Guy Fieri is rolling out “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” in a new Emmys category.
Food Network has successfully petitioned the Television Academy to move the long-running food reality series into the Outstanding Structured Reality category, where it will compete with other popular series such as “Love is Blind”, “Queer Eye ” and “Shark Tank”. “He had previously been submitted for a hosted or special non-fiction series since 2020.
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Hosted by Fieri since the show’s debut in 2007, the show had received six Emmy nominations — five for Outstanding Structured Reality Program from 2014 to 2019 and Outstanding Reality Program in 2013, the last year before the category is separated into two for structured and unstructured programming. .
In 2020, the Emmys changed the name from Outstanding News Series or Special Category to Outstanding Hosted Nonfiction. The TV Academy guided the show Fieri to move into the category where they felt it was best suited. However, over the past three years, the series has failed to earn another coveted name, competing with hosted non-fiction winners such as A&E’s “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath” and “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” from CNN.
The network and creatives decided to formally petition the Academy to return the show to the category where it had been recognized for five consecutive years, citing the show’s format and market impact among the reasons for the moving house.
Affectionately dubbed “Triple D”, the show follows Fieri as he visits multiple restaurants in each episode in a single city and tastes the food. Focusing on small independent restaurants offering traditional comfort food, the locals, chefs and their food are the stars of the show.
Additionally, even though the standard three-segment-per-episode pattern requires a host, a substantial portion of the 22-minute episodes is devoted to detailing the dishes and their preparation from the voices of the chefs and owners of the various establishments. . Customers are also very present everywhere.
Fieri’s show is the second reported series to come out of the hosted non-fiction run, after Apple failed to file a petition to keep “The Trouble with Jon Stewart” in the category. Instead, “The Problem” will now compete for an outstanding talk series. Incidentally, Apple successfully won its bid to move “Schmigadoon!” from comedy series to scripted variety, where he will take on “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” and “Saturday Night Live.”
As a “Triple D” host for 36 seasons, Fieri will also seek consideration in the category of Outstanding Reality TV Host, alongside fellow Food Network counterparts Bobby Flay (“Bobby’s Triple Threat”), Ted Allen (“Chopped”) and Alex Guarnaschelli and Gabriele Bertaccini (“Maison Ciao”). The respective shows of the other three hosts will be subject to an exceptional review of the reality competition, in addition to “Tournament of Champions IV”.
Emmy nominations are due Tuesday, May 9.