Drag Race and Cheer lead Critics Choice Association's Real TV Awards nominations
We’re here today to discuss the painful stigma associated with something many of us interact with on a weekly basis: reality television. At first treated as though it was the scum of television earth, the genre has grown over the past decade into one of the most popular and celebrated on TV. Of course, some of it is still trash, but the programs that elevate the medium are now being recognized by the Critics Choice Association and nonfiction producers’ organization, NPACT. On Monday, the organizations released the nominations for the second-annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards.
Leading the pack are VH1's RuPaul’s Drag Race and Netflix’s Cheer, with five nominations each. Cheer is nominated for Unstructured Series, Sports Show, Limited Documentary Series, Male Star of the Year, and Female Star of the Year, while Drag Race is nominated for Competition Series, Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series, Female Star of The Year, Male Star of The Year, and Show Host. Netflix’s Queer Eye follows closely behind with four nominations, and Showtime’s Couples Therapy received three nominations. For the second year in a row, Netflix leads the network tally with 31 total nominations.
Jeff Probst, host and executive producer of CBS’s Survivor, will receive this year’s Critics Choice Real TV Impact Award for his ongoing contributions to the unscripted television industry.
Because of the coronavirus pandemic, there will not be a Real TV Awards ceremony this year. All winners will be celebrated via a special press release and announcement on Monday, June 29. Winners in two categories—Female Star of the Year and Male Star of the Year—will be chosen by fan voting, which is now open at criticschoice.com.
Competition Series
LEGO Masters (Fox)
Making It (NBC)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Survivor (CBS)
Top Chef (Bravo)
Competition Series: Talent/Variety
American Idol (ABC)
Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
La Voz (Telemundo)
Songland (NBC)
The Voice (NBC)
Unstructured Series
Cheer (Netflix)
Couples Therapy (Showtime)
Intervention (A&E)
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked! (VH1)
We’re Here (HBO)
Structured Series
Encore! (Disney+)
Prop Culture (Disney+)
Queer Eye (Netflix)
Shark Tank (ABC)
The World According to Jeff Goldblum (Disney+)
Business Show
Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back (Fox)
The Profit (CNBC)
Shark Tank (ABC)
T-Pain’s School of Business (Fuse)
Undercover Boss (CBS)
Sports Show
Blackballed (Quibi)
Cheer (Netflix)
Last Chance U (Netflix)
The Last Dance (ESPN)
Peyton’s Places (ESPN+)
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)
Crime/Justice Series
Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children (HBO)
The Innocence Files (Netflix)
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (Netflix)
The Pharmacist (Netflix)
Trial by Media (Netflix)
The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez (Netflix)
Ongoing Documentary Series
Abstract: The Art of Design (Netflix)
The Circus: Inside the Craziest Political Campaign on Earth (Showtime)
Frontline (PBS)
Last Chance U (Netflix)
POV (PBS)
Limited Documentary Series
Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children (HBO)
Cheer (Netflix)
Hillary (Hulu)
Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (Netflix)
The Last Dance (ESPN)
Trial by Media (Netflix)
The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez (Netflix)
Short Form Series
Carpool Karaoke: The Series (Apple)
Comeback Kids (The Dodo)
Creating Saturday Night Live (NBC)
The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: Between the Scenes (Comedy Central)
The Impossible Row (Discovery)
While Black with MK Asante (Snap)
Live Show
Chasing the Cure (TNT)
Build (Yahoo)
Live PD (A&E)
Talking Dead (AMC)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (Bravo)
Interactive Show
Chasing the Cure (TNT)
Enamorándonos (Univision)
Talking Dead (AMC)
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen (Bravo)
Culinary Show
Chopped (Food Network)
Nailed It! (Netflix)
Top Chef (Bravo)
Tournament of Champions (Food Network)
Ugly Delicious (Netflix)
Game Show
25 Words or Less (Fox/Syndicated)
Brain Games (National Geographic)
Cash Cab (Bravo)
Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time (ABC)
Mental Samurai (Fox)
Travel/Adventure Series
Expedition Unknown (Discovery)
Extinct or Alive (Animal Planet)
Gordon Ramsay: Uncharted (National Geographic)
The Great Food Truck Race (Food Network)
Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)
Animal/Nature Show
Dodo Heroes (Animal Planet)
Dr. Oakley, Yukon Vet (Nat Geo WILD)
Crikey! It’s the Irwins (Animal Planet)
Serengeti (Discovery)
Seven Worlds, One Planet (BBC America)
Lifestyle: Fashion/Beauty Show
The Goop Lab (Netflix)
Making the Cut (Amazon)
Next in Fashion (Netflix)
Project Runway (Bravo)
Queer Eye (Netflix)
Relationship Show
90 Day Fiancé (TLC)
Are You the One? (MTV)
Black Love (OWN)
Couples Therapy (Showtime)
Love Is Blind (Netflix)
Lifestyle: Home/Garden Show
A Very Brady Renovation (HGTV)
Celebrity IOU (HGTV)
Home (Apple TV+)
Home Town (HGTV)
Selling Sunset (Netflix)
Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series
Making the Cut (Amazon)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Queer Eye (Netflix)
Dancing with the Stars (ABC)
A Very Brady Renovation (HGTV)
Crikey! It’s the Irwins (Animal Planet)
Female Star of The Year
Nicole Byer – Nailed It! (Netflix)
Dr. Orna Guralnik – Couples Therapy (Showtime)
Dr. Sandra Lee – Dr. Pimple Popper (TLC)
Gwyneth Paltrow – The Goop Lab (Netflix)
Michelle Visage – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Monica Aldama – Cheer (Netflix)
Male Star of The Year
Jerry Harris – Cheer (Netflix)
The Fab Five – Queer Eye (Netflix)
Trevor Noah – The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
RuPaul Charles – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Hasan Minhaj – Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj (Netflix)
Kevin Hart – Kevin Hart: What the Fit (YouTube Originals)
Show Host
Will Arnett – Lego Masters (Fox)
RuPaul Charles – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Jeff Goldblum – The World According to Jeff Goldblum (Disney +)
Nick Offerman and Amy Poehler – Making It (NBC)
Jeff Probst – Survivor (CBS)
Alex Trebek – Jeopardy! (CBS Television Distribution)
Outstanding Achievement In Nonfiction Programming By A Network Or Streaming Platform
A+E Networks
HBO
National Geographic
Netflix
PBS
TLC
Outstanding Achievement In Nonfiction Production
Anvil 1893 Entertainment
Big Fish Entertainment
Florentine Films
Kinetic Content
Raw TV
Smart Dog Media
The A.V. Club’s Editor-in-Chief, Patrick Gomez, is a member of the Critics Choice Association.