Two Netflix series, “Cheer” and “Queer Eye,” were the big winners at the second annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards, which were announced on Monday by the Critics Choice Association and the nonfiction producers’ organization NPACT.
Because of the coronavirus, the awards for nonfiction and reality television were not handed out at a physical or a virtual ceremony. Instead, winners were notified privately and given the opportunity to make a video acceptance speech. Links to those speeches are available at the Critics Choice website.
“Cheer” and “Queer Eye” both won two awards, the former for Unstructured Series and Male Star of the Year (Jerry Harris) and the latter for Lifestyle: Fashion/Beauty Show and Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series. In the Structured Series category, though, “Queer Eye” lost to Disney+’s “The World According to Jeff Goldblum.” “Cheer” lost in the Limited Documentary Series category to Hulu’s “Hillary.”
VH1’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” won as best competition series for the second year in a row, while NBC’s “The Voice” won for talent/variety competition series.
ESPN’s Michael Jordan documentary series “The Last Dance” won in the sports category, ABC’s “Shark Tank” won for business and Netflix’s “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” won for crime/justice. Food Network’s “Chopped” and Bravo’s “Top Chef” tied in the culinary category, while Netflix’s “Somebody Feed Phil” won for travel/adventure, AMC’s “Seven Worlds, One Planet” for animal/nature, Discovery’s “A Very Brady Renovation” for home/garden and Netflix’s “Love Is Blind” for relationship show.
The biggest sensation of the past year in nonfiction television, Netflix’s “Tiger King,” was eligible but was not nominated in any categories.
In the male and female star of the year categories, “Cheer” star Jerry Harris beat Trevor Noah, RuPaul Charles, Hasan Minhaj, Kevin Hart and the cast of “Queer Eye,” while Dr. Sandra Lee won for “Dr. Pimple Popper” over Gwyneth Paltrow for “The Goop Lab,” among others.
Just as he did at Friday’s Daytime Emmy Awards, Alex Trebek won the hosting award for “Jeopardy!”
“Survivor” host and executive producer Jeff Probst received the honorary Critics Choice Real TV Impact Award on the occasion of the series’ 20th anniversary and 40th season.
The Critics Choice Real TV Awards are voted on by television, radio and internet journalists who cover television. Two categories, which went to a network and a production company for their work in nonfiction, were chosen by members of NPACT. Those awards went to Netflix and to Raw TV.
The winners:
Competition Series: “RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)
Competition Series: Talent/Variety: “The Voice” (NBC)
Unstructured Series: “Cheer” (Netflix)
Structured Series: “The World According to Jeff Goldblum” (Disney+)
Business Show: “Shark Tank” (ABC)
Sports Show: “The Last Dance” (ESPN)
Crime/Justice Series: “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” (Netflix)
Ongoing Documentary Series: “Frontline” (PBS)
Limited Documentary Series: “Hillary” (Hulu)
Short Form Series: “Carpool Karaoke: The Series” (Apple)
Live Show: “Chasing the Cure” (TNT)
Interactive Show: “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” (Bravo)
Culinary Show: (TIE) “Chopped” (Food Network) and “Top Chef” (Bravo)
Game Show: “Jeopardy!: The Greatest of All Time” (ABC)
Travel/Adventure Series: “Somebody Feed Phil” (Netflix)
Animal/Nature Show: “Seven Worlds, One Planet” (BBC America)
Lifestyle: Fashion/Beauty Show: “Queer Eye” (Netflix)
Relationship Show: “Love Is Blind” (Netflix)
Lifestyle: Home/Garden Show: “A Very Brady Renovation” (HGTV)
Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series: “Queer Eye” (Netflix)
Female Star of The Year: Dr. Sandra Lee – “Dr. Pimple Popper” (TLC)
Male Star of The Year: Jerry Harris – “Cheer” (Netflix)
Show Host: Alex Trebek – “Jeopardy!” (CBS Television Distribution)
Outstanding Achievement In Nonfiction Programming By A Network Or Streaming Platform: Netflix
Outstanding Achievement In Nonfiction Production: Raw TV