MTV’s RuPaul’s Drag Race and Peacock’s The Traitors lead the nominations for the sixth annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards, with five apiece.
Both series will vie for best competition series, best ensemble cast in an unscripted series, best show host (RuPaul and Alan Cumming) and male star of the year (RuPaul and Cumming, again). Drag Race also is up for best lifestyle show: fashion/beauty, while Traitors‘ Phaedra Parks earned a nom for female star of the year.
Also up for best show host are Will Arnett (Lego Masters), Terry Crews (America’s Got Talent), Kristen Kish (Top Chef) and Keke Palmer (Password).
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Male star of the year nominees also include Jerrod Carmichael (Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show), Bertie Gregory (Animals Up Close With Bertie Gregory), Eugene Levy (The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy) and Gerry Turner (The Golden Bachelor).
Also vying for female star are the year are Selena Gomez (Selena + Restaurant), Sandra Lee (Dr. Pimple Popper), Ariana Madix (Vanderpump Rules), Reba McEntire (The Voice) and Retta (Ugliest House in America).
Other nominated series include Survivor, Squid Game: The Challenge, American Idol, Queer Eye, So You Think You Can Dance, Dancing With the Stars, The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City and The Masked Singer.
The Real TV Awards “recognize excellence in nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming across broadcast, cable and streaming platforms.” Nominees were chose by blue-ribbon committees comprised of Critics Choice Association members with expertise in nonfiction, unscripted and reality programming.
Winners will be chosen by a vote of the CCA membership, while fans can vote in four categories: male and female stars of the year, best ensemble cast and best show host. The winners will be announced at a gala ceremony set for June 15 at the Fairmont Century Plaza in Los Angeles.
“The historic strikes by the WGA and SAG/AFTRA necessitated a record amount of unscripted programming in all areas of television, from broadcast to cable to streaming, making the last 12 months a remarkable time for reality TV,” Critics Choice Association TV branch vp Ed Martin said. “The depth and diversity of our nominees for the sixth annual Real TV Awards reflects the importance and ever-increasing scope of the genre, which continues to offer something for everyone.”
A full list of nominees follows.
BEST COMPETITION SERIES
The Amazing Race (CBS)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
Squid Game: The Challenge (Netflix)
Survivor (CBS)
Top Chef (Bravo)
The Traitors (Peacock)
BEST COMPETITION SERIES: TALENT/VARIETY
American Idol (ABC)
America’s Got Talent (NBC)
Dancing With the Stars (ABC)
The Masked Singer (Fox)
So You Think You Can Dance (Fox)
The Voice (NBC)
BEST UNSTRUCTURED SERIES
Animals Up Close With Bertie Gregory (Nat Geo WILD)
Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (HBO)
Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (Bravo)
The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy (Apple TV+)
Why Not Us (ESPN+)
BEST STRUCTURED SERIES
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food Network)
The Food That Built America (History)
How to With John Wilson (HBO)
Queer Eye (Netflix)
Shark Tank (ABC)
We’re Here (HBO)
BEST CULINARY SHOW
Be My Guest With Ina Garten (Food Network)
The Great British Baking Show (Netflix)
MasterChef Junior (Fox)
Next Level Chef (Fox)
Selena + Restaurant (Food Network)
Top Chef (Bravo)
BEST GAME SHOW
Celebrity Family Feud (ABC)
Celebrity Jeopardy! (ABC)
Celebrity Wheel of Fortune (ABC)
Guy’s Grocery Games (Food Network)
Password (NBC)
Weakest Link (NBC)
BEST TRAVEL/ADVENTURE SHOW
The Great Food Truck Race (Food Network)
Lost Cities Revealed With Albert Lin (National Geographic Channel)
Never Say Never With Jeff Jenkins (National Geographic Channel)
On the Roam (HBO | Max)
The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy (Apple TV+)
Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)
BEST BUSINESS SHOW
Bar Rescue (Paramount Network)
Kitchen Nightmares (Fox)
The Mega-Brands That Built America (History)
Shark Tank (ABC)
Start Up (PBS)
BEST ANIMAL/NATURE SHOW
Critter Fixers: Country Vets (National Geographic Channel)
Earthsounds (Apple TV+)
Life on Our Planet (Netflix)
Planet Earth III (Prime Video)
Queens (National Geographic Channel)
The Wizard of Paws (BYUtv)
BEST CRIME/JUSTICE SHOW
Cold Justice (Oxygen)
The Curious Case of Natalia Grace (Investigation Discovery / Max)
Death in the Dorms (Hulu)
Justice, USA (HBO | Max)
Trafficked: Underworlds With Mariana van Zeller (National Geographic Channel)
Unlocked: A Jail Experiment (Netflix)
BEST SPORTS SHOW
30 for 30 (ESPN)
The Dynasty: New England Patriots (Apple TV+)
Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel (HBO | Max)
Quarterback (Netflix)
Untold (Netflix)
Welcome to Wrexham (FX)
BEST RELATIONSHIP SHOW
Farmer Wants a Wife (Fox)
The Golden Bachelor (ABC)
Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (HBO)
Love Is Blind (Netflix)
Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)
Swiping America (Max)
BEST LIFESTYLE SHOW: HOME/GARDEN
Celebrity IOU (HGTV)
Farmhouse Fixer (HGTV)
Home Town (HGTV)
Selling Sunset (Netflix)
Ugliest House in America (HGTV)
Windy City Rehab (HGTV)
BEST LIFESTYLE SHOW: FASHION/BEAUTY
Bollywed (Fuse)
Glow Up (Netflix)
OMG Fashun (E!)
Project Runway (Bravo)
Queer Eye (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
BEST LIMITED SERIES
American Nightmare (Netflix)
Beckham (Netflix)
Black Twitter: A People’s History (Hulu)
JFK: One Day in America (National Geographic Channel)
Ladies First: A Story of Women in Hip-Hop (Netflix)
Telemarketers (HBO | Max)
BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN AN UNSCRIPTED SERIES
House of Villains (E!)
The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City (Bravo)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
The Traitors (Peacock)
Vanderpump Rules (Bravo)
We’re Here (HBO)
BEST SHOW HOST
Will Arnett – Lego Masters (Fox)
Terry Crews – America’s Got Talent (NBC)
Alan Cumming – The Traitors (Peacock)
Kristen Kish – Top Chef (Bravo)
Keke Palmer – Password (NBC)
RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
MALE STAR OF THE YEAR
Jerrod Carmichael – Jerrod Carmichael Reality Show (HBO)
Alan Cumming – The Traitors (Peacock)
Bertie Gregory – Animals Up Close With Bertie Gregory (Nat Geo WILD)
Eugene Levy – The Reluctant Traveler With Eugene Levy (Apple TV+)
RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race (MTV)
Gerry Turner – The Golden Bachelor (ABC)
FEMALE STAR OF THE YEAR
Selena Gomez – Selena + Restaurant (Food Network)
Sandra Lee – Dr. Pimple Popper (TLC)
Ariana Madix – Vanderpump Rules (Bravo)
Reba McEntire – The Voice (NBC)
Phaedra Parks – The Traitors (Peacock)
Retta – Ugliest House in America (HGTV)
