Critics Choice Real Awards: Masked Singer, America’s Got Talent Snubbed

Critics Choice Real TV Awards Logo

The Critics Choice Real TV Awards, which were launched last year to honor nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming, announced their nominees on Monday (June 8). The awards, sponsored by the Critics Choice Organization and the nonfiction producers organization NPACT are chosen by television journalists in the Critics Choice Organization.

Survivor was nominated in the Competition Series category, while American Idol, Dancing with the Stars, Songland and The Voice got Competition Series: Talent/Variety nods.

Notable: the absence of America’s Got Talent and The Masked Singer in the talent/variety competition category. It’s not a stretch to assume that controversy killed AGT’s chances for recognition. However, it’s surprising that the wildly popular Masked Singer wasn’t recognized at all. Do snooty TV critics have a thing against celebrities in silly costumes?

Also, no talent show hosts were nominated in the show host category.

Additionally, The Critics Choice Association announced that Survivor host and producer Jeff Probst would receive the Critic Choice Real TV Impact Award for “ongoing contributions to the unscripted television industry.”

Two categories, Male Star of the Year and Female Star of the Year, will be voted on by fans at criticschoice.com. Voting is now underway.

In lieu of a physical awards show, the winners will be announced via press release on Monday, June 29.

The Nominees

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

About mj santilli 34842 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!