The Television Critics Association (TCA) announced today the nominees for the organization’s upcoming 34TH Annual TCA Awards—an exclusive event hosted by Robin Thede, star of the popular BET late night series “The Rundown with Robin Thede.” The 2018 TCA Awards celebrate the top series, producers, and performances of the 2017-2018 season, as selected by the media organization’s membership of over 200 professional television critics and journalists from the United States and Canada.
In addition to longstanding categories honoring outstanding achievement in news and information, youth, reality, drama, comedy, and miniseries, the 2018 ceremony will introduce a new category, the best in sketch/variety shows. Winners will be announced at the invitation-only presentation on Saturday, August 4, 2018, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.
“The success of shows like ‘Killing Eve’ and ‘The Americans’ and ‘Barry’ all underline what a killer year this was for TV,” said Daniel Fienberg, TCA President and TV Critic for The Hollywood Reporter. “My sincerest apologies for that pun. It’s an exciting time for television and the TCA Awards nominations show how much great programming there is and how it can be found anywhere and for every audience. We’ve recognized shows from broadcast, cable, premium cable, streaming and PBS, series aimed for the youngest of children, the most mature of adults and for viewing by the entire family. From sexy assassins to brooding spies to babies who are Muppets, I’m excited to see which series will rise to the top when we gather together on August 4.”
FX leads all networks this year with 10 nominations, followed closely by Netflix, which has nine nods to its credit; and NBC, which has seven. BBC America and HBO have both earned six nominations; PBS/PBS Kids has four; Hulu, Amazon, and CBS/CBS All Access have three; Starz, Showtime, and Disney Channel/Disney Junior have two; and TBS, VH1, Lifetime, MSNBC, CNN, and The CW round out the lineup with one each.
Spanning a wide variety of networks and programs, the 2018 TCA Awards nominees reflect a diverse television landscape offering complex characters, thought-provoking stories, in-depth fact-based profiles, biting wit and satire, and much more. The Program Of The Year category highlights some truly groundbreaking series that have left an indelible mark on entertainment, taking their place among the greats as modern television icons. The formidable title bout includes last year’s winner, “The Handmaid’s Tale,” based on Margaret Atwood’s dystopian classic; Soviet spy thriller “The Americans;” devilishly funny afterlife farce “The Good Place;” Donald Glover’s genre-defying “Atlanta;” assassin caper “Killing Eve;” and the beloved family tearjerker “This Is Us,” all battling to claim the honor of one of the TCA’s most coveted awards.
The year also finds several fresh faces vying for TCA accolades, with BBC America’s first-year favorite “Killing Eve” leading its fellow competitors with five nominations, including a pair of Individual Achievement In Drama noms for stars Jodie Comer and Sandra Oh. Additionally, actor/funnyman Bill Hader makes his TCA Awards debut with the HBO fish-out-of-water hitman comedy “Barry;” joined by fellow first-year hits such as Netflix series “GLOW,” “Mindhunter,” and “Nailed It;” Amazon 1950s period piece “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel;” visionary sci-fi smash “Counterpart;” and the compelling FX true crime drama “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” among others.
The 2018 TCA Awards is introducing a new category, Outstanding Achievement In Sketch/Variety Shows, which finds some of the country’s top comedic tastemakers competing to make history by taking home the category’s inaugural award. Nominees include “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee,” “Jimmy Kimmel Live,” “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver,” “Late Night with Seth Meyers,” “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” and “Saturday Night Live.”
Other notable 2018 TCA nominees include versatile superstar Donald Glover; the sweeping Queen Elizabeth biographical series “The Crown;” television trailblazer Ted Danson; the stunning 10-part historical special “The Vietnam War,” from Ken Burns; fashionable fan-favorite “RuPaul’s Drag Race;” “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” star Rachel Bloom; marine life doc “Blue Planet 2;” family-friendly standouts “Sesame Street” and “Elena Of Avalor;” food travel spectacular “Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown;” and David Lynch’s mind-bending mystery “Twin Peaks: The Return.”
The 34TH Annual TCA Awards coincide with the 2018 Summer TCA Press Tour, running from Wednesday, July 25 through Wednesday, August 8.
Below is the list of 2018 Television Critics Association nominees, excluding the Career Achievement and Heritage Award winners, which will be announced at a later date.
