Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards Nominees: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Leads with 5 Nominations

Critics' Choice Real TV Awards

Nominees have been announced for the first-ever Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards honoring the best in nonfiction, unscripted, and reality TV. VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1) tops the list with five nominations including Competition Series, Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series, Female Star of the Year (Michelle Visage), Male Star of the Year (RuPaul Charles), and Show Host (RuPaul Charles). Queer Eye was hot on its tail with four nominations followed by Our Planet and Tidying Up with Marie Kondo with three each.

The nominees were announced by the Broadcast Television Journalists Association (BTJA) and NPACT, “the trade organization serving the producers of nonfiction entertainment content.” The Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards will replace the NPACT Impact Awards in recognizing the best of reality and nonfiction television.

“There is such a tremendous amount of great reality programming, and we are thrilled to be recognizing this vital segment of the television world alongside our wonderful partners at NPACT,” stated BFCA President and Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards executive producer Joey Berlin. “And to be reunited with our friends at VH1 ensures that this ceremony will be a night for guests, and viewers, to remember!”

“It is beyond gratifying to see NPACT – an organization conceived just five years ago as a voice for the unscripted creative community – now fully engaged with the BFCA in a robust awards program celebrating all facets of nonfiction content, entertainment and production,” said NPACT General Manager John Ford. “We’re honored to be in this endeavor with Joey, Bob and VH1 as they deliver this exciting new awards show to the myriad fans of our genre.”


The first annual awards show will include two fan-voted awards as well as three peer-selected awards.

Winners will be announced during the Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards ceremony to be held in Beverly Hills on Sunday, June 2, 2019.

Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards Nominees:

    Competition Series
    Making It (NBC)
    Project Runway (Bravo)
    RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
    Survivor: David vs. Goliath (CBS)
    Top Chef (Bravo)

    Competition Series: Talent/Variety
    America’s Got Talent: The Champions (NBC)
    So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
    The Masked Singer (Fox)
    The Voice (NBC)
    World of Dance (NBC)

    Unstructured Series
    Born This Way (A&E)
    Deadliest Catch (Discovery)
    Intervention (A&E)
    Many Sides of Jane (A&E)
    RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked! (VH1)

    Structured Series
    Lip Sync Battle (Paramount Network)
    Magic for Humans (Netflix)
    Queer Eye (Netflix)
    Shark Tank (ABC)
    Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (Netflix)
    Who Do You Think You Are? (TLC)

    Business Show
    Bar Rescue (Paramount Network)
    Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours to Hell and Back (Fox)
    Selling Sunset (Netflix)
    Shark Tank (ABC)
    T-Pain’s School of Business (Fuse)

    Sports Show
    American Ninja Warrior (NBC)
    Losers (Netflix)
    Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)
    Sunderland ’Til I Die (Netflix)
    Warriors of Liberty City (Starz)

    Crime/Justice Show
    Betrayed (ID)
    Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (Netflix)
    In Pursuit with John Walsh (ID)
    Making a Murderer: Part 2 (Netflix)
    The Innocent Man (Netflix)

    Ongoing Documentary Series
    Chef’s Table (Netflix)
    POV (PBS)
    The Circus: Inside the Wildest Political Show on Earth (Showtime)
    United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell (CNN)
    Vice (HBO)

    Limited Documentary Series
    Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (Netflix)
    Our Planet (Netflix)
    Punk (Epix)
    Shut Up and Dribble (Showtime)
    Surviving R. Kelly (Lifetime)

    Short Form Series
    9 Months with Courteney Cox (Facebook Watch)
    Biography Presents: History, Herstory (HISTORY)
    Carpool Karaoke: The Series (Apple TV)
    Comeback Kids (The Dodo)
    The Daily Show with Trevor Noah: Between the Scenes (Comedy Central)

    Live Show
    BUILD (AOL)
    La Voz (Telemundo)
    So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
    The Voice (NBC)
    Yellowstone Live (National Geographic)

    Interactive Show
    Talking Dead (AMC)
    Watch What Happens with Andy Cohen (Bravo)
    You vs. Wild (Netflix)

    Talk Show
    Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Netflix)
    My Next Guest Needs No Introduction with David Letterman (Netflix)
    Red Table Talk (Facebook Watch)
    The Ellen DeGeneres Show (Warner Bros. Television/Syndicated)
    The View (ABC)

    Late-Night Talk Show
    Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)
    Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)
    The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
    The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS)
    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)

    Entertainment News Show
    Access (NBCUniversal Television/Syndicated)
    E! News (E!)
    Entertainment Tonight (CBS Television/Syndicated)
    Extra (Warner Bros. Television/Syndicated)
    Inside Edition (CBS Television/Syndicated)

    Culinary Show
    Chopped (Food Network)
    Nailed It! (Netflix)
    Salt Fat Acid Heat (Netflix)
    The Great British Baking Show (PBS)
    Top Chef (Bravo)

    Game Show
    Cash Cab (Discovery)
    Common Knowledge (Game Show Network)
    Ellen’s Game of Games (NBC)
    Hollywood Game Night (NBC)
    Jeopardy! (CBS Television/Syndicated)

    Travel/Adventure Show
    Expedition Unknown (Discovery)
    Larry Charles’ Dangerous World of Comedy (Netflix)
    Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)
    The Great Food Truck Race (Food Network)
    The Voyager with Josh Garcia (NBC)

    Animal/Nature Show
    Amanda to the Rescue (Animal Planet)
    Dodo Heroes (Animal Planet)
    Dynasties (BBC America)
    Hostile Planet (National Geographic)
    Our Planet (Netflix)

    Lifestyle Show: Fashion/Beauty
    Project Runway (Bravo)
    Project Runway All-Stars (Lifetime)
    Queer Eye (Netflix)
    Say Yes to the Dress (TLC)

    Relationship Show
    Born This Way (A&E)
    Dating Around (Netflix)
    Married at First Sight (Lifetime)
    The Bachelor (ABC)
    Wife Swap (Paramount Network)

    Lifestyle Show: Home/Garden
    Home Town (HGTV)
    Love It or List It (HGTV)
    Property Brothers (HGTV)
    Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (Netflix)
    Trading Spaces (TLC)

    Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series
    Crikey! It’s The Irwins (Animal Planet)
    Queer Eye (Netflix)
    RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
    The Real Housewives of New York City (Bravo)
    Trading Spaces (TLC)

    Show Host
    RuPaul Charles – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
    Stephen Colbert – The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (CBS)
    James Corden – The Late Late Show with James Corden (CBS)
    Busy Philipps – Busy Tonight (E!)
    Jerry Seinfeld – Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (Netflix)

    Female Star of The Year
    Nicole Byer – Nailed It! (Netflix)
    Marie Kondo – Tidying Up With Marie Kondo (Netflix)
    Sandra Lee – Dr. Pimple Popper (TLC)
    Samin Nosrat – Salt Fat Acid Heat (Netflix)
    Chrissy Teigen – Lip Sync Battle (Paramount Network)
    Michelle Visage – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)

    Male Star of The Year
    David Attenborough – Our Planet (Netflix)
    RuPaul Charles – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
    Hasan Minhaj – Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj (Netflix)
    Phil Rosenthal – Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)
    Jonathan Van Ness – Queer Eye (Netflix)

    Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction by a Network or Streaming Platform
    A&E
    Bravo
    FOX
    Investigation Discovery (ID)
    NBC
    Netflix

    Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Production
    A. Smith & Co. Productions
    Big Fish Entertainment
    Endemol Shine North America
    Kreativ Inc.
    The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC)