The 30th annual Critics Choice Awards are set to air on Jan. 12 and this year, the show will move from its recent home of the CW over to E! — a perfect fit for returning host Chelsea Handler, who once was a staple on the cable net with her “Chelsea Lately” talk show.
The Critics Choice Assn. submissions window for television categories run from Sept. 23 to Nov. 18, with deliberations kicking off Nov. 11 and continuing through Dec. 3. The TV nominations will be announced on Dec. 5. Film nominations will be announced Dec. 12; then, the film and television voting merges for final ballots. CCA members will be sent ballots on Jan. 5 and must return them by Jan. 10 at 9 p.m. PT.
A Fresh Crop
For CCA, the eligibility period is the calendar year, which means many of last year’s big winners will sit this one out. While last year’s leader in comedy, “The Bear,” is eligible again, this time it will be facing HBO’s “Hacks” for the first time. The other nominated comedies from last year that could return are ABC’s “Abbott Elementary,” AppleTV+’s “Shrinking” and FX’s “What We Do in the Shadows.” Of course, there’s also HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” which could hop in for one last hurrah.
In the drama race, only one series nominated in 2023 will be eligible this year, Netflix’s “The Diplomat,” opening the door to a plethora of options, including Emmys favorite “Shōgun” and hits like “Fallout,” “Mr. & Mrs. Smith,” “Slow Horses,” “3 Body Problem,” “The Boys,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” “The Penguin” and “Industry.”
On the limited front, it’s safe to assume that Netflix’s hit “Baby Reindeer,” which took home six Emmys, will be a leader at the Critics Choice Awards, along with HBO’s “True Detective: Night Country,” HBO’s “The Sympathizer,” FX’s “Feud: Capote vs. the Swans” and Netflix’s “Ripley.”
Last-Minute Drops
With eligibility stretching across the calendar year, last-minute drops are always something to keep an eye on. Apple TV+’s “Bad Sisters,” which earned two noms for Season 1, isn’t quite last minute, but kicks off its second season Nov. 13. Season 2 of Netflix’s “Squid Game” just makes the cut with a Dec. 26 drop. Its first season won two and was nominated for three Critics Choice Awards in 2021.
As for new series, Paramount+ With Showtime will roll out their star-studded drama “The Agency,” led by Michael Fassbender, Jeffrey Wright, Jodie Turner-Smith and Richard Gere, on Nov. 29.
Netflix will debut its Kiera Knightley/ Ben Whishaw spy thriller, “Black Doves” on Dec. 5 and comedies “A Man on the Inside” on Nov. 21 and “No Good Deed” on Dec. 12.
FX’s “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez”
Ryan Murphy Effect
There’s also one prolific, very busy producer who could make a major splash at the Critics Choice Awards. In September, Ryan Murphy debuted four new shows — “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez” and “Grotesquerie” at FX, “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story” at Netflix and “Doctor Odyssey” at ABC. He also premiered new seasons of Fox’s “9-1-1: Lone Star” at Fox and ABC’s “9-1-1.”
“Monsters” sparked the most critical acclaim and made an impact with the proposed resentencing of the Menendez brothers, and the first installment, “Dahmer — Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story” led to a Critics Choice win for supporting actress Niecy Nash-Betts. The national conversation around the Menendez case could help the show or the actors, including Javier Bardem, Chloë Sevigny, Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch, earn nominations.
Critics recognized the work, especially by the cast of “American Sports Story: Aaron Hernandez,” led by Josh Andrés Rivera as the late NFL player. As the first installment of the “American Sports Story” franchise, all bets are off.
