Viola Davis, Sterling K. Brown and the TV series “Insecure” and “For Life” are among the winners at the African American Film Critics Association’s second annual AAFCA TV Honors, the organization of critics announced on Wednesday.
The awards will be presented at a virtual ceremony at 11 a.m. PDT on Saturday, Aug. 22. The ceremony will stream by invitation only, with a catered lunch and cocktails delivered to the homes of all guests on the morning of the show.
Davis and Brown will receive the awards for Best Actress and Best Actor for “How to Get Away With Murder” and “This Is Us,” respectively. The win makes Brown the awards’ first two-time winner; he also won last year in the same category for “This Is Us.”
“For Life” was named Best Drama and “Insecure” Best Comedy.
Other honorees include “The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel” for Best TV Movie, “Hollywood” stars Jeremy Pope and Laura Harrier for Breakout Performers, “Never Have I Ever” for Best YA, “Central Park” for Best Animated and a tie between “The Last Dance” and “Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children” for Best Documentary.
Kenya Barris will receive the TV Icon Award, while MACRO Television Studios will receive the Inclusion Award. The AAFCA’s inaugural award for short form will go to Quibi’s “I Promise.”
The ceremony will salute first responders during the global pandemic by using them as presenters alongside Hollywood stars like Octavia Spencer, Rashida Jones and William Jackson Harper.
TV Icon: Kenya Barris Inclusion Award: MACRO Television Studios Best Actress: Viola Davis, “How To Get Away With Murder” (ABC) Best Actor: Sterling K. Brown, “This is Us” (NBC) Best Drama: “For Life” (ABC) Best Comedy: “Insecure” (HBO) Best TV Movie: “The Clark Sisters: First Ladies of Gospel” (Lifetime) Breakout Performers: Jeremy Pope / Laura Harrier, “Hollywood” (Netflix) Best YA: “Never Have I Ever” (Netflix) Best Animated: “Central Park” (Apple TV+) Best Documentary: “Atlanta’s Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children” (HBO) and “The Last Dance (ESPN Films/Netflix) Best Short Form: “I Promise” (Quibi)
Emmy Nominations 2020: Snubs and Surprises, From Bob Odenkirk to Baby Yoda (Photos)
Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.
Surprise: "What We Do in the Shadows" FX's series adaptation of the vampire mockumetary from Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi only secured two below the line nominations for its first season, but it's second outing scored big with eight nominations, including an Outstanding Comedy Series nod.
FX
Surprise: "The Mandalorian" Drama heavyweight "Game of Thrones" was out of the running this year, leaving room for a new series to sneak in among a slew of past nominees like "Better Call Saul," "The Handmaid's Tale" and "The Crown." But instead of Apple TV+'s "The Morning Show," voters went with a different new streaming service, nominated Disney+'s "The Mandalorian."
Disney+
Snub: Bob Odenkirk, "Better Call Saul" Odenkirk has been a perennial nominee in the lead actor category since 2015, but this year the "Better Call Saul" star was overlooked in favor of a pair of actors from "Succession" and "The Morning Show" star Steve Carell.
AMC
Snub: Elisabeth Moss, "The Handmaid's Tale" Moss won the award for lead actress in a drama series in 2017 and has been nominated numerous times in the past, but, like "This Is Us" star Mandy Moore and "How to Get Away With Murder's" Viola Davis, failed to make the cut for the most recent season of "Handmaid's Tale."
Hulu
Surprise: Zendaya, "Euphoria" In a category comprised mostly of returning players, dark horse candidate Zendaya managed to sneak a lead actress nod for her role on the HBO drama "Euphoria," slipping in alongside fellow category newcomer Jennifer Aniston of "The Morning Show."
HBO
Snub: "Big Little Lies" HBO's Liane Moriarty adaptation was the belle of awards season in 2017, all but sweeping the limited series categories with its roster of big-name stars including Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon. But Season 2's move to the drama series category hurt the show, leaving "Big Little Lies" with only two nominations for supporting stars Laura Dern and Meryl Streep.
HBO
Surprise: "The Masked Singer" Fox's absurdist singing competition finally became too big for Emmy voters to ignore in Season 2, shaking up the Oustanding Competition Program category with 10-time winner "The Amazing Race" ineligible this year.
Fox
Snub: "Westworld" Turns out "Westworld" wasn't the "Game of Thrones" successor HBO hoped iy would be, earning only two acting nods for its third season, for supporting actors Thandie Newton and Jeffrey Wright, and missing out on the marquee drama series category entirely.
HBO
Snub: Kaitlyn Dever, Merritt Wever, "Unbelievable" For much of the voting period, the two stars of Netflix's harrowing "Unbelievable" seemed like locks for lead actress in a limited series nominations, but neither made the cut in a crowded category, not even TV Academy darling Merritt Wever, who has twice before pulled out a surprise upset on Emmy night.
Netflix
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”Better Call Saul“ and ”The Handmaid’s Tale“ leads miss out, while ”What We Do in the Shadows“ sneaks in
Between Elisabeth Moss and Bob Odenkirk getting pushed out of their respective categories and an unexpected nomination for "What We Do in the Shadows," Tuesday's Emmy nominations announcement came with more than its share of surprises.