RuPaul Charles finally nabbed his first Emmy nomination this year for the eighth season of his long-running Logo TV series RuPaul’s Drag Race—and then proceeded to top the competition to earn his (and the show’s) first Emmy Award at the Creative Arts Emmys on Sept. 11.
Charles won for Outstanding Host for a Reality or Reality-Competition Program.
This is Logo TV’s first major Emmy win and only the second time the best reality show host Emmy has gone to a cable series, following Heidi Klum and Tim Gunn’s victory for Lifetime’s Project Runway in 2013.
Charles beat out the two-time defending winner, Hollywood Game Night’s Jane Lynch, as well as Steve Harvey, American Idol’s Ryan Seacrest (who ended his run with no Emmy), Klum and Gunn, and Dancing with the Stars’ Tom Bergeron.
Charles said the show deserved “condragulations.”
Also, transgender-focused project Her Story was nominated in the Short Form Comedy or Drama Series categories, but lost to Childrens Hospital (Adult Swim). Her Story is co-written by former Chicagoan Jen Richards (I Am Cait) and Laura Zak (#Hashtag), is directed by Sydney Freeland (Drunktown’s Finest), with cinematography by Berenice Eveno. Among the actors in the IndieGoGo-funded production are Richard as well as Chicago-connected actors Angelica Ross and Fawzia Mirza.