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA
Jodie Comer, “Killing Eve” – BBC America
Darren Criss, “The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” – FX
Elisabeth Moss, “The Handmaid’s Tale” – Hulu
Sandra Oh, “Killing Eve” – BBC America
Matthew Rhys, “The Americans” – FX
Keri Russell, “The Americans” – FX
INDIVIDUAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY
Pamela Adlon, “Better Things” – FX
Rachel Bloom, “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” – The CW
Rachel Brosnahan, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” – Amazon
Ted Danson, “The Good Place” – NBC
Donald Glover, “Atlanta” – FX (2017 Winner in Category)
Bill Hader, “Barry” – HBO
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN NEWS AND INFORMATION
“Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown” – CNN
“60 Minutes” – CBS
“Blue Planet 2” – BBC America
“The Rachel Maddow Show” – MSNBC
“The Vietnam War” – PBS
“Wild Wild Country” – Netflix
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN REALITY
“The Great British Baking Show” – PBS
“Nailed It!” – Netflix
“Project Runway” – Lifetime
“Queer Eye” – Netflix
“RuPaul’s Drag Race” – VH1
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH PROGRAMMING
“Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood” – PBS Kids
“Elena of Avalor” – Disney Channel
“Muppet Babies” – Disney Junior
“Odd Squad” – PBS Kids
“Sesame Street” – HBO
“Sofia the First” – Disney Junior
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN SKETCH/VARIETY SHOWS
“Full Frontal with Samantha Bee” – TBS
“Jimmy Kimmel Live” – ABC
“Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” – HBO
“Late Night with Seth Meyers” – NBC
“The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” – CBS
“Saturday Night Live” – NBC
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIE OR MINISERIES
“Alias Grace” – Netflix
“The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story” – FX
“Howards End” – Starz
“Patrick Melrose” – Showtime
“The Tale” – HBO
“Twin Peaks: The Return” – Showtime
OUTSTANDING NEW PROGRAM
“Barry” – HBO
“Counterpart” – Starz
“GLOW” – Netflix
“Killing Eve” – BBC America
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” – Amazon
“Mindhunter” – Netflix
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMA
“The Americans” – FX
“The Crown” – Netflix
“The Good Fight” – CBS All Access
“The Handmaid’s Tale” – Hulu (2017 Winner in Category)
“Killing Eve” – BBC America
“This Is Us” – NBC
OUTSTANDING ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY
“Atlanta” – FX (2017 Winner in Category)
“Barry” – HBO
“GLOW” – Netflix
“The Good Place” – NBC
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” – Amazon
“One Day at a Time” – Netflix
PROGRAM OF THE YEAR
“The Americans” – FX
“Atlanta” – FX
“The Good Place” – NBC
“The Handmaid’s Tale” – Hulu (2017 Winner in Category)
“Killing Eve” – BBC America
“This Is Us” – NBC
NETWORK TALLY
FX – 10
Netflix – 9
NBC – 7
BBC America – 6
HBO – 6
PBS/PBS Kids – 4
Hulu – 3
Amazon – 3
CBS/CBS All Access – 3
Disney Channel/Disney Junior – 3
Starz – 2
Showtime – 2
ABC -1
VH1 – 1
Lifetime – 1
MSNBC – 1
CNN – 1
The CW – 1
TBS – 1
PROGRAM TALLY– (denotes shows with more than one nomination)
“Killing Eve,” BBC America – 5
“The Americans,” FX – 4
“Atlanta,” FX – 3
“The Good Place,” NBC – 3
“The Handmaid’s Tale,” Hulu – 3
“Barry,” HBO – 3
“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel,” Amazon – 3
“This Is Us,” NBC – 2
“GLOW,” Netflix – 2
“The Assassination Of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story,” FX – 2
Past TCA Award winners are listed on the organization’s official website, tvcritics.org/tca-awards.
ABOUT THE TELEVISION CRITICS ASSOCIATION
The Television Critics Association (TCA) represents more than 200 professional journalists who cover television for publications across the United States and Canada. The members reach tens of millions of consumers each week, and are considered experts within the industry, representing their employers as moderators, panelists, radio/TV guests and more. The prestigious organization honors outstanding achievements in television and enduring contributions to the medium’s heritage through the TCA Awards each year. This year’s TCA Awards are the organization’s 34TH anniversary. For additional information about the TCA, visit www.tvcritics.org; Facebook; and Twitter. To follow the Summer TCA on twitter, follow tweets with the hashtag #TCA18.
