‘Critics Choice Real TV Awards’ List For 2020 Reveals Eclectic, Diverse Nominees, Jeff Probst Honored
You can count on The Critics Choice Awards to get it right, as the new nominations for 2020 were announced for reality TV genre, and it reflects an eclectic, diverse and compelling list of great programming in the nonfiction world of television.
Critics Choice Real TV Awards winners will be announced on Monday, June 29.
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) and nonfiction producers’ organization NPACT today unveiled the nominees for the second annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards.
These awards, now in their second year and normally televised, recognize excellence in nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms. The COVID-19 shut down caused the cancellation of this year’s broadcast.
Special Voting and Honors
Critics Choice also announced that Survivor host and executive producer Jeff Probst will receive this year’s Critics Choice Real TV Impact Award, for his
ongoing contributions to the unscripted television industry.
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.
Critics Choice Tally
Netflix’s Cheer and VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race lead this year’s field with five nominations each. Cheer got nods for Unstructured Series, Sports Show, Limited Documentary Series, Male Star of the Year, and Female Star of the Year.
RuPaul’s 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.
Queer Eye (Netflix) follows closely behind with four nominations, and Couples Therapy (Showtime) received three nominations.
For the second year in a row, Netflix leads the network tally with 31 total nominations.
Critics Choice chieftains speak
The excitement is across the board as the various heads of the Critics Choice Awards gave their take for this year’s nominees list.
“Our nominees for the 2020 Critics Choice Real TV Awards reflect the broad range of dynamic unscripted content available on all television platforms,” said CCA TV Branch President Ed Martin in a press statement. “We are once again honored to bring much deserved attention to the best of reality TV — a genre that continues to entertain and educate us all.”
“Each year of our joint awards program has presented a greater opportunity to highlight the breadth and excellence of nonfiction content, and its unique ability to reflect culture,” said NPACT Interim General Manager Michelle Van Kempen. “We are proud to honor Jeff Probst for his important contributions to our industry, both in front of and behind the camera, and to celebrate the programming and the people who work tirelessly to entertain, inspire and spark important conversation.”
For the Critics Choice Real TV Awards, Bob Bain and Joey Berlin serve as Executive Producers. Michelle Van Kempen is Executive Producer for NPACT.
About Jeff Probst
Jeff Probst is a best-selling author and four-time Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Reality Host. He has traveled the world serving as both host and executive producer for Survivor. He received an Emmy in 2001 when the show won the first-ever Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Special Class) award. This year marked Survivor’s 20th anniversary and its 40th season.
The Critics Choice Real TV Awards
The Critics Choice Real TV Awards were launched in 2019 when the CCA (then known as the Broadcast Television Journalists Association) and NPACT joined forces to create a large-scale awards platform dedicated to giving the unscripted genre critical attention and support. Shows are eligible for nomination if at least three (3) episodes premiered between June 1, 2019 and May 31, 2020 to at least 50% of the total potential U.S. television market.
The Nominations List for Critics’ Choice Real Award
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
Smart Dog Media
Raw TV
NOMINEES BY NETWORK FOR THE SECOND ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE REAL TV AWARDS
Netflix – 31
ABC – 6
Bravo – 6
VH1 – 6
Fox – 5
HBO – 5
NBC – 5
Animal Planet – 4
CBS / CBS Television Distribution – 4
Disney+ – 4
HGTV – 4
Showtime – 4
A&E – 3
Discovery – 3
Food Network – 3
National Geographic – 3
PBS – 3
TLC – 3
Amazon – 2
AMC – 2
Apple / Apple TV+ – 2
Comedy Central – 2
ESPN / ESPN+ – 2
Fuse – 2
TNT – 2
BBC America – 1
CNBC – 1
Hulu – 1
MTV – 1
Nat Geo WILD – 1
OWN – 1
Quibi – 1
Telemundo – 1
The Dodo – 1
Univision – 1
Yahoo – 1
YouTube Originals – 1
Snap – 1
