‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Tops Critics Choice Real TV Award Nominations

The reality series has a chance to win its third consecutive award in the three-year-old awards ceremony

RuPaul's Drag Race Season 13
VH1

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” leads all programs in nominations for the third annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards, which were announced on Wednesday.

The nominations confirmed that the series is a favorite of voters in the Critics Choice Association, who gave it the Best Competition Series award in 2019 and 2020, the only two years the show that honors nonfiction and reality television has taken place.

“RuPaul” received nominations in five categories: Best Competition Series, Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series, Female Star of the Year (Michelle Visage) and Best Show Host and Male Star of the Year nominations for RuPaul.

“Queer Eye” and a trio of food-oriented shows – “Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy,” “Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi” and “Top Chef” – received three nominations each. The shows with two nominations were “Crikey! It’s the Irwins,” “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives,” “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” “Murder on Middle Beach,” “Nailed It!,” “Secrets of the Whales,” “Somebody Feed Phil,” “The Oprah Conversation,” “The Real World Homecoming: New York” and “The Vow.”

As usual for awards shows these days, Netflix led all platforms in nominations with 22, followed by HBO/HBO Max with 14.

The late “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek will receive a posthumous Critics Choice Real TV Impact Award.

The winners will be revealed on Monday, June 21, not in an in-person ceremony but in a press release and online announcement. Members of the Critics Choice Association will choose the winners in all categories except Male Star of the Year and Female Star of the Year, which are open to public voting at criticschoice.com.

The nominees:

BEST COMPETITION SERIES
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
The Amazing Race (CBS)
The Great British Baking Show (Netflix)
Top Chef (Bravo)
Tough as Nails (CBS)

BEST COMPETITION SERIES: TALENT/VARIETY
American Idol (ABC)
Legendary (HBO Max)
The Masked Singer (Fox)
The Voice (NBC)
World of Dance (NBC)

BEST UNSTRUCTURED SERIES
Crikey! It’s the Irwins (discovery+)
Deaf U (Netflix)
Lenox Hill (Netflix)
RuPaul’s Drag Race: Untucked (VH1)
The Real World Homecoming: New York (Paramount+)

BEST STRUCTURED SERIES
A World of Calm (HBO Max)
Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food Network)
History of Swear Words (Netflix)
Queer Eye (Netflix)
The Oprah Conversation (Apple TV+)

BEST BUSINESS SHOW
Restaurant: Impossible (Food Network)
Shark Tank (ABC)
Streets of Dreams with Marcus Lemonis (CNBC)
Undercover Billionaire (Discovery Channel and discovery+)
Wahl Street (HBO Max)

BEST SPORTS SHOW
30 for 30 (ESPN)
Defying Gravity (YouTube Originals)
Last Chance U: Basketball (Netflix)
Peyton’s Places (ESPN+)
Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel (HBO)

BEST CRIME/JUSTICE SHOW
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (HBO)
Murder Among the Mormons (Netflix)
Murder on Middle Beach (HBO)
The Ripper (Netflix)
The Vow (HBO)
Trafficked with Mariana van Zeller (National Geographic)

BEST ONGOING DOCUMENTARY SERIES
American Masters (PBS)
Dear … (Apple TV+)
Frontline (PBS)
POV (PBS)
The Circus: Inside the Greatest Political Show on Earth (Showtime)
The Vow (HBO)

BEST LIMITED DOCUMENTARY SERIES
1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything (Apple TV+)
Amend: The Fight for America (Netflix)
I’ll Be Gone in the Dark (HBO)
Love Fraud (Showtime)
Murder on Middle Beach (HBO)
Secrets of the Whales (Disney+ / National Geographic)

BEST SHORT FORM SERIES
First Person (Snapchat)
Issa Rae Teaches Creating Outside the Lines (MasterClass)
Lady Parts (ellentube)
OWN Your Vote (NowThis and OWN social channels)
Ready Jet Cook (Food Network Kitchen)

BEST LIVE SHOW
A special winner will be announced on June 21.

BEST CULINARY SHOW
Amy Schumer Learns to Cook (Food Network)
Magnolia Table with Joanna Gaines (discovery+)
Nailed It! (Netflix)
Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu)
Top Chef (Bravo)

BEST GAME SHOW
25 Words or Less (Fox/Syndicated)
Jeopardy! (CBS Television/Syndicated)
Supermarket Sweep (ABC)
Weakest Link (NBC)
Who Wants to Be a Millionaire (ABC)

BEST TRAVEL/ADVENTURE SHOW
Men in Kilts (Starz)
Running Wild with Bear Grylls (National Geographic)
Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)
The Great Food Truck Race (Food Network)

BEST ANIMAL/NATURE SHOW
Life in Color with David Attenborough (Netflix)
Secrets of the Whales (Disney+ / National Geographic)
That Animal Rescue Show (Paramount+)
The Incredible Dr. Pol (Nat Geo WILD)
Wizard of Paws (BYUtv)

BEST LIFESTYLE: FASHION/BEAUTY SHOW
Haute Dog (HBO Max)
Queer Eye (Netflix)
Shine True (Fuse)
Skin Decision: Before and After (Netflix)
Stylish with Jenna Lyons (HBO Max)

BEST RELATIONSHIP SHOW
90 Day Fiancé (TLC)
Couples Therapy (Showtime)
Indian Matchmaking (Netflix)
Love on the Spectrum (Netflix)
My Love: Six Stories of True Love (Netflix)

BEST LIFESTYLE: HOME/GARDEN SHOW
House Hunters International (HGTV)
Martha Knows Best (HGTV)
Property Brothers: Forever Home (HGTV)
Rock the Block (HGTV)
Selling Sunset (Netflix)

BEST ENSEMBLE CAST IN AN UNSCRIPTED SERIES
Top Chef (Bravo)
RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Queer Eye (Netflix)
Crikey! It’s The Irwins (discovery+)
The Real World Homecoming: New York (Paramount+)

BEST SHOW HOST
RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Oprah Winfrey – The Oprah Conversation (Apple TV+)
Stanley Tucci –  Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)
Padma Lakshmi – Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu)
John Oliver – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

MALE STAR OF THE YEAR
Trevor Noah – The Daily Show with Trevor Noah (Comedy Central)
RuPaul – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Stanley Tucci – Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy (CNN)
Guy Fieri – Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (Food Network)
Phil Rosenthal – Somebody Feed Phil (Netflix)

FEMALE STAR OF THE YEAR
Nicole Byer – Nailed It! (Netflix)
Sandra Lee – Dr. Pimple Popper (TLC)
Michelle Visage – RuPaul’s Drag Race (VH1)
Padma Lakshmi – Taste the Nation with Padma Lakshmi (Hulu)
Samantha Bee – Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (TBS)

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION PROGRAMMING BY A NETWORK OR STREAMING PLATFORM 
Discovery+ 
Disney+ 
HBO Max 
Hulu 
National Geographic
Netflix 

OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NONFICTION PRODUCTION 
The Intellectual Property Corporation (IPC) 
Jigsaw Productions 
Renegade 83 
Sharp Entertainment 

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