WINNERS ANNOUNCED FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL “CRITICS CHOICE REAL TV AWARDS”

ALEX TREBEK RECEIVES POSTHUMOUS CRITICS CHOICE REAL TV IMPACT AWARD

Netflix Led Networks With Six Wins

Los Angeles (June 21, 2021) – The Critics Choice Association (CCA) and nonfiction producers’ organization NPACT unveiled today the winners of the third annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards, which recognize excellencein nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.  

After a record-breaking near-600 submissions, and a stellar year in reality television, there were three ties among this year’s winner’s pool – “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1) and “The Great British Baking Show” (Netflix) tied for Best Competition Series, “The Masked Singer” (Fox) and “The Voice” (NBC) tied for Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety, and “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (Food Network) and “The Oprah Conversation” (Apple TV+) tied for Best Structured Series.  “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1) was the only series to take home multiple awards, also winning for Best Ensemble Cast In An Unscripted Series.  

In the fan voted categories, Phil Rosenthal – “Somebody Feed Phil” (Netflix) was awarded Male Star of the Year, while Sandra Lee – “Dr. Pimple Popper” (TLC) was named Female Star of the Year.

Netflix, which led the networks in nominations, also led in wins, with a total of six.

Alex Trebek was honored posthumously with this year’s Impact Award, which recognizes an outstanding individual for career excellence and the positive impact they have made on the world of nonfiction content.  Mr. Trebek and his legacy epitomize what the Impact Award was created to honor. His longstanding commitment to the pursuit of excellence, his continual encouragement of curiosity, and his unfailing charm made Mr. Trebek one of television’s most respected and beloved figures. He was an inspiration to the nonfiction community that selected him for this award, and to the vast audience that welcomed him into their daily lives.  Alex’s children Matthew and Emily Trebek accepted the award on his behalf, with a heartfelt speech that can be viewed HERE.

Though this year’s ceremony was not held in person due to the ongoing pandemic, special acceptance videos from the winners can be found linked in each category below.  To view/download ALL of the acceptance videos, please click HERE.

For the Critics Choice Real TV Awards, Bob Bain and Joey Berlin served as Executive Producers.  Michelle Van Kempen was Executive Producer for NPACT.

The Critics Choice Real TV Awards were launched in 2019 when the CCA and NPACT joined forces to create a large-scale awards platform dedicated to giving the robust, ever-evolving unscripted genre critical attention and support. The awards celebrate programming across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms, and also recognize industry leaders with special awards highlighting career achievements.

The Critics Choice Association monitors all awards submissions and selects the nominees in all competitive categories. NPACT leads the selection of non-competitive discretionary awards. A blue-ribbon nominating committee made up of CCA members with expertise in nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming determines the nominees. Winners were chosen by a vote of the TV branch of the CCA membership.

About the Critics Choice Association (CCA)

The Critics Choice Association is the largest critics organization in the United States and Canada, representing close to 500 television, radio and online critics. It was organized in 2019 with the formal merger of the Broadcast Film Critics Association and the Broadcast Television Journalists Association, recognizing the blurring of the distinctions between film, television, and streaming content. For more information, visit CriticsChoice.com.

About NPACT

NPACT is the trade association for nonfiction production companies doing business in the U.S. Serving as the voice for the unscripted creative community, NPACT advocates for the advancement of nonfiction production across all genres of unscripted, and provides resources and information to help improve business conditions for its member companies whose programming airs across all linear TV and streaming platforms. For more information visit npact.org.

CONTACT 

Andy Gelb / Elyse Weissman 

SLATE PR 

[email protected] / [email protected]  

Leslie Oren 

Babygrande PR (for NPACT) 

[email protected] 

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WINNERS FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE REAL TV AWARDS

BEST COMPETITION SERIES – TIE 

**RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)

The Amazing Race (CBS)

**The Great British Baking Show (Netflix)

Top Chef (Bravo)

Tough as Nails (CBS)

BEST COMPETITION SERIES: TALENT/VARIETY – TIE 

American Idol (ABC)

Legendary (HBO Max)

**The Masked Singer (Fox)

**The Voice (NBC)

World of Dance (NBC)

BEST UNSTRUCTURED SERIES

Crikey! It’s the Irwins (discovery+)

**Deaf U (Netflix)

Lenox Hill (Netflix)

RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked (VH1)

The Real World Homecoming: New York (Paramount+)

BEST STRUCTURED SERIES – TIE 

A World of Calm (HBO Max)

**Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food Network)

History of Swear Words (Netflix)

Queer Eye (Netflix)

**The Oprah Conversation (Apple TV+)

BEST BUSINESS SHOW

Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network)

**Shark Tank (ABC)

Streets of Dreams with Marcus Lemonis (CNBC)

Undercover Billionaire (Discovery Channel and discovery+)

Wahl Street (HBO Max)

BEST SPORTS SHOW

**30 for 30 (ESPN)

Defying Gravity (YouTube Originals)

Last Chance U: Basketball (Netflix)

Peyton’s Places (ESPN+)

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)

BEST CRIME/JUSTICE SHOW

**I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (HBO)

Murder Among the Mormons (Netflix)

Murder on Middle Beach (HBO)

The Ripper (Netflix)

The Vow (HBO)

Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (National Geographic)

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES

American Masters (PBS)

Dear … (Apple TV+)

**Frontline (PBS)

POV (PBS)

The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth (Showtime)

The Vow (HBO)

BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES

**1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything (Apple TV+)

Amend: The Fight for America (Netflix)

