Critics Choice Real TV Awards 2020 Nominees: ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race,’ ‘Cheer’ Top the List

RuPaul's Drag Race

VH1’s RuPaul’s Drag Race and Netflix’s Cheer top the list of the 2020 Critics Choice Real TV Awards nominees. The second annual awards show honors the best in nonfiction, unscripted, and reality programming as chosen by the Critics Choice Association* and NPACT.

Both RuPaul’s Drag Race and Cheer snagged five nominations followed by Netflix’s Queer Eye with four and Showtime’s Couples Therapy with three. Overall, Netflix lead the networks with a total of 31 nominations.

“Our nominees for the 2020 Critics Choice Real TV Awards reflect the broad range of dynamic unscripted content available on all television platforms,” stated CCA TV Branch President Ed Martin. “We are once again honored to bring much-deserved attention to the best of reality TV — a genre that continues to entertain and educate us all.”

In addition to the competitive awards, CCA and NPACT announced Survivor host/executive producer Jeff Probst will be honored with the Critics Choice Real TV Impact Award. Probst was selected for “his ongoing contributions to the unscripted television industry.”

“Each year of our joint awards program has presented a greater opportunity to highlight the breadth and excellence of nonfiction content, and its unique ability to reflect culture,” said NPACT Interim General Manager Michelle Van Kempen. “We are proud to honor Jeff Probst for his important contributions to our industry, both in front of and behind the camera, and to celebrate the programming and the people who work tirelessly to entertain, inspire and spark important conversation.”

Winners will be announced on Monday, June 29, 2020. Fans are invited to participate in voting in the Female Star of the Year and Male Star of the Year winners via criticschoice.com



NOMINATIONS FOR THE SECOND ANNUAL CRITICS CHOICE REAL TV AWARDS

    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
    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 (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)

    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

(* – I’m a member of the Critics’ Choice Association.)