast as they toured the ancient ruins in a stunning opening sequence.

The second nomination is for Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured or Competition Reality Program for Survivor: Kaôh Rōng‘s episode “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered.” Viewers will remember this episode as the one where Caleb Reynolds almost died, after a grueling reward challenge in 120-degree heat left three players suffering from severe dehydration and heat stroke. It was one of Survivor’s scariest episodes in its 16-year history and one that caused fervid debate amongst fans in regards to potential producer negligence.

Regardless, the episode has been recognized by the Academy members for its achievement in editing. The job of a Picture Editor is to make sure the story on screen flows seamlessly from start to finish, carefully selecting shots and editing them into a sequence of scenes to create a compelling finished product. With the chaos going on during and after the challenge, involving multiple people, it is a credit to the editors that they were able to portray what was happening in a clear way while still getting across the panic of the situation.

While Survivor picked up two technical nominations, the show failed once again to be nominated for Outstanding Reality-Competition Program. Survivor has never won a Primetime Emmy Award in the Outstanding Reality-Competition Program category. In fact, Survivor hasn’t been nominated in that category since 2006. Since the category’s inception in 2003, only three different shows have won the award: The Amazing Race (ten times), The Voice (two times) and Top Chef (once) – all three shows are nominated again this year. The only nominations Survivor has received the past three years have been in technical categories.

Also snubbed was the show’s host Jeff Probst who failed to receive a nomination in the Outstanding Host For A Reality or Reality-Competition Program category. A previous four-time winner of the award, Probst hasn’t been nominated since 2011.

See Survivor’s competition below:

Cinematography for a Reality Program

  • Deadliest Catch, “Carpe Diem,” Discovery Channel
  • Intervention, “Sierra,” A&E
  • Life Below Zero, “Break Through,” National Geographic Channel
  • Project Runway, “Mad Dash Mayhem,” Lifetime
  • Survivor Second Chance, CBS
  • The Amazing Race, “We’re Only Doing Freaky Stuff Today”, CBS

Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured or Competition Reality Program

  • Shark Tank, episode 702, ABC
  • Survivor Kaoh Rong, “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered,” CBS
  • The Amazing Race, “We’re Only Doing Freaky Stuff Today,” CBS
  • The Voice, episode 1005, NBC
  • Who Do You Think You Are? “Bryan Cranston,” TLC

Header Photo Credit: Aranami via Compfight cc


Written by

Martin Holmes

Martin is a freelance writer from England. He’s represented by Berlin Associates for comedy writing and writes about TV and entertainment, currently for TV Insider and Vulture, previously Digital Spy, ET Canada, and Yahoo. A finalist for the Shortlist Sitcom Search in 2012 for “Siblings,” Martin received his BA in English with Creative Writing from The University of Hull. Martin is the owner and editor-in-chief of Insider Survivor.


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