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (HBO)

Love Fraud (Showtime)

Murder on Middle Beach (HBO)

Secrets of the Whales (Disney+ / National Geographic)

BEST SHORT FORM SERIES

First Person (Snapchat)

**Issa Rae Teaches Creating Outside the Lines (MasterClass)

Lady Parts (ellentube)

OWN Your Vote (NowThis and OWN social channels)

Ready Jet Cook (Food Network Kitchen)

BEST LIVE SHOW

**Dancing with the Stars (ABC)

BEST CULINARY SHOW

Amy Schumer Learns to Cook (Food Network)

Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines (discovery+)

Nailed It! (Netflix)

**Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu)

Top Chef (Bravo)

BEST GAME SHOW

25 Words or Less (Fox/Syndicated)

**Jeopardy! (CBS Television/Syndicated)

Supermarket Sweep (ABC)

Weakest Link (NBC)

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (ABC)

BEST TRAVEL/ADVENTURE SHOW

Men in Kilts (Starz)

Running Wild with Bear Grylls (National Geographic)

Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)

**Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)

The Great Food Truck Race (Food Network)

BEST ANIMAL/NATURE SHOW

**Life in Color with David Attenborough (Netflix)

Secrets of the Whales (Disney+ / National Geographic)

That Animal Rescue Show (Paramount+)

The Incredible Dr. Pol (Nat Geo WILD)

Wizard of Paws (BYUtv)

BEST LIFESTYLE: FASHION/BEAUTY SHOW

Haute Dog (HBO Max)

**Queer Eye (Netflix)

Shine True (Fuse)

Skin Decision: Before and After (Netflix)

Stylish with Jenna Lyons (HBO Max)

BEST RELATIONSHIP SHOW

90 Day Fiancé (TLC)

Couples Therapy (Showtime)

Indian Matchmaking (Netflix)

**Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)

My Love: Six Stories of True Love (Netflix)

BEST LIFESTYLE: HOME/GARDEN SHOW

**House Hunters International (HGTV)

Martha Knows Best (HGTV)

Property Brothers: Forever Home (HGTV)

Rock the Block (HGTV)

Selling Sunset (Netflix)

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN AN UNSCRIPTED SERIES

Top Chef (Bravo)

**RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)

Queer Eye (Netflix)

Crikey! It’s The Irwins (discovery+)

The Real World Homecoming: New York (Paramount+)

BEST SHOW HOST

RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)

Oprah Winfrey – The Oprah Conversation (Apple TV+)

Stanley Tucci –  Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)

Padma Lakshmi – Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu)

**John Oliver – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

MALE STAR OF THE YEAR

Trevor Noah – The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)

RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)

Stanley Tucci – Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)

Guy Fieri – Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food Network)

**Phil Rosenthal – Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)

FEMALE STAR OF THE YEAR

Nicole Byer – Nailed It! (Netflix)

**Sandra Lee – Dr. Pimple Popper (TLC)

Michelle Visage – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)

Padma Lakshmi – Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu)

Samantha Bee – Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION PROGRAMMING BY A NETWORK OR STREAMING PLATFORM 

Discovery+ 

Disney+ 

**HBO Max 

Hulu 

National Geographic

Netflix 

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION PRODUCTION 

The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC) 

Jigsaw Productions 

Renegade 83 

**Sharp Entertainment 

WINNERS BY PROGRAM FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL 

CRITICS CHOICE REAL TV AWARDS

1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything (Apple TV+) – 1 

Best Limited Documentary Series

30 For 30 (ESPN) – 1 

Best Sports Show

Dancing with the Stars (ABC) – 1

Best Live Show

Deaf U (Netflix) – 1

Best Unstructured Series

Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food Network) – 1

Best Structured Series

Dr. Pimple Popper (TLC) – 1

Female Star of the Year 

Frontline (PBS) – 1

Best Ongoing Documentary Series

House Hunters International (HGTV) – 1

Best Lifestyle: Home/Garden Show

I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (HBO) – 1

Best Crime/Justice Show

Issa Rae Teaches Creating Outside the Lines (MasterClass) – 1

Best Short Form Series

Jeopardy! (CBS Television/Syndicated) – 1

Best Game Show

Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) – 1

Best Show Host 

Life in Color with David Attenborough (Netflix) – 1

Best Animal/Nature Show

Love on the Spectrum (Netflix) – 1

Best Relationship Show

Queer Eye (Netflix) – 1

Best Lifestyle: Fashion/Beauty Show

RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1) – 2

Best Competition Series

Best Ensemble Cast In An Unscripted Series

Shark Tank (ABC) – 1

Best Business Show

Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix) – 1

Male Star of the Year

Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN) – 1

Best Travel/Adventure Show

Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu) – 1

Best Culinary Show

The Great British Baking Show (Netflix) – 1

Best Competition Series

The Masked Singer (Fox) – 1

Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety

The Oprah Conversation (Apple TV+) – 1

Best Structured Series

The Voice (NBC) – 1

Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety

WINNERS BY NETWORK FOR THE THIRD ANNUAL 

CRITICS CHOICE REAL TV AWARDS

Netflix – 6

HBO / HBO Max – 3 

ABC – 2 

Apple TV+ – 2  

VH1 – 2

CBS Television/Syndicated – 1 

CNN – 1

ESPN – 1 

Food Network – 1 

Fox – 1 

HGTV – 1 

Hulu – 1 

MasterClass – 1

NBC – 1 

PBS – 1

TLC – 1