Emmy Awards Predictions Part III: Variety/Reality

And, finally, the best for last.

Reality/variety shows have often been relegated to the backburner of the Primetime Emmy Awards for good reason. Do you recall last year's disastrous attempt to ad-lib almost the entire Emmy show with five reality show hosts at the helm? It was hideous.

Still, some of our favorite shows and popular shows fall into one of these categories.

REALITY COMPETITION PROGRAM: "The Amazing Race," "American Idol," "Dancing With The Stars," "Project Runway," "Top Chef"

Will Probably Win: "The Amazing Race" is popular without being soul-sucking like fellow nominee "American Idol" and has always had the Academy's love. They haven't lost the category in almost six years.

Should Win: Bravo TV has produced two of the finest reality competitions on the planet. Both "Top Chef" or "Project Runway" deserve a chance in the spotlight.

HOST FOR A REALITY OR REALITY-COMPETITION PROGRAM: Tom Bergeron, "Dancing With the Stars," Phil Keoghan, "The Amazing Race," Heidi Klum, "Project Runway," Padma Lakshmi (Host) and Tom Colicchio (Co-Host), "Top Chef," Jeff Probst, "Survivor," Ryan Seacrest, "American Idol"

Will Probably Win: Someone lame. This includes Tom Bergeron, Jeff Probst and Ryan Seacrest.

Should Win: Padma Lakshmi and Tom Colicchio keep "Top Chef" rolling. They're the yin and the yang of food.

REALITY SERIES: "Antiques Roadshow," "Dirty Jobs," "Dog Whisperer," "Intervention," "Kathy Griffin: My Life On The D-List," "MythBusters"

Will Probably Win: This is the strangest category by far, but I am feeling some weird level of love from the Academy for "Kathy Griffin: My Life on the D-List."

Should Win: Cesar Millan and "Dog Whisperer." The man's a genius. Plus, it's a show about dogs.

VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES: "The Colbert Report," "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart," "Late Show With David Letterman," "Real Time With Bill Maher," "Saturday Night Live"

Will Probably Win: "The Daily Show With Jon Stewart" will likely get a repeat win for its "Indecision 2008" election coverage, although "Saturday Night Live" revived its image with standout political satire.

Should Win: "The Colbert Report" has long stood in the shadow of its lead-in "The Daily Show," but the faux conservative talk show had one hell of a year. Stephen Colbert's Doritos-fueled bid for the South Carolina primary alone deserves an award.

And... that's a wrap.

Tune in at 7 p.m. on Sunday to watch the Emmy Awards live on CBS, then come back to the Press-Gazette on Monday at 11 a.m. to discuss the night's shenanigans with me, Thomas Rozwadowski and Kendra Meinert. It'll be a blast, and we don't just want to talk to ourselves.

Got any predictions of your own? Drop us a comment below.

-- Malavika Jagannathan, mjaganna@greenbaypressgazette.com