After winning 7 consecutive times since they made the Reality Competition Program Emmy eligible, The Amazing Race finally lost. Top Chef‘s win was such a huge upset that the shock was etched all over producer Dan Cutforth’s face when he gave the acceptance speech. His partner, Jane Lipsitz, thought so little of the show’s chances that she didn’t come–Magical Elves has signed on to be producers of the Jon Chu-directed film about Justin Bieber for Paramount, which is underway. But a significantly bigger diss than Amazing Race finishing out of the money was American Idol‘s 8th consecutive defeat. It was presumed that if Amazing Race lost, it would be Idol that took its crown. Not so much. A cooking show suddenly presides atop the Emmy reality universe. Backstage, producers Gail Simmons and Padma Lakshmi echoed Cutforth’s surprise. “We thought Amazing Race would win again,” Lakshmi admitted. “But we ran into the Amazing Race producer on the red carpet on the way in and I bumped into him and told him, ‘We’re taking you down!’ I was just kidding. But then it happened.” — Ray Richmond is contributing to Deadline Hollywood’s Emmy coverage.

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