‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’ Tops Critics Choice Real TV Awards, Again

Steve Pond
·3 min read

“RuPaul’s Drag Race” won two awards to top all programs in the third annual Critics Choice Real TV Awards, the Critics Choice Association and the nonfiction producers organization NPACT announced on Monday.

For the third consecutive year, “RuPaul” was named the year’s best competition series, although for the first time it shared the prize with another series, “The Great British Baking Show.” The Critics Choice Association, which is made up of television, radio and internet critics and journalists, is known for a surprisingly large number of ties in its awards shows, and its 2021 winners included deadlocks in three key categories: “RuPaul” and “GBBS” in Best Competition Series, “The Masked Singer” and “The Voice” in Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety and “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” and “The Oprah Conversation” in Best Structured Series.

“RuPaul’s” second award, for Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series, made it the only program with more than one win.

Other winners included “Deaf U” (Best Unstructured Series), “30 for 30” (Best Sports Show), “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (Best Crime/Justice Show), “Dancing With the Stars” (Best Live Show), “Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi” (Best Culinary Show) and “House Hunters International (Best Lifestyle” Home/Garden Show).

In four different categories, the same show has won in all three years that the Real TV Awards have been handed out: “RuPaul” has swept the Best Competition Series category (with a tie this year), while “Shark Tank,” “Jeopardy!” and “Queer Eye” have won Best Business Show, Best Game Show and Best Lifestyle: Fashion/Beauty every year, respectively.

Sandra Lee from “Dr. Pimple Popper” has also won the audience-voted Female Star of the Year award all three years. Phil Rosenthal of “Somebody Feed Phil” won the Male Star of the Year award this year.

The late “Jeopardy!” host Alex Trebek received the posthumous Critics Choice Real TV Impact Award.

As usual, Netflix led all networks or platforms in awards, with six wins. But HBO Max won in the Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Programing by a Network or Streaming Platform category, although none of its shows won individual awards. (Shows on HBO won two awards.)

The show did not take place as an in-person or virtual ceremony, but video acceptance speeches from the winners can be found here.

The winners:

Best Competition Series (tie)
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1) and “The Great British Baking Show” (Netflix)

Best Competition Series: Talent/Variety (tie)
“The Masked Singer” (Fox) and “The Voice” (NBC)

Best Unstructured Series
“Deaf U” (Netflix)

Best Structured Series (tie)
“Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives” (Food Network) and “The Oprah Conversation” (Apple TV+)

Best Business Show
“Shark Tank” (ABC)

Best Sports Show
“30 for 30” (ESPN)

Best Crime/Justice Show
“I’ll Be Gone in the Dark” (HBO)

Best Ongoing Documentary Series
“Frontline” (PBS)

Best Limited Documentary Series
“1971: The Year That Music Changed Everything” (Apple TV+)

Best Short Form Series
“Issa Rae Teaches Creating Outside the Lines (MasterClass)

Best Live Show
“Dancing With the Stars” (ABC)

Best Culinary Show
“Taste the Nation With Padma Lakshmi” (Hulu)

Best Game Show
Jeopardy!” (CBS Television/Syndicated)

Best Travel/Adventure Show
“Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy” (CNN)

Best Animal/Nature Show
“Life in Color With David Attenborough” (Netflix)

Best Livestyle: Fashion/Beauty Show
“Queer Eye” (Netflix)

Best Relationship Show
“Love on the Spectrum” (Netflix)

Best Lifestyle: Home/Garden Show
“House Hunters International” (HGTV)

Best Ensemble Cast in an Unscripted Series
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” (VH1)

Best Show Host:
John Oliver, “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” (HBO)

Male Star of the Year
Phil Rosenthal, “Somebody Feed Phil” (Netflix)

Female Star of the Year
Sandra Lee, “Dr. Pimple Popper” (TLC)

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Programing by a Network or Streaming Platform
HBO Max

Outstanding Achievement in Nonfiction Production
Sharp Entertainment

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