'American Idol' — yikes! — may halt its Emmy losing streak

Finally, there's hope that TV's most popular program may finally stop its march toward possibly becoming Emmy's biggest loser. With 22 defeats and no wins, "American Idol" is just three more defeats shy of tying the record held by "Newhart" (25). Surely, it'll be nommed again for best reality-competition show plus score a few tech noms, so that disastrous Emmy outcome is, egads, potentially nigh.

For the past four years, "Idol" has lost best reality show to "Amazing Race" every time, probably because "Race" has a more exciting adrenaline rush and because voters are judging "Idol's" sample episode submission a month or two after the ultimate winner is known. Thus, much of the show's drama is kaput.

But I just checked with John Leverence, the TV academy's awards chief, about the tricky issue of "Idol's" best hope this year. Hollywood voters are suckers for high-minded, charity-driven specials ("We Are the World" winning Record of the Year at the Grammys in 1986 comes immediately to mind). Thus, if only "Idol" could submit its recent special "Idol Gives Back" as its sample episode to judges, it might have a good shot of zooming past "Amazing Race" for the top prize.

But posters here at The Envelope have brought up an interesting point. "Gives Back" doesn't involve participant competition and the name of this award category, remember, is best reality-competition program. Does it qualify? Or should "Idol" producers break off that show and submit it in the separate race for variety special or even "special class" (a hodgepodge category)? An Emmy win there, after all, is a still a win that could halt the show's embarrassing losing streak.

Turns out that "Idol" can submit "Gives Back" in its regular reality race.

"We don't allow episodes of reality-competition shows to break out as stand-alone specials, so 'Idol Gives Back' is part of the series," Leverence says. "A 'special' episode of a primetime series may be entered as a stand-alone special in a non-series category or area, but only if it was not part of the regular series order from the network. Rules, p. 13." See the academy's rules section at its website —