‘Critics Choice Real Awards’ 2020 Acceptance Videos Plus Fan Favorites
It may be the year of COVID-19, but that doesn’t stop award show season, and certainly not the popular Critics Choice Awards spinoff Critics Choice Real Awards that bestows honors to nonfiction television in every category.
The award show is now in its second year of determining the best of the best from submitted contenders by each network. Critics are also allowed to choose from shows not formally submitted but that qualify in each time frame and category.
The 2020 Critics Choice Real Awards also allows the TV fans to vote on key categories such as favorite female and male reality TV hosts, and the popular Dr. Sandra Lee scooped up that “favorite female” award for her ongoing work on TLC’s Dr. Pimple Popper.
Also of note, Jeff Probst was the recipient of the Critics Choice Real TV Impact Award for his longevity and accomplishments in the genre.
And streaming behemoth Netflix is the biggest winner with eight awards in various categories.
The Critics Choice Association (CCA) and nonfiction producers’ organization NPACT are now in year two of the award show that recognizes excellence in nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.
The Critics Choice Real Awards Winners
Netflix series Cheer and Queer Eye led the winners, each taking home two awards. Cheer took Unstructured Series and Male Star of The Year Jerry Harris, and Queer Eye for Lifestyle: Fashion/Beauty Show and Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series.
The Culinary Show category was a tie, with Chopped and Top Chef both honored.
Survivor host and executive producer Jeff Probst received this year’s Critics Choice Real TV Impact Award, for his ongoing contributions to the unscripted television industry.
Probst is a four-time Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Reality Host. He has traveled the world serving as both host and executive producer for Survivor, which won the first-ever Outstanding Non-Fiction Program (Special Class) Emmy Award in 2001. This year marked the 20th anniversary and 40th season of Survivor.
For a special welcome and introduction from virtual emcee and Travel/Adventure Series winner Phil Rosenthal, watch his message here:
For the Critics Choice Real TV Awards, Bob Bain and Joey Berlin are the Executive Producers. Michelle Van Kempen is Executive Producer for NPACT.
The Winners List
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 – TIE
**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: Between the Scenes (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)
CRITICS CHOICE REAL TV PEER-VOTED AWARDS
